I didn't even bother to watch the tape. Didn't feel like torturing myself. I saw enough live to know what I saw. If I miss something in my observations, please feel free to correct it.
Offense
1. 703 yards of offense, 463 yards rushing, 32 1st downs, etc... and we got blown out. How on Earth does this happen? Well, 3 turnovers for starters. I will come back to that.
2. The PLAY OF THE GAME, IMHO, was the PHANTOM holding call on Pettus on 4th and 9. We throw to Wade, who makes a great play for a TD, and good ole Ken WIlliamson calls holding on Pettus. TERRIBLE CALL. If Williamson keeps his flag in his pocket, it is 7-7. Completely different tone for the game. As it was, Arkansas took the punt, which was terrible, drives down, and scored and it is 14-0. It was an uphill climb from that point.
3. Our inability to finish drives in the red zone was huge. Arkansas scored touchdowns, we scored FGs. We had a 2nd TD called back due to a hold on Williams, which was (begrudgingly) legit. Cruz, who has been dynamite all year, missed a chip shot FG. It was that kind of night.
4. 28-6 near the end of the half. The Int by Dart was the final dagger, IMHO. I have spoken about my concerns as to his field of vision all year. That INT was another illustration of that. He never saw the defender, basically threw it right to him. Any chance of a 2nd half-comeback ended when Arkansas got the 2-for-1 in the middle 10 to go up 42-6.
5. The fumble by Dart on the 1st series and the fumble by Judkins on the 1st series of the 2nd half did not cost us any points, but both contributed to the unchecked momentum that Arkansas built and sustained for the entire game.
6. As I stated, the INT was the dagger. Arkansas brought pressure all night long and dared Jaxson Dart to beat us with his decisiveness and his arm. We hit a couple of big passes, but overall we weren't able to make them pay for that. As we have seen all year, Dart gave up on plays and pulled the ball down prematurely several times.
7. Bottom line, Arkansas did not stop us. We stopped us with untimely miscues, lack of focus in the RedZone, penalties (both real and imagined), and missed assignments. It was painful to watch.
Defense
1. My goodness, talk about painful to watch! We actually started off with a stop after Dart's fumble on our end. It looked like we might be on to something, but KJ made several plays in the next drive, establishing the tone that would endure all game.
2. Arkansas only converted 5-12 on 3rd down, but that is a very misleading stat. They converted ALL 5 OF THOSE in their 3 touchdown drives to forge ahead 21-3 in the 1st half. 4 of the 5 conversions were on 3rd and 7 or more. KJ hurt us throwing the ball effectively down the field in those situations, and converted one of those 3rd downs with his legs.
3. Once KJ proved that he could hurt us with his arm, we weren't able to slow them down on the run. Sanders killed us, and KJ had several nice runs too.
4. We got beat on too many 1on1s, didn't tackle well, shed blocks well, cover well, move to the ball well, and generally looked like we were just going through the motions. We got whipped at the point of attack, didn't set the point and funnel traffic back to the pursuit, etc...
5. Bottom line, we played lethargically and let them bring the fight to us and WE JUST TOOK IT LIKE A... child... Worst defensive performance of the season IMHO.
Special Teams
1. Even Mr. Consistent, Jonathan Cruz, showed he was human Saturday night. The missed FG was not huge, but I have rightfully sung his praises all season so I thought I would acknowledge he was mortal after all.
2. The punting game, while not a deciding factor in the game, did not help matters. After the huge holding penalty wiped off Wade's touchdown with them up 7-0, we punted to pin them deep. Instead, Masin shanked it for only 27 yards, giving them decent field position to launch their 2nd TD drive. Again, the die was cast, and the punting game did nothing to stem the tide.
Officials
1. Penn Wagers, Tom Ritter, Matt Austin, Marc Curles, and now Ken Williamson. Seeing those crews (Matt Loeffler's crew, Alabama and aTm game, is nearing this territory as well) when I watch our game makes me sick, as I know what is about to happen. (For those who don't recognize, Penn Wagers = 2007 Alabama/Doyle Jackson game. Tom Ritter = 2015 4th and 25 game.)
