Ole Miss will run the Wild Hog/Wildcat

Lil' Dex hurdles no one

Here's a great clip of David Lee (former Hawg OC) explaining the ins and outs of the Wildcat formation and showcasing D MAC and Felix's ridiculous skills (that never get old)...



I can't say that I'm upset that Ole Miss is getting away from the (channelling homer simpson) BORRING Pro Set and experimenting with some fun new toys. Especially when you've got Michael Oher, John Jerry, and some other pro-quality beef on the OL. Dare I mention the one tiny, small problem?

No Darren McFadden.

Running the formation for the Rebs (at least in spring ball) is 5-7, 165 pound water bug, Dexter McCluster (while Marshay Green is set to play Felix Jones). Dexter may have McFadden's speed and elusiveness, but there's just this small matter of 5 inches and 50 pounds . McCluster's been returning kicks, catching passes and running trick plays for a while now, but he's also been injured much of the last two seasons. The way I see this working out for McCluster, if (big if) they keep the same personnel running the "Wild Rebel," next season is gonna go one of two ways... and probably a little combination of the both...

Brilliance:



Or Decapitation:



By the way, the above hit ended McCluster's bright true freshman season. For the sake of lil' Dex's medulla oblongata, Ole Miss does have some promising incoming freshman who should be competing for Wild Reb minutes this fall. Namely 220 pound Enrique Davis and scat-tastic Devin Thomas.

If Dexter is the man, it's more like "Wildcat Light," eh? Sounds like a piss-poor new beer in the tradition of Red Dog or Milwaukee's Best Ice.

By the way, why are the nastiest beers always bragging? Why do Bama fans always preach about class? Deep Thoughts. ("champagne of beers," my ass)


It's kinda like me taking a huge dump in a box and marking it "Erik's Best"

Is Houston Nutt Really A Better Coach Than David Cutcliffe?

VS.

What makes Nutt better than Cut? Most people would say, "Easy. Two trips to the ATL, asshole."

Well, Let's just talk about the things these coaches can control. Trips to Atlanta involve many outside factors.

In 2002 Houston's Hawgs went to Atlanta on the virtue of a 5-3 SEC season. Lucky for the Hawgs, one of their regular season beatdown losses came at the hands of a probation laden Alabama squad who was conveniently ineligible for the Championship game. Bama ended up 6-2 in the SEC that season, but Houston's Hawgs "earned" their way in as West Runner-ups. They subsequently got their asses handed to them by Georgia (27 point win), and to show the real caliber of this squad, the Hawgs then went on to get owned by Minnesota in the ever-so-prestigious Music City Bowl.

When was the last time an "SEC WEST Champion" played in the Music City Bowl?

Cutcliffe got his ass kicked in the Music City Bowl as well, but it was after a 4-4 SEC season.

In 2006 Nutt went 7-1 in the SEC, while losing to LSU at home toward the end of the season. In 2003 Cutcliffe went 7-1 in the SEC, while losing to LSU at home toward the end of the season. Scary. The only difference was another outside factor. In 2003, LSU was a better squad than they were in 2006. So, while Cutcliffe stayed home, Houston gets to travel to Atlanta for another double digit loss.

Other Factors...

SEC Record
Nutt: 43-37 (.5375 over 10 seasons)
Cut: 25-23 (.5208 over 6 seasons)

Bowl Games
Nutt: 8 bowls in 10 years
Cut: 4 bowl games in 6 years

Bowl Wins
Nutt: 2 bowl Wins (Indy, Cotton)
Cut: 3 bowl Wins (2 Indy, Cotton)

10 Win Seasons
Nutt: 1 in 10 years (2006)
Cut: 1 in 6 years (2003)

BCS Appearances
Nutt: 0 (10 years)
Cut: 0 (6 years)

All this to say, I didn't exactly argue with the Cutcliffe firing. (He wasn't building on his moderate success, mostly attributed to the genius QB play of Eli Manning)

So, honestly...what makes Houston Nutt a better coach for Ole Miss than David Cutcliffe?

[info from CollegeFootballDataWarehouse]

Ole Miss Hires A New Brand of Crazy: Houston Dale Nutt

Ole Miss after Firing Cutcliffe: "We will not accept mediocrity!"

Ole Miss after Firing Orgeron: "Yes, I'll have the mediocrity please, medium-average...Looks scrumptious, yes! With a side of Crazy...and the Refried Scandal. Thanks!"

