The question: Did it hit ground first? At any point, did it bounce back?
Yes, it turned out.
The Razorbacks, though, could be falling for a while.
There were too many loose ends in Arkansas’ 52-0 loss in Fayetteville. Not even a healthy quarterback, cornerback and fullbacks would have tied them.
The game still had not slipped out of grasp in the early second quarter when, down 10-0, from Alabama 42 yard line Allen misread the Alabama defense and forced a deep pass over the middle to tight end Chris Gragg. Safety Vinnie Sunseri – with such a name, I’d expect him to play for Rutgers, the New Jersey school Arkansas plays next – intercepted the ball and returned it 13 yards. Allen, making his first start, could have made the far more simple throw to an open Knile Davis, who would have run it to near the first down marker.
It’s likely Tyler Wilson, Arkansas’ injured star quarterback, would have made the safe throw.
This isn’t a jeremiad on Arkansas’ unseasoned quarterbacks, who have done about as well as can be expected, all things considered. They had nothing to do with the spotty special teams play. They weren’t going to stop a 6-4, 320-pound Australian defensive lineman named Jesse Williams from putting the entire Hogs’ offensive line on the barbie. They weren’t the ones unable to get around the three preseason All-Americans on Alabama’s offensive line, or wrap up bruising tailback Eddie Lacy behind the lines.
Wilson would not have helped in these departments.
What makes those programs consistently superb are 1) big, fast, strong four and five star recruits and 2) a winning system most of them buy into. Petrino certainly had a system in place, which was good enough for frequent upper-tier bowl appearances, but he couldn’t sign the nation’s best recruits like more established programs. To win, he had to coach his players up, and try to use a high powered offensive system as an equalizer against more talented teams. It worked, except against the teams who always end up where he wants to be – in the national title game.Petrino didn’t put much stock in building relationships with his players off the field. He tended to motivate them through fear, not outward signs of love. In order to attract the very best recruits, a coach must be able to do both. It helps if he genuinely enjoys young people, which is especially important since many top-notch modern players chafe at the gruff, tough-love coaching style of past generations.
Even if the Hogs had kept winning 10 to 12 games a season, Petrino’s attitude would have kept Arkansas from recruiting at the same level of more established elite programs. That, in turn, would have kept them from ever entering the ranks of Nick Saban’s Alabama or Les Miles’ LSU. The best players in the most talent-rich football areas of the country (especially California, the deep South and Florida) typically grow up as fans of the programs in their area. If that program is winning and has a great coach, it’s near impossible to convince them to come to a remote place like Arkansas. But if mama hears good things about how the coach has nurtured a family atmosphere, she is more willing to consider letting her son live so far away and not being able to see him as much.
If there is any silver lining in this unraveling mess of a season, it’s that athletic director Jeff Long has a unique opportunity to use all the financial support Petrino’s success inspired in the program as a base from which he can hire a coach who’s a better fit than Petrino in terms of getting Arkansas close to the level of Alabama and LSU.
Long has already invested in building one of the nation’s top athletic complexes. He’s also willing to pay college football’s highest salary, according to a source of Otis Kirk of Hawgs247 [pay wall warning]. Yes, Long hired interim dud John L. Smith. But he’s also laid the table for a far more powerful program than Smith’s predecessor left behind.
Arkansas could win three, five, even seven more games. It won’t matter in the long run if Long doesn’t make what turns out to be a home run hire.“Arkansas fans, you should simply hope that in 2.5 months or so, Jeff Long hires a big-time coach. That, not this wrecked season, matters now,” wrote Matt Zemek of CollegeFootballNews.com.
Reblogged this on Texas Insurancesmith and commented:
I tend to agree with this blog except for the section about getting close to the level of Alabama and LSU. The Razorback faithful won’t be happy with getting close to these two teams. The Razorbacks want to surpass these programs. Jeff Long the future of Razorback football is in your hands.