2. I have nothing further to add that hasn't already been said, other than I cannot remember EVER seeing a PI penalty being waved off after being thrown like the one that was thrown on Arkansas on the deep ball to Heath. My goodness!
Weather
1. It wasn't as cold as it was predicted to be. It was low 30s.
2. Both teams had to play in it.
3. How you approach the weather mentally, (1/2 full or 1/2 empty) is half the battle. That starts at THE TOP. Did we practice outside during the week to prepare? Did we encourage the players to practice with as few garments as possible to acclimate? Did the coaches model this approach? I have coached in cold games and I have been in the bone-chilling cold while serving in the military. I know all about practicing misery. It doesn't make it any less miserable, but acclimation is real and the mind is a powerful thing. Arkansas CLEARLY won the mental battle of preparation for the weather. It affected us much more than it did them, both coaches and players. Again, how you approach it is half the battle, and that starts at the top. How are we approaching the real possibility of rain Thursday night?
Distractions
Nothing to add that hasn't been said, again, and again, and again. If he stays, great. If he goes, we will survive. I was there in 1998 when MSU won the game 28-6 on our field to clinch the SECW and CTT and staff (except Kaufman) left as quickly after the game as the Auburn press that came to cover it. I remember that sick, what are we going to do, WAOM feeling. Crap on that! We are a big boy now, and CLK is a big reason why. We can pay coaches with the best of them, and we can play in the big boy league of NIL. We will be just fine. I hope he stays, and will wish him luck in all but one game a year if he goes. That is all.
ETA: That was absolutely THE WORST Broadcast of a game I HAVE EVER SEEN! I was embarrassed for those guys, the SECN, and the SEC. They were talking about one SEC school taking another SEC school's coach, players, etc. DURING said SEC school's game! UNBELIEVABLE! I hope that something is done, said, apology extended to Ole Miss, SOMETHING! Absolutely AWFUL!
Offense
1. 703 yards of offense, 463 yards rushing, 32 1st downs, etc... and we got blown out. How on Earth does this happen? Well, 3 turnovers for starters. I will come back to that.
2. The PLAY OF THE GAME, IMHO, was the PHANTOM holding call on Pettus on 4th and 9. We throw to Wade, who makes a great play for a TD, and good ole Ken WIlliamson calls holding on Pettus. TERRIBLE CALL. If Williamson keeps his flag in his pocket, it is 7-7. Completely different tone for the game. As it was, Arkansas took the punt, which was terrible, drives down, and scored and it is 14-0. It was an uphill climb from that point.
3. Our inability to finish drives in the red zone was huge. Arkansas scored touchdowns, we scored FGs. We had a 2nd TD called back due to a hold on Williams, which was (begrudgingly) legit. Cruz, who has been dynamite all year, missed a chip shot FG. It was that kind of night.
4. 28-6 near the end of the half. The Int by Dart was the final dagger, IMHO. I have spoken about my concerns as to his field of vision all year. That INT was another illustration of that. He never saw the defender, basically threw it right to him. Any chance of a 2nd half-comeback ended when Arkansas got the 2-for-1 in the middle 10 to go up 42-6.
5. The fumble by Dart on the 1st series and the fumble by Judkins on the 1st series of the 2nd half did not cost us any points, but both contributed to the unchecked momentum that Arkansas built and sustained for the entire game.
6. As I stated, the INT was the dagger. Arkansas brought pressure all night long and dared Jaxson Dart to beat us with his decisiveness and his arm. We hit a couple of big passes, but overall we weren't able to make them pay for that. As we have seen all year, Dart gave up on plays and pulled the ball down prematurely several times.
7. Bottom line, Arkansas did not stop us. We stopped us with untimely miscues, lack of focus in the RedZone, penalties (both real and imagined), and missed assignments. It was painful to watch.