I have to admit, I'm not exactly thrilled with this hire and I'll tell you why. I wanted a young head coach from the lower levels with fire and ambition and a great spread offense...oh and no baggage. Somebody with tons of upside. Somebody that the fans of his current school would fight hard to keep. Someone who was loved by many.

That's why I made my list. I had these visions of up-and-comers like Paul Johnson, Brian Kelly and or even taking a risk on a great young guy like Chris Hatcher.

Not some retread with outstanding lawsuits and Clintonian affairs.

Then again, Ole Miss is getting a guy who is proven to be...eh pretty good, which Ole Miss administration will take right now. The "Safe" pick to save their asses.

Is he on the up slope...or the down slope? I think that's yet to be determined. I don't want to hear any of this, "Who else you gonna get?" or "But you're Ole Miss?" This was an easy chance to reel in a "9" or a "10" but Boone and Khayat quickly settled on a "6."

1.8 Million a year can still get you a whole lotta coach, if you're smart.

Thus the same attitude that causes rival fans to say, "What was Ole Miss thinking firing Cutcliffe?" now causes them to say, "That's a good hire, Ole Miss." Yeah, it's good for you. It's non-threatening.

Yeah, he might win 7 or 8 games, but it's been proven that Nutt's not gonna win the conference or go to a BCS bowl. Hence the whole "no upside" thing.

In fact, Nutt was the longest tenured coach in the BCS conferences to never go to a BCS bowl. That's MY Coach! Would you like him to be your coach?



Just for shits and giggles, here are a few of my message board post concerning the coaching search in the last few days. You'll see how I went from utter putrid disgust at the thought of Houston Nutt to Denial, to bargaining to admittance, to acceptance...now I think I'm in recovery or something. Is this how Heroin addicts feel?


Why the hell would Boone do that? - Yesterday at 3:56pm

what a moron. does he know how stupid he'll look? Why would we hire another SEC program's garbage? DUMB DUMB DUMB. Way too much baggage and he WILL divide the fan base more than ever.

Ole Miss needs a fresh start...Ole Miss doesn't need that a-hole.

They're chasing him out of Fayetteville like nothing I've ever seen - Yesterday around 5pm

You don't think their's a reason behind that?

Half our fanbase already doesn't like him (not so with guys like RN or Kelly or PJ or Chris Hatcher)

He put his dick out there to get a 5 star QB and then completely effed it all away and lost a great offensive coordinator.

He's scandalous.

He's a joke (much like Orgeron).

He's batshit crazy.

He's never won an SEC title in ten years at a school that has no in state competition and a relatively rich recruiting base.

He's got the two best running backs to ever share a backfield and he can't beat the likes of Alabama, and Kentucky or do anything legitimate by them.

Fact is, The Arkansas fans don't care that he left... - Last Night

...that should bother the ones of you who claim to be not-so-wooly.

He went on a hot streak to end the season. LSU was susceptible. Shit, Bama almost beat 'em the week before they lost to UL-Monroe. Ed Orgeron put up 500 yards on their #1 Defense. WTF?!

Nutt is a hot name right now BECAUSE of McFadden and Jones. If he finished the season like he did last year, with three straight losses even having the great RBs (not to mention his 4-7 2005 season) Nobody would give him the time of day.

But pulling one out against LSU in the last game of his Ark career, sheeit, he upped his offers about 1 Mil a year.

It's incredible, it's foolish and it's kneejerk.

Don't even try to compare him to Orgeron. We've proven that Dinardo would win that battle handily. Yeah, Nutts not a bad football coach, but neither was David Cutcliffe.

Cut just wasn't getting us where we want to go.

There's no upside with Nutt. You guys think that Nutt, with less of a recruiting base, less big money around him, at less of a traditional power...you think that Nutt's gonna have equal or more success?

Naw, I'd much rather take a chance on a guy who didn't get run out of town. This choice is crazy, and makes Ole Miss look like little brother to effing Arkansas.

Pros and Cons - This Morning, When It was Inevitable

Pros:

-He stayed at a school for 10 years. That's gotta count for something.
-He's been to Atlanta a few times
-He owns Mississippi State
-He beats Auburn and Alabama more often than Ole Miss does
-He's charismatic?
-7 bowl games in 9 years (soon to be 8 of 10 if they let him coach it)

Cons:

-He's scandalous
-He previously coached at a divisional rival (and it's not like Ole Miss stole him a la Tuberville)
-He only had one 10 win season and that was last year
-He's never won anything more than a cotton bowl
-He's not exactly known as a great recruiter
-He's only won 2 of those 7 bowl games
-He's already got the fanbase divided
-Hog fans are not worried about seeing him go (have I said that before?)

