Ouch. Not exactly a vote of confidence in the Hog QBs. Anyway, thanks for your service, Mike; you produced some great memories. Will South Carolina be throwing a lot? I know Mississippi State will. I suspect Ole Miss will.

That's puzzling, from both ends. But good luck to the young man.

Exactly.

Yikes! Easy choice for the Tide, given the success on their receivers and the big stage on which they play -- unless he wants early and substantial playing time. Don't know enough about Alabama to know whether those things are available there. but I suspect not to the extent they are available at Arkansas.

Not gonna argue that Oats doesn't deserve COY. That's not the point. The point is that Musselman deserved some mention in this article, after taking another team to the Sweet 16 (as he did with Nevada) and doing it without two NBA-caliber players who opted to go pro, in Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones. Picked to finish no better than sixth in the league and finished second. Won 12 straight conference games and split with Alabama. Sweet 16. Muss deserved mention as much as Barnes.

Muss is amazing. I just hope we can hold on to him. Go away, Minnesota.

He's a good guy who did a lot for the Hogs. I wish him the best.

Thanks for the year, Feleipe! I doubt we could have ended that 19-game conference losing streak without you. Best of luck always.

He played us like a second-hand fiddle to get his extension, but I wish him no harm.

I think if there is a barometer of how much Arkansas has improved since back-to-back 0-8 seasons, it was Auburn. After three years of combined 137-33 losses, the Razorbacks were a bad call away from escaping a 30-28 loss to the Tigers. Pretty far removed from a 51-10 whipping a year ago.

I don't think this game is a barometer of anything, except maybe the Hogs' willingness to keep playing hard after they fall way behind. Even without Waddle, the Tide doesn't look like the same team that only beat Mizzou by 19 and Ole Miss by 15. Saban has his guys focused on what they do best and peaking at the right time. Ask Auburn and LSU. Against a thin and exposed Arkansas defense, I look for the Tide to roll up five touchdowns and a field goal by halftime. What happens after that just depends on how much Saban wants to rest (or risk) his starters.

I do know that (1) the San Jose State Arkansas loss to went 5-7 for the year, and (2) no SEC team should lose to San Jose State.

And how many were ready to help this season besides Slusher and Coates? Takes time, unless you are Alabama. Even takes time for LSU.

So, umm, by "out there" I mean ready to play in the SEC as a freshman.

And how many were ready to help this season besides Slusher and Coates? Takes time, unless you are Alabama

On second thought, it depends on results over time -- much longer time than Mizzou has played Arkansas. Is Ohio State-Michigan a rivalry game despite the Buckeyes' eight straight wins? Depends on how long you think it takes to gain, then lose, rivalry status.

No.

I am not going to forget that Pittman was working with the same players (with Franks out and Smith subbing for Boyd) that went 0-fer in the conference last year, lost to San Jose State, and got whipped like yard dogs by Western Kentucky. Except for backup freshman safety Myles Slusher and a grad transfer or two, there's not a single Pittman recruit out there. You may not agree with me that he's made the most of the talent he had, but to say we're settling for mediocrity or should be thinking of our next coach is to overlook how bad it's been for three years.

Disappointing. Guess its next man (Trelon Smith) up. No size and experience after that. Guess Boyd will still have a shot at the Senior Bowl. Hearing they've invited Jamie Newman in spite of his opt-out.

Lord, I hope you're right.

Congrats, LSU. No excuses. Finley will be a good one. Still believe we're on our way back.

Agreed 100%. I'm hearing the Hog defensive line is decimated, and that could be a source of great ugliness, too.

LSU being favored is as it should be -- given the ominous quarantine hints coming out of Fayetteville and the years of Tiger recruiting superiority. Now to pull for the upset.

I don't see anybody in this thread saying Arkansas was anything good. All the talk I see is whether Florida can stop Bama enough.

With my team having been whipped by both Mond/A&M and Trask/Florida (with a probable whipping by Jones/Alabama on the schedule), I can only say: 1. At this point, I'd rather play A&M again than Florida again; 2. The SECCG looks like a shootout that could go either way, with both teams scoring 30-plus points; and 3. If you put a gun to my head and made me bet, I'd guess Tide receivers John Metchie and Devonta Smith outdo the career night Arkansas's Mike Woods had last night, and Alabama running back Najee Harris helps play just enough keep-away to put his team over the top.

Congrats to the Gators. I know we haven't played Bama so we have no right to make comparisons. But I think the SECCG is gonna be a tremendous shootout that could go either way.

Seems like coach and players -- whoever called the fake -- would know to save the play for a game when it might make a big difference. It's not like throwing in a few wildcat plays to make future opponents spend time and effort preparing for them. A fake punt is probably only good once a season -- or two.

Since Mond sliced us up, I figure Trask will do as well. DC Barry Odom may scheme to prevent the big play (especially to receivers out of the backfield), but if Trask is patient the Gators can sustain drives. Meanwhile Franks probably hits one big one to Burks and a couple of short ones, but that's likely not enough to keep up. In the end the Hogs beat the spread but lose the game, say 42-28, but as Pittman says, the Hogs are in the "winning business," and that's (scoreboard wins, not spread victories) all that counts. It's not last year, or the year before. I don't think the Gators will overlook the Hogs.

Agree with the trash/treasure analysis. If Feleipe didn't have pro ambitions that compel him to come out this year, I think we'd welcome him back.

Unless weather conditions intervene, I expect Trask to have success similar to that Mond had against us. It'll be tough to keep up. I hope that Franks and Burks can hook up a couple of times to keep things interesting into the final quarter.