First, I am just sad.
It was painful to watch our quarterback get knocked out of the game with what appears to be a concussion, then to see one of our starting cornerbacks (Tevin Mitchell) go out on a golf cart-strapped down, with no apparently movement in his extremities. Nothing is more important than finding out that he is okay.
Then, to see our backup fullback (Kody Walker) -- who was filling in for our starting fullback, who injured himself in practice and is going to have surgery -- also go out on a stretcher, and to know that one of our other defensive backs was hurt too, was simply sickening. I actually was sad to see the Warhawks running back go out too, with what might have been a re-injury of his ACL. I have never seen so many people leave a game badly hurt.
The tone for this game was set early. Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson was seriously off his game, throwing an interception on the first series and under- or over-throwing Brandon Mitchell three times in the first half. Last week, Wilson broke records and threw for about 70 percent. Tonight, he really couldn't do anything right. Did he suffer the "above-the-neck" injury early? Or was he just not himself? Doesn't really matter.
Our defense was horrendous, to say the least. We could never stop the Warhawks from moving the ball, though until the second half we were able to mostly stop them from scoring. The injuries to the defensive backs might have given the Warhawks what they needed to push through and actually score, again and again, in the second half. Coupled with the loss of possibly the best quarterback in the SEC in Wilson, it was a kill shot to the Razorbacks.
Backup quarterback Brandon Allen managed to hold it together for a score on his first drive but looked not so great doing it. Every posession after that was awful for Allen. He threw to the wrong shoulder constantly. He was also under a lot of pressure as the Razorback offensive line stopped getting any semblance of a push.
Arkansas running back Knile Davis looked extremely tentative in the first half, but he also wasn't getting any lead blocking or much help from the line. It's hard to be impressive as a RB when you have no fullback. By the second half it appeared the Razorbacks, who were supposed to have a really good running threat this year, had all but condemned their own running game and were settling for watching pass after pass fall long, short or wide of the receiver.
I can't say anything bad about our recivers at all. They didn't have many chances out there.
The only man playing defense out there seemed to be Ross Rasner, and he was playing it illegally, tomahawking the arms or receivers without even looking back for the ball. He got away with it most times, and I was happy about it.
Even Dennis Johnson, one of the best kickoff return men in the SEC, couldn't get started. Most of his returns fell well short of the 25.
The phrase that comes to mind is "snakebit." This ULM team played really well, and special credit should be given to their quarterback. The coach called gutsy, go-for-broke plays all night, and they converted key third - and fourth downs. Frankly, I was surprised when the Warhawks did not go for two to win the game in regulation. Instead, they kicked the extra point, and then totally shocked me by actually going for the first down in overtime on 4th and 1 when they were staring at a chip-shot field goal to send it to a second overtime, which they surely would have won, since they were winning everything on the field for the last half.
As the quarterback ran in a keeper for a touchdown and the win, I thought to myself, man, their kicker must really be awful. Or, maybe the coach just really had a lot of confidence in that quarterback.
There is going to be a lot of chatter about coaching and John L. Smith. Was this the fault of the coaching staff? I don't think so. I saw lack of execution by the players in every aspect of the game. There was one moment, however, that was a total breakdown of coaching, and I assume this fell on Paul Petrino as the offensive play caller. The Hogs had the ball in regulation and were around mid field with :30 or so left in the game. They clearly could not afford an interception, and so the only reasonable approach was to run the ball to see if they could get within field goal range, since they still had two timeouts left and could thus stop the clock to get set up for a field goal.
Inexplicably, a pass play was called. Quarterback Brandon Allen, who looked like he was floating around in space all night, could not find a receiver, and he scrambled to his right. The only sensible course he had was to keep it and try to get five yards or so. Instead, he threw the ball, like a freshman is wont to do in pressure sitations, and it was tipped and intercepted. That move might not have cost us the game, but if you weren't convinced that Allen was totally out of his league already, that moment should have persuaded you.
The play call there was awful, and so was Allen's execution on the field. Regardless of the outcome at that point, it was clear in my mind then that Allen can not be asked to start against Alabama next week. Brandon Mitchell needs to be removed from the receiver corps (too bad -- he was one of the best) and prepared to start the game in the event Wilson does not recover in the next week. Allen was that bad.
Another thought I had was that this didn't hurt as much as the loss to Alabama two years ago, when we had greatness slip from our fingers. No, this was a three-hour soak in a hot bath with a razor blade, slowly watching the team bleed out. The team could do nothing right, and the opponent did everything right. Then, the injuries made the outcome predictable.
Monroe goes to Auburn next week and the odds are terrible that they will win again, since Auburn is now 0-2, playing at home and really mad. But I will be rooting for Monroe, and their quarterback.
And what becomes of the Hogs? Well, just about anything but a national championship is possible, but I think we all know that a victory against Alabama next week would be one of the greatest miracles in Razorback history. I think what that would take would be a healthy Tyler Wilson, 140 yards from Knile Davis, 45 points for the Hogs, five field goals and a defense playing completely out if its mind.
However, I am going to continue to hope and dream, to cook for my food blog, and to get excited. After all, no one -- not even that complete ass I have as a Facebook friend who delights in taunting hog fans when they are down -- could have predicted that Monroe would win this game. Are the odds of a Hog victory against Bama any greater?
Please don't answer that.
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