Friday, October 5, 2007

Arkansas - UT Chattanooga Preview



Arkansas (2-2, 0-2 SEC) vs. University of Tennessess-Chattanooga (1-3)




It’s the first of two games this year for the Hogs at the Rock.


(Can you smell what the Hogs will be cooking?)



Little Rock has been kind to Houston Nutt over the years as Houston owns a 20-2 record in all his games there (only losing to LSU twice). I call it the Bill Clinton factor, and it's that factor that dooms most opponents at War Memorial Stadium. But, boy will it be tough to continue that dominance this weekend against Tennessee… oh, Tennessee-Chattanooga… never mind about that “tough” part. The Noogies were spanked by the Citadel Bulldogs (located in Charleston, SC, for those of you wondering). Literally, I think some of the Citadel soldiers spanked some of the UT-Chattanooga players during the game they won 41-16.



(Look, here is a photo of The Citadel athletes spanking their opponents... why are the guys getting spanked smiling?)






The Citadel racked up 468 yards in total offense. Before you pooh pooh on the Citadel’s football team, they are 3-1 with their one loss being at Wisconsin 45-31 in which The Citadel laid down 377 yards in total offense against the most over-rated team in the nation currently – Wisconsin.

But, we are talking about the Mocs of Tennessee-Chattanooga here. The Mocs are 1-3 with their lone win coming against some team called Georgia Southern (I will do a little investigating to determine if that is a legit school or not).

Coach Rodney Allison is in his fourth year as head coach of the I-AA Mocs and here is an excerpt from his media interview about Arkansas this week:

Can you believe that someone was stupid enough to ask this question and that he even attempted to answer this question?:

Q: What do you think has to occur for Chattanooga to be able to play with Arkansas?










A:
We have to be able to get off to a good start. We have to slow them down some. They are one of the better running teams in the country. We have to play this game in three- or four-minute cycles. We have to stay on top of it, and if we don’t, it can get out of hand. We have to focus on one possession, the next possession and try to take it in three or four minute increments and see if we can get it to halftime and a very competitive situation. That deal with Appalachian State (beating Michigan) gives us all a little glimmer of hope. Is it likely to happen? The percentages are not in our favor. But you never know.


The Blog comments: Damn right the percentages are not in your favor.
Hello, Vegas?
What kind of “percentages” do the UT-Chattanooga Mocs have this Saturday?
Uh-huh, yes, ok. Repeat that, did you say George Bush has a better chance at serving a third term as President then the Mocs have on Saturday?
That’s what I thought you said. Thank you.
And don’t go comparing yourselves to Appalachian State, because they are actually a decent team and don’t go comparing us to Michigan because Michigan blows as does the whole Big 10. I mean, look at Illinois. Florida ran the Zookster out of there and now in an easier conference with lesser players, he has his team atop the Big 10. What a joke.


Q: Is it just the two backs that make Arkansas’ running game so good?
A:
They are really good up front. They have a really good offensive line. They are 300-plus pounds across the line and are a true SEC offensive line. Whereas on defense, size-wise, they are more comparable to the people we play, but they are very athletic. They have one 300 pound defensive tackle. Defensively, they are more in line with what we play, while offensively, their backs and wideouts are all SEC-looking type people.


The Blog comments: Excuse me… “their backs and wideouts are all SEC-looking type people.” Uh, coach, maybe you want to explain to me what SEC-looking type people is? Are you referring to the fact that they are all of our backs and wideouts are much bigger, stronger, faster, and prettier than your boys, or are you saying that SEC-looking type people have a specific look that only you can identify? Is this a discriminatory statement? Is he telling me that in a lineup of 100 football players he can identify all of the SEC players because he knows what they look like?

And finally…
Q: What are your thoughts on Arkansas running back Darren McFadden?
A:
I remember seeing Earl Campbell in person. That was long before some of you were born. I’ve seen some great backs, being in the SEC and the ACC, and having actually coached Steven Davis (Auburn). He’s right up there in the top three or four that I’ve seen…


The Blog comments: Hey coach, it’s called “reality” – you should check into it sometime. Earl Campbell? Steven Davis? Top three or four? Felix Jones may be in the top three or four you’ve ever seen, but D-Mac is in his own class, on his own planet, in his own galaxy. It would kind of like me saying well Michael Jordan was pretty good. I rate him right up there with Steve Kerr and John Paxson and Peja Stoyakovich in terms of the best three or four I’ve ever seen.

It’s this kind of utter non-sense that has the Mocs 1-3 and fixin’ (there’s a good southern word) to be 1-4.
Their best running back is #28, Erroll Wynn. There’s a good chance that he will be the middle of a lot of pork sandwiches Saturday night. You can’t let a running back named Erroll run all over you, right?

Worth mentioning: Felix the Cat is leading the nation in yards per carry averaging 10.4 yards per carry. Are you friggin' kidding me?

Prediction: D-Mac will show Coach Allison and his Mocs what a supernatural athlete looks like - 500+ yards if he so chooses. Weston Dacus may be facing harassment charges after stalking the quarterback all night, and the Hogs will be wearing the Mocs on the bottom of their feet by the end of the game… Arkansas 94 UT-Chattanooga 0.

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