Inside This Week's Opponent: Arkansas RazorbacksInside This Week's Opponent: Arkansas Razorbacks

Inside This Week's Opponent: Arkansas Razorbacks

Inside This Week’s Opponent: Arkansas Razorbacks

On Tap for the Tigers:
November 23, 2001
1:30 p.m (CDT)
Tiger Stadium ? Baton Rouge, LA
Televised on CBS

Arkansas Razorbacks

Head Coach: Houston Nutt (Oklahoma State ?81)
Record at Arkansas: 30-16 (4th year)
2001 Record: 7-3
SEC Record: 4-3
Home Stadium: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium (72,000)

Starters Returning: 20
(7 Offense, 8 Defense, 5 Specialists)

Starters Lost: 8
(4 Offense, 3 Defense, 1 Specialists)

Returning Offensive Starters:
Robby Hampton (QB, 6-2, 220, Jr.)
Josh Melton (C, 6-5, 288, Jr.)
Shannon Money (OT, 6-4, 305, Sr.)
Marcellus Poydras (TE, 6-5, 256, Jr.)
Kenny Sandlin (OG, 6-3, 313, Sr.)
Fred Talley (TB, 5-9, 180, Jr.)
La?Zerius White (OG, 6-4, 318, Sr.)

Returning Defensive Starters:
Tony Bua (LB, 5-11, 207, So.)
Curt Davis (NG, 6-3, 277, Sr.)
Carlos Hall (DE, 6-4, 261, Sr.)
Ken Hamlin (FS, 6-2, 197, So.)
Corey G. Harris (SS, 5-10, 197, Sr.)
Eddie Jackson (CB, 6-0, 186, So.)
Sacha Lancaster (FB, 6-4, 253, Sr.)

Razorbacks in the NFL:

Name

Position

Team

David Barrett

DB

Cardinals

Melvin Bradley

LB

Cardinals

Quniton Carver

LB

Eagles

Chrys Chukwuma

RB

Titans

Joe Dean Davenport

TE

Colts

Brandon Davis

DB

Browns

Henry Ford

DT

Titans

Randy Garner

DE

Falcons

Ryan Hale

DT

Giants

Madre Hill

RB

Browns

Ray Lee Johnson

DE

Chargers

J.J. Jones

LB

Cowboys

Kenoy Kennedy

S

Broncos

Carl Kidd

DB

Vikings

Anthony Lucas

WR

Packers

Emanuel Smith

WR

Jaguars

Michael Snowden

WR

Titans

Clint Stoerner

QB

Cowboys

Bobby Williams

OT

Eagles

Boo Williams

WR

Saints

2000 Record: 6-6
2000 SEC Record: 3-5 (T-5th West)
2000 Final Ranking: Not Ranked
2000 Bowl Appearance: Las Vegas Bowl, Lost to UNLV, 31-14

The Series
Series Record: LSU leads 28-16-2
At LSU:
LSU leads 5-1-1
At Shreveport:
LSU leads 16-9
At Fayetteville:
UA leads 1-0
At Little Rock:
LSU leads 6-4
Neutral Sites:
Tied 1-1-1

About the Game:

Houston Nutt:
“All I can think about is Reed and Clayton. I think they are outstanding. They are big-time receivers and they have a quarterback in Rohan Davey who does a good job of getting them the ball.”

“They have a solid running game to compliment their passing attack. Toefield and Devery Henderson and Domanick Davis have done an outstanding job this season. They are all athletic and have great speed.”

Nick Saban:
“Arkansas is playing as well as any team in the SEC right now in terms of the wins that they have and how they are playing as a team. This is a team that competes well together, they play hard and they don’t really have anything fancy about them.”

“This is a team that has been very opportunistic in taking an advantage every time that they have had a chance to, and we’re going to have to play a pretty, pretty good game, especially from a competitive, toughness, and playing-hard standpoint to match the way that they (Arkansas) play. There is nothing fancy about them. They are old-fashioned in a good way, in terms of how they compete and play in the game.”

Players to watch:

*stats from last game vs. Mississippi State

Rushing

No.

Name

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Class

Attempts

Yards

Matt Jones

QB

6-5

215

Fr.

10

131

Passing

No.

Name

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Class

Comp-Att-Int

Yards

17

Zak Clark

QB

6-2

198

So.

7-12-0

59

Receiving

No.

Name

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Class

Catches

Yards

88

George Wilson

WR

6-1

202

Fr.

2

17

At a Glance:

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas? Fayetteville campus serves as the major center of liberal and professional education and as the primary land-grant campus in the state. In addition, it is Arkansas? major source of theoretical and applied research and the provider of a wide range of public services to people throughout the state and nation. In serving its three-fold mission of teaching, research, and public service, the University strives to be recognized for excellence and continues to expand and strengthen its nationally and regionally competitive programs while maintaining a high level of competence in all programs.

The Mascot

The wild razorback hogs that roamed the Arkansas countryside in the early 1900?s bore only a slight resemblance to the typical farm-grown pigs commonly found at a county fair. The untamed razorback hogs were lean, ill-tempered beasts that commonly fought, and defeated, whatever crossed their path.

Hugo Bezdek, the first Arkansas coach hired by the school and not the students, apparently was familiar with these animals, for Bezdek is credited with sparking the change of Arkansas? mascot from the Cardinals to the Razorbacks.

The 1909 season, Bezdek?s second as head coach, was significant because Arkansas went 7-0 against a schedule that included other major colleges. In fact, Arkansas outscored its opponents 186-18. The tough and gritty play of the squad inspired Bezdek.

After beating Oklahoma 21-6, the team traveled to Memphis for a regional showdown with LSU. A win would give Arkansas a 5-0 record and all but assure an undefeated season. So when Arkansas blitzed the Tigers 16-0, a crowd of students and other fans gathered at the train station to welcome the team home. Bezdek delivered an impromptu speech, telling the crowd that the team had played “like a wild band of razorback hogs” in the victory over LSU.

The Golden Boot

Although the stakes were raised when the two become conference foes in 1992, the football rivalry between Arkansas and LSU dates to 1901 and is one of the oldest in the record books of both programs.

With 46 games played in six different cities and in four different states, the series includes a variety of interesting twists ? and several upsets. An underdog Arkansas squad, for instance, upset the Tigers with a scoreless tie in the 1947 Cotton Bowl. And LSU upset the Hogs 14-7, in the 1966 Cotton Bowl to end Arkansas? 22-game winning streak.

So when Arkansas joined the SEC, it made sense to make the border war the regular-season finale for both teams. And soon it became apparent that a trophy should be created for the winner.

The Golden Boot debuted in 1996. Molded from 24-karat gold in the shape of the states of Louisiana and Arkansas, the trophy stands four feet in height, weighs nearly 200 pounds and is valued at $10,000. After a win in the series, the various team keeps the trophy until the next year?s meeting.

Information courtesy of : www.hogwired.com, 2001 Arkansas football media Guide, 2001 LSU media guide, lsusports.net, nicksaban.net