Later, I'll atempt to convince myself that Nutt can do a better job at Ole Miss than he did at Arkanasas, and that his best years are ahead of him. Hope Houston Dale proves me wrong.

Hot Damn, Yaw yaw, giggity giggity. It could be worse...

Must See Youtubes from Week 10ish

I'm still trying to find a clip of Matt Flynn (or "Quinn" as some say) faking a knee injury give his equipment manager time to find him a new chin strap. Genius! Here's some other "action" from the weekend. Wait...LSU just got another penalty for "Actions Characteristic of a team Attempting to Prevent Bama From Being Back - Thirty Yards and Loss of Down"

Bama/LSU - Some great raw footage from The B-ham News...



What did I say about Arkansas? Them Hawgs is real son! Could Felix Jones (9.3 ypc) be better than McFadden (5.9 ypc)? The numbers seem to think so. (I know, I know hard to compare the different kinds of runners, blah blah, but still) Even so, maybe you should just check out this "Oops, I Crapped My Pants" 80 yard DMC touchdown run...




And to be fair, here's Felix Jones' equally shartastic Touchdown run...

This Just In...Houston Nutt May Be On The Hotseat

My favorite part of this photo is the obligitory collegiate mating gesture lurking in the background. Damn Crazy Kids - HT: Brian

I don't know, but I'm kinda sure I could write an entire Encyclopedia Britannica (not just one volume but the entire set) on the drama, the craptasticness and the turdulence that has been Arkansas Razorback Football over the last year.

So, instead of attempting to help or to offer a viable solution to the plight of Hawg fans, I think I'll just pile on one more semi-solid turd in this, Houston "Hot-Carl" Nutt's farewell tour to BCS Coaching...

Real Men of Genius: Houston Nutt Edition


Thanks to The Omnipotent Wizard of Odds for finding this gem

SEC Roundtable

"who's that guy?"

Thanks to David at From the Hedges we now have the beta version of "SEC Roundtable." Hopefully a semi-weekly feature. (I don't do consistancy very well) Since David brought up several extremely thought provoking questions, I though I might just take a stab at them. Hopefully I'll be just slightly more successful than Miss Teen South Carolina.


If you could have any player back from graduation last year who would it be?

Hmmm...That's a tough one for Ole Miss. Yeah, about that...I'm gonna go with the top linebacker taken in the draft, The 49ers 11th overall pick Patrick effin' Willis. #49 was not only the best player on Ole Miss' team, but he was the best defensive player in the country. Willis was a nightmare for offensive coordinators and one of the few enjoyable things about the Rebs 4-8 season. With a more veteran supporting cast in 2007, Willis' 4.38 speed and 250 pound frame would have made the Rebel defense a major force to be reckoned with. Nope, instead the Rebs got three green linebackers with about 7 career tackles between them. Sweet!


Who's the most underrated/overrated team in the SEC? Why?

Underrated - Kentucky: The Cats have the best quarterback in the nation that nobody's ever heard of in Andre' Woodson. They were also an 8 win team in '06, which is an amazing feat for Kentucky. Nobody is giving them any credit, but they will upset a big boy this season. I'm thinking Louisville or Tennessee.

Overrated - Arkansas: The Hawgs are one or two injuries away from a horrible season. With Nutt's personal life impoding like it is, everything must fall perfectly for this team to be Top 25. Yes, they won the West last season (10 wins), but they also ended the year on a three game slide, lost their OC, Quarterback and a huge amount of fan support.


Take your team's biggest rival's head coach and make a case as to why he would be a good fit on your sideline

Mississippi State - Sly Croom: I'm sorry, I can't think of anything positive to say about what he's done at State. I guess he would help Ole Miss in the race relations department, until all those rich old white men had to up and fire his ass.

LSU - Les Miles: Why would Les Miles be a good fit? Well, Les Miles brings a lot of great things to a program...unfounded arrogance, tasteless smack-talk, a potty mouth, a huge forehead and a sub-par IQ.


Other than your team who do you want to win the National Title?

Vanderbilt : Wouldn't it be great? It would shake the foundations of the space/time continuum. Everybody would start hating Vandy and Bobby Johnson would get offered crappy NFL jobs. I think the Dores would be forced to expand stadium capacity upwards of 30k.


Predictions w/ scores:

Kansas State v. Auburn - Tigers 32 - Wildcats 28
Oklahoma State v. Georgia - UGA 24 - OSU 10
Tennessee v. California - Vols 36 - Homos 20

Nutt, Orgeron on The Hot Seat

So Says Some Scrote with an Excel Spreadsheet

According to the guy/girl over at CoachingHotSeat.com, Houston Nutt is #1 while Ed Orgeron is sitting at #5 on this hottest of the hot seat list.

Yeah...I'm callin' bullshit.



Any hot seat list that doesn't begin and end with Sylvester Slytanic Crooms is an Abomination. An Embarrassment. A Farce. (He's #13???) If you need a reason, just talk to any...literally any MSU fan for 5 minutes (If you can find one).

The aforementioned website predicts a 5-7 record for the Hawgs. Really? Darren McFadden's left testicle is good for at least 5 wins. When you throw in Felix Jones and the rest of the team, anything is possible.

After predicting another 4 win season for The Orgeron, he/she goes on to say,

"Memo to Pete Boone (OM AD): David Cutcliffe is a terrific football coach"

Really? really?!? Wow. That's odd. How many Head Coaching interviews/offers/opportunities has Cutcliffe been mulling over since he got canned? Most "terrific football coach" types at least get one look. Maybe "terrific quarterbacks coach" was what you were reaching for.

Then Nostradamus lays this knowledge on us:

"THE BOTTOM LINE

Ed Orgeron will be looking for a new job in December 2007."

How bout "No," Scott. As funny as you think the Coach O song is and as unintelligible as The Orgeron seems to be, there are a lot of folks sold on the talent he's bring in (read: Jevan Snead: QB, 2008) Orgeron's not going anywhere soon.

I wouldn't touch him. Seriously...He'll effin kill you.

SEC Reality Shows

Have you ever thought that your school and/or football program needed a reality show? Of course you have. Otherwise, you wouldn't be at work checking a college football blog in July. So, assuming the consent of the football program (a slight assumption), these are the shows I would pitch to the networks, and I would make billions.

SEC West:



Alabama - Bama's Back? - The Rise of Sabanism

Lets start off with an easy one. How could this not be a #1 hit that makes American Idol look like watching C-SPAN at your grandmother's quilting convention in Jasper.

What would the over/under be on the number of the fan's, media and administration's children that Saban would eat per episode? And you thought Rush Probst was an egomaniacal asshat. After reading Saban's Itinerary, I'd be watching this 24/7 a la The Truman Show.

Plus, seeing Saban's cranium explode after his first loss to Houston on homecoming would take me to a very happy place. It would appear on Fox, but with Saban's filthy mouth, it would be much better suited for Showtime.


Auburn - How Big is Your Love?

Kenny Irons stars in a Bachelor-esque reality show where they pit 7 "average" ladies against 7 small midget dwarfs for all of Kenny's love and affection. The city of Auburn would host the spectacle and there would be plenty of mud wrastlin', 7 on 7 football and dates to whatever bar currently occupies the locale formally known as "The Blue Room." Obviously, this would appeal to the VH1 crowd that somehow embraces Flavor of Love.


Arkansas - Hawgasm

This Telenovela would make everybody in the Natural State forget about The Simple Life (the edsbs archives). The storylines are breathtaking. Character's include Beck Campbell and her Springdale Posse, Diane Nutt, Donna Bragg, Frank Broyles, Gus Malzahn, Darren McFadden, Dick Nut Johnson and that dips**t with the Arkansas fan poll... Why? Cause Arkansas fans are as crazy as Bama fans without all that old timey "Tradition" in the spank bank. In essence, this would be the only show in town, and what a magnificent multi layered show it would be.

Hawgasm would play out like a true life Pulp Fiction, with all the characters doin' they own thing until they come together in the end at Manhattan's Downtown Athletic Club for the Heisman Presentation...But when the curtain flies back...It's Coach Nutt, Beck Campbell and Lee Corso in how do I say...An unorthodox formation...playing a lively game of naked tag! And in the closest Heisman vote ever, the Award goes to Brian Brohm. WTF?! America's not ready for this brand of reality yet. This would certainly be a Telemundo exclusive.


LSU - Everybody Hates Les

Could this guy be anymore of a dickass turdface? All I know is he's a public relations nightmare, and he would make great TV. (Not that LSU fans care about any of that s**t - They'll piss all over you) Lester's assault on Hayley LaFontaine was truly something to behold. Yes, this walking, mouth-breathing bobble-head has all the cockiness of Saban and all the smarts of Gump. A lethal combination...unless you're looking for ratings. Which we are.


Mississippi State - The Slytanic

How to lose a Black SEC Head Football Coach in 60 Days. Lets face it. Things aren't exactly hunky dory in Starkganistan. This is Sly's 4th season in at MSU and the Bulldogs haven't tasted Bowl since Y2K when hell froze over (literally) in Shreveport. In fact, they haven't even won more than three games in a season! More importantly, there are Zero signs of improvement on the horizon (read: recruiting) Everybody wants Crooms to succeed real bad (at least they used ta), but this isn't The Post Office, and he's gonna have to show us something on the bottom line to even sniff year 5.

Basically, the show would revolve around how the administration is going to try and save face in this inevitable s**t storm of a firing. Sharpton, say what?


Ole Miss - The Courting of Jerrell Powe

Will this story ever effing die? This might make for a better novel than reality TV show. Jerrell Powe, the most sought after high school player that the state of Mississippi has produced since Marcus Dupree is trying for the old "third time's the charm" bulls**t. Jerrell has been denied college by the NCAA twice and now the Ole Miss administration is getting sick of all these shenanigans. Even his Momma, the one who's supposed to be forever in his corner, was callin' bulls**t on Jerrell. She was quoted as saying something along the lines of "That Mother F**ker Can't Read, Y'all!"

Needless to say, it was an ugly scene and made all the papers. Illiteracy issues aside, this show is a producer's wet dream. Plus, anything that involves The Orgeron is good for you and good for TV. If you ever thought that The Program needed a Reality based sequel, this show is for you.


Orgeron is money in the bank

This Just In...

Arkansas Fans be Crazy as Hell

You know what's crazier than an Arkansas fan? A Hog fan that lives in Alabama.

Roger Wooley of Tafford, Alabama wants your money. He wants your money to support his Razorback Fan Poll. What does Ole Rog offer in return? The Truth! The Damn Truth! The truth about what the state of Arkansas thinks about it's head honcho, Coach Houston Nutt...

We have contracted with an established, respected professional (wow - all three?) polling firm in Arkansas, to take an opinion poll of Razorback fans. Primarily about the state of the football program, plus a couple other topics (fragment). There are 2 topics that we primarily would like to see researched:

(1) The assertion that only a small portion of fans, such as 5%, are dissatisfied with Coach Nutt.

(2) The assertion that a "small, vocal, organized minority" is behind all the discontent; and that this minority is concentrated in NWA.

These questions will be answered both by the poll results, and hopefully by the number & geographic distribution of those who contribute to the fund raising (sold!).

We are shooting for 150 fans in each of the 4 Congressional districts. This will avoid skewing the data by a heavy concentration of responses from places like Little Rock or Springdale (commie bastards!).

Genius, Roger!

See, Roger and his constituency are concerned...concerned that the public opinion of Nutt may be "different" than what the vocal minority of "Houston-Haters" would have you believe. Gasp!

Here's a few examples of this groundbreaking poll questions, just to wet your appetite (and open your pocketbook):

Qualifier:Are you an employee of the University of Arkansas? If no, proceed.

1. How often do you watch, listen to, or attend Razorback Football games?

a. Every possible occasion b.Occasionally c.Rarely.

2. What is your primary source of Razorback football information?

a. TV b.radio c.newspaper d.internet e. family and friends f.all

3. What is your secondary source of information?

4. How many people do you speak with about Razorback sports on a regular basis?

5. When speaking before a group in Texas earlier this year, Frank Broyles said that the Arkansas football team has the potential to be the 7th best football program in the SEC. Do you agree with that statement, or do you think the program can do better?

a. agree b. the program can do better

Don't sit on the sidelines and let misinformation about Arkansas Football go unpunished. You too can support this important effort to bring some truthiness to The Natural State!

Just send your paychecks to:

Roger Wooley
345 Doe Trail
Trafford, AL 35172

Seriously. Roger doesn't trust free, online polling, and stamp prices just went up again, asshole. Oh yeah, don't worry. He'll give any excess funds to Charity*.


Hilariously unrelated, crazed Hawg fan


Hat Tip: Bob/River
Roger's Site: Razorbackfanpoll.com
More Info: TheHogBlogger

* Charity is employed by Wesley's Boobie Trap in Dora, Alabama