Defense
1. My goodness, talk about painful to watch! We actually started off with a stop after Dart's fumble on our end. It looked like we might be on to something, but KJ made several plays in the next drive, establishing the tone that would endure all game.
2. Arkansas only converted 5-12 on 3rd down, but that is a very misleading stat. They converted ALL 5 OF THOSE in their 3 touchdown drives to forge ahead 21-3 in the 1st half. 4 of the 5 conversions were on 3rd and 7 or more. KJ hurt us throwing the ball effectively down the field in those situations, and converted one of those 3rd downs with his legs.
3. Once KJ proved that he could hurt us with his arm, we weren't able to slow them down on the run. Sanders killed us, and KJ had several nice runs too.
4. We got beat on too many 1on1s, didn't tackle well, shed blocks well, cover well, move to the ball well, and generally looked like we were just going through the motions. We got whipped at the point of attack, didn't set the point and funnel traffic back to the pursuit, etc...
5. Bottom line, we played lethargically and let them bring the fight to us and WE JUST TOOK IT LIKE A... child... Worst defensive performance of the season IMHO.
Special Teams
1. Even Mr. Consistent, Jonathan Cruz, showed he was human Saturday night. The missed FG was not huge, but I have rightfully sung his praises all season so I thought I would acknowledge he was mortal after all.
2. The punting game, while not a deciding factor in the game, did not help matters. After the huge holding penalty wiped off Wade's touchdown with them up 7-0, we punted to pin them deep. Instead, Masin shanked it for only 27 yards, giving them decent field position to launch their 2nd TD drive. Again, the die was cast, and the punting game did nothing to stem the tide.
Officials
1. Penn Wagers, Tom Ritter, Matt Austin, Marc Curles, and now Ken Williamson. Seeing those crews (Matt Loeffler's crew, Alabama and aTm game, is nearing this territory as well) when I watch our game makes me sick, as I know what is about to happen. (For those who don't recognize, Penn Wagers = 2007 Alabama/Doyle Jackson game. Tom Ritter = 2015 4th and 25 game.)
2. I have nothing further to add that hasn't already been said, other than I cannot remember EVER seeing a PI penalty being waved off after being thrown like the one that was thrown on Arkansas on the deep ball to Heath. My goodness!
Weather
1. It wasn't as cold as it was predicted to be. It was low 30s.
2. Both teams had to play in it.
3. How you approach the weather mentally, (1/2 full or 1/2 empty) is half the battle. That starts at THE TOP. Did we practice outside during the week to prepare? Did we encourage the players to practice with as few garments as possible to acclimate? Did the coaches model this approach? I have coached in cold games and I have been in the bone-chilling cold while serving in the military. I know all about practicing misery. It doesn't make it any less miserable, but acclimation is real and the mind is a powerful thing. Arkansas CLEARLY won the mental battle of preparation for the weather. It affected us much more than it did them, both coaches and players. Again, how you approach it is half the battle, and that starts at the top. How are we approaching the real possibility of rain Thursday night?
Distractions
Nothing to add that hasn't been said, again, and again, and again. If he stays, great. If he goes, we will survive. I was there in 1998 when MSU won the game 28-6 on our field to clinch the SECW and CTT and staff (except Kaufman) left as quickly after the game as the Auburn press that came to cover it. I remember that sick, what are we going to do, WAOM feeling. Crap on that! We are a big boy now, and CLK is a big reason why. We can pay coaches with the best of them, and we can play in the big boy league of NIL. We will be just fine. I hope he stays, and will wish him luck in all but one game a year if he goes. That is all.
ETA: That was absolutely THE WORST Broadcast of a game I HAVE EVER SEEN! I was embarrassed for those guys, the SECN, and the SEC. They were talking about one SEC school taking another SEC school's coach, players, etc. DURING said SEC school's game! UNBELIEVABLE! I hope that something is done, said, apology extended to Ole Miss, SOMETHING! Absolutely AWFUL!
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