Mixed Nutts

Another Saturday night, another head-scratching loss for the Hogs. Once again, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Some say the team never recovered from the fumble return for a TD right before the half, but the Hogs led by 8 after the Felix Jones kickoff return and the Tