1.  The main mission for Arkansas’ defense tomorrow?  Tackle Anthony Dixon.

2.  According to this notes column, several Hogs are using the word “revenge” this week because MSU beat UA last year to knock them out of a bowl trip.

3.  The revenge talk isn’t coming from Bobby Petrino.

4.  This writer doesn’t believe State has the firepower to hang with Arkansas.

5.  John Pelphrey says he remembers how Appalachian State (tonight’s opponent) upset his first Razorbacks squad.

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1.  Defensive coordinator Willy Robinson’s recent health scare was an eye-opener for other members of the UA staff.

2.  Coaching demands (poor diet, late nights) simply caught up with Robinson.

3.  Special teams ace and backup linebacker Jamie Jones will be returning to his home state as an MSU Bulldog this weekend.

4.  Tailback Broderick Green will probably see more carries down the stretch.

5.  Bobby Knight (yes, I still use “Bobby” instead of “Bob”) made some interesting critiques of Arkansas’ team during Tuesday’s ESPN broadcast.

6.  This writer tosses out some potential nicknames for Rotnei Clark in his basketball notes column.

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* Last week Arkansas showed more balance on offense.

* Willy Robinson “is doing good.  He’s got his energy back.”

* MSU gives a lot of different looks in their secondary, on their fronts and in their blitzes.

* Malcolm Sheppard has learned more about offenses this year and that’s helped him as a defensive tackle.  Petrino said he also decided to flip Sheppard from one side of the D-line to the other — unlike Houston Nutt’s staff — and the fact that Sheppard only has vision in one eye has not had an impact at all.

*  Asked about Robinson’s health issue last week, Petrino said “It was really scary.  Ambulance was there.  Willy was laying there not looking really good.”   Robinson hadn’t been taking his medication regularly, he was drinking too much coffee and he wasn’t getting enough rest… which led to the infection.

* Ryan Mallett has learned to calm down and not play with too much emotion.  “He’s really improved on playing one play at a time.”  When he sets his feet properly, he can be as accurate as anyone.

* Petrino wouldn’t talk about the fact that Paul Petrino said Mallett should return for another year of college ball.  “We’re focused on Mississippi State.”

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1.  Bobby Petrino isn’t finished building up Arkansas’ offense.

2.  For UA running backs the key word is “patience.”

3.  Paul Petrino says Ryan Mallett needs another year of college football.

4.  This notes column features some injury updates for the Hogs.

5.  In basketball news, Louisville bombed Arkansas 96-66 in St. Louis last night.

6.  Rick Pitino had his players were ready for Rotnei Clarke.

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1.  Defensive coordinator Willy Robinson is back at work after spending part of the weekend in the hospital with what was described as an “infection.”

2.  Robinson did not coach against Troy on Saturday, but he should be back on the sideline this weekend.

3.  Robinson’s illness has been a wake-up call for the rest of the Hogs’ staff to start eating properly.

4.  Several former Arkansas quarterbacks wish they had played in Bobby Petrino’s system.

5.  In basketball news, John Pelphrey will be facing his mentor when Arkansas plays Louisville tonight.

6.  Pelphrey has joked that Rick Pitino will have a couple of guys looking to guard Rotnei Clarke when he steps off the plane in St. Louis or tonight’s game.

7.  Pelphrey’s experience on Pitino’s undermanned first Kentucky team could serve him well this year while dealing with his own short bench.

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1.  Ryan Mallett had one of the best games in Arkansas history Saturday night… to go along with the best season for a quarterback in the Razorback recordbook.

2.  The Hogs achieved bowl eligibility on Saturday, but Bobby Petrino is trying to focus his team on this week’s game with Mississippi State.

3.  Depending on their final two games, Arkansas could be heading to Memphis, Shreveport or Dallas.

4.  Arkansas’ coaches continue to push athletic director Jeff Long for more/bigger/better facilities.

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Ryan Mallett broke Arkansas’ single•season passing record in the Razorbacks’ 56•20 win…
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson prepared the Razorbacks for plenty of high-powered offenses this season.

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Just a quick link to a blog by Chris Bahn of ArkansasSports360.com.

In it, Mr. Bahn points out all of the negative attention three SEC schools are drawing right now:



Arkansas — The basketball program’s decision to suspend FIVE players has led to coverage on the Huffingtonpost.com and Deadspin.com.  And the coverage isn’t good.

Ole Miss — The Ku Klux Klan will hold a rally in Oxford because UM’s chancellor has dumped the song “From Dixie with Love.”  Also, one of the school’s “student leaders” was caught on a cell phone camera using the crown mother of racial slurs.

Tennessee — UT graduate Clay Travis takes the program to task for the armed robbery charges brought against three Vol freshmen yesterday.



How might recruiting be affected at these three schools?

John Pelphrey might have helped his recruiting by showing he wants to do things the right way.  Of course, he might also need to start chasing some kids who won’t get into trouble in the first place.

If I were a black athlete there’s no way I would go to a place like Ole Miss where the 1960s are apparently still alive and well.  Klan rallies?  A student leader using the N-word?  There’s racism everywhere, but no other schools are fighting such public battles over this small-minded crap.

When Lane Kiffin finally decides what punishments to hand out, parents from across America will be paying close attention to see what kind of program he’s running.  He’s run off some kids for their attitudes, what happens now that his signees have been charged with a felony?

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1.  According to this notes column, cornerback Ramon Broadway will be ready to play Saturday.  (Also, Bobby Petrino isn’t happy with Arkansas’ uneven practice fields.)

2.  Petrino wants to the Razorbacks to keep their home winning streak alive against Troy.  For the record, that home winning streak is now just three games long.

3.  Ryan Mallett loves the beach and hates parking on UA’s campus.  If you care, click here.

4.  Finally, we had to go all the way to SI.com to find a free mention of Arkansas’ basketball opener against Alcorn State.  The Razorbacks will have just eight players at the ready due to ongoing suspensions and turmoil.

Between mergers and BS subscription sites, there’s just not much free coverage of Arkansas sports.  Pathetic.

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1.  Ryan Mallett may be on the verge of posting the best passing numbers in Arkansas history, but he is more concerned with wins than stats.

2.  Bobby Petrino is still drawing praise for using practice effort as tool to decide who plays on Saturdays.

3.  Jerrell Norton needed his game-changing interception against South Carolina as much as his team did.

4.  Defensive tackle Malcolm Sheppard won’t be too emotional on Senior Night Saturday.

5.  In basketball news, here are five questions (and answers) about the Razorbacks’ 2009-2010 season.

6.  In suspending five players all at once, John Pelphrey has shown a willingness to do the right thing… even at the expense of his record. 

7.  It also shows the Pelphrey is trying to get a handle on his basketball program.

8.  Arkansas signed two players yesterday and is waiting for a third player to sign later this week.

9.  Finally, Mallett says Brandon Mitchell couldn’t hold him on a basketball court.

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Notes from Bobby Petrino’s teleconference:

* “We probably played our best overall game of the year” against South Carolina.

* Troy is a good, fast team on film.

* Petrino is very happy with freshman quarterback Brandon Mitchell.  “He can make plays with his legs,” not just his arm.  “Spring ball will really tell if he’s in the mix or how long it’s going to take for him to develop.”

* Petrino was a little surprised that Mitchell immediately contributed to Arkansas’ basketball team in their first exhibition game (8 points).  “It’ll be fun when football’s over to get down and watch him play.”

* You know the drill — two-sport athletes.  “I think it’s great. … It’s good for the university and both of the teams.”

* Very few questions for Petrino today.

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1.  Arkansas has been a much better home team than road team this year… especially on offense.  (Could it be that all of their tough games came on the road?)

2.  Everyone’s passing the buck when it comes to who started the “Larry Blakeney promised a Troy win over Arkansas” story.

3.  In basketball news, Courtney Fortson’s mother is “pretty upset” and would not comment on the “personal issues” that her son is trying to handle while he’s on indefinite suspension.

4.  This writer believes John Pelphrey showed passion and confidence in laying out UA’s mass suspensions.

5.  Finally, Arkansas is dropping Adidas in favor of Nike.

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John Pelphrey and the Arkansas basketball program have announced a number of suspensions this afternoon… including one big surprise.

Marcus Britt was suspended for six games for his role in an alleged frat house rape and an offseason DUI arrest.

Glenn  Bryant was suspended for two games for his role in the frat house incident.

Nick Mason will not be permitted to dress out for games during the fall semester.

Stefan Welsh was suspended indefinitely.

But here’s the biggie — point guard Courtney Fortson has been suspended indefinitely, too.

Pelphrey didn’t go into specifics, but Fortson was expected to be suspended for his Twitter remarks that appeared to tie into the frat incident. 

“One thing I would say is with regards to Courtney, his is a little bit different.  He has come to me.  He has a couple personal issues he wants to try to handle and we’re going to try to do that with him.  And we’re going to support him and try to get him better.  His says indefinite suspension, this is not something we’re going to resolve over a weekend or whatever.”

Read into that what you will.  If you’re thinking “addiction” of some sort, so am I.  Could be wrong of course.

If you’re wondering that kind of roster Pelphrey will  have at season’s start… try eight players, six on scholarship.

Yeesh.

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1.  According to this notes column, Bobby Petrino doesn’t care if Troy’s Larry Blakeney claims he was misquoted over the summer when it was written that his team would beat Arkansas this year.  The Hogs’ coach quipped, “He was misquoted?  We’re going to use it anyway.  How’s that sound?”

2.  Ryan Mallett looked Saturday like the high-percentage passer Bobby Petrino has been hoping to see.

3.  One reason for the improvement was Mallett’s decision to go underneath to tight end DJ Williams more often.

4.  Williams was more concerned after the game with the plays he missed than the plays he made.

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1.  Ryan Mallett’s scintillating performance on Saturday earned him SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

2.  Arkansas’ 33-16 win over Carolina looked good, but it wasn’t perfect.

3.  This report card gives the Razorbacks some perfect grades, nonetheless.

4.  And Harry King of The Arkansas News thought Mallett’s game was nearly perfect.

5.  The Hogs’ comeback win was keyed by three comeback players.

6.  Arkansas finally started coming through on third downs.

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FAYETTEVILLE — The Weather Channel doesn’t have a more accurate Arkansas barometer than the Arkansas-South Carolina game.

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1.  This writer still thinks the Razorbacks are heading toward a 7-5 finish.

2.  Brandon Marcello of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette thinks the Hogs will outgun South Carolina 28-24.  (With all the mergers and name-changes in Arkansas, I can’t keep up with who writes for who… so take this as a guess.)

3.  Bobby Petrino says Michael Smith is expected to play tomorrow, but the status of cornerbacks Ramon Broadway and Andru Stewart is much cloudier.

4.  In basketball news, good communication was the key to Arkansas’ 102-69 win over LeMoyne-Owen last night.

5.  Here’s a quickie breakdown of the game.

6.  There might be reason to be concerned about the Hogs’ defensive effort, but there are also reasons for optimism.

7.  Athletic director Jeff Long still needs approval of funds before he can begin working on new facilities for the Razorbacks.

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1.  Arkansas coaches are going to allow Brandon Mitchell to play basketball for John Pelphrey, but they also called him a “quarterback for the future.”

2.  The Petrino brothers both have high praise for Steve Spurrier and his offensive mind.

3.  According to this notes column, Razorback players apparently learned last week just how serious Bobby Petrino is about starting the guys who work the hardest in practice.

4.  The effort-based grading system also looks like it’s in place to stay.

5.  This writer believes that empty seats at last week’s game send a clear message: the South Carolina game “is a must-win game” for Petrino.  (He also writes that it’s inevitable that defensive coordinator Willy Robinson will be fired at year’s end.)

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Notes from Bobby Petrino’s teleconference:

* Arkansas is “as healthy as we’ve been all year long.”  Michael Smith will be back on Saturday.

* The Razorbacks need to move the ball well on early downs to stay out of third-and-longs.

* Last week, Petrino graded every down of practice and then started the guys who graded out the best… which resulted in eight new starters.  He says he’s continuing that approach this week.

* Asked about Brandon Mitchell playing basketball, Petrino said he’s done a good job during his redshirt year so “in the best interest of Brandon,” he’s allowing him to try to help the basketball team.

* Petrino wouldn’t comment on the league’s threat of suspensions and fines.

* Petrino avoided talking about Alabama’s defense by saying that Bama shut his team down so he must not have much to offer.

* Stephen Garcia can drop back and throw the ball well.  “Garcia can run the ball… make plays with his legs.” 

* Eric Norwood is used in a lot of different ways and they’ll have to get help to their tackles when he’s used at defensive end.

* Petrino does talk about “personal bests” because he believes if guys are out setting their own personal records, it will obviously benefit the team.

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1.  Bobby Petrino said back-to-back losses led him to use several new starters last Saturday.  “Sometimes when you don’t do well, you come back and say, ‘If I’m going to get beat, I’m going to get beat with 22 guys who want to practice hard every play.’”

2.  Running back Broderick Green says he got too to a slow start this season because he was “thinking too much.”

3.  Tailback Michael Smith believes he’s just about ready to leave the training room behind and get back in action.

4.  Freshman quarterback Brandon Mitchell will be joining the Hogs’ basketball squad when the football season ends, but John Pelphrey said he would be joining the team full-time on Thursday.  Hmmm.

5.  In other basketball news, Arkansas used just nine players in their exhibition opener on Monday night.

6.  The suspensions of a number of Razorbacks will finally be made public next week.

7.  Arkansas’ athletic department is soliciting proposals on a number of facilities upgrades.

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1.  This notes column covers everything from Michael Smith’s health to the eight new starters who took the field against Eastern Michigan last week.

2.  Regarding the new faces, Ryan Mallett said, “The point was made to not be satisfied.  Just because you’re starting this week doesn’t mean you will next week.”

3.  The Hogs could have their two cornerbacks back for this weekend’s game with South Carolina.

4.  In basketball news, Arkansas topped Dillard 77-59 last night.

5.  While Kentucky drew 21,000 for their exhibition opener, the Razorbacks lured fewer than 2,500 people to Bud Walton Arena.

6.  The Hogs had sever people missing from last night’s exhibition and here’s a rundown of why some of them weren’t playing.

7.  The fact that UA will have to shuffle its lineup from game to game could mean that it takes longer for the team to develop an identity.

8.  The off-field issues aren’t yet over for John Pelphrey’s team as a special prosecutor has been assigned to look into a woman’s claims that she was raped by several members of the UA basketball team.

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1.  Ryan Mallett improved his accuracy in a 63-27 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday.  But it’s just a little easier to throw against EMU than any SEC defense, isn’t it?

2.  The Hogs offense got an A for their effort against the Eagles, but the defense got a C-. 

3.  Arkansas’ bowl hopes can be greatly helped with a win over South Carolina this week.

4.  In basketball news, the Razorbacks take on Dillard tonight in their exhibition opener.  Who the hell is Dillard?

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1.  Freshman cornerback David Gordon is expected to make his first start tomorrow.

2.  Cornerback Andru Stewart will not play due to academic issues.

3.  Bobby Petrino expects receiver Joe Adams — back from a “mild stroke” — to play against Eastern Michigan.

4.  UA fans might have to settle for a 6-6 season as sign of improvement in the Razorbacks’ program.

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1.  Apparently a satirical article in the University of Arkansas student newspaper left some people wondering if Eastern Michigan had decided not to travel to Fayetteville this weekend.

2.  Harry King of The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas believes it’s okay for Hog fans to turn their attention away from EMU and toward… horse racing.  (That’s known as tempting the football gods.)

3.  Receiver Carlton Salters is seeing more action for the Razorbacks.

4.  Just weeks after suffering a small stroke, receiver Joe Adams has been cleared to fully participate in practice.  Again I ask: Where are all the folks who were calling for Tim Tebow to be held out for a month because of his concussion?

5.  Starting cornerback Andru Stewart has been barred from practice this week due to academic issues.

6.  Eastern Michigan athletic director Derrick Gragg will be returning to Fayetteville Saturday… where he worked in the UA athletic department from 2000 to 2006.  (He also has a name that sounds like a sci-fi monster.  “Release the Gragg!”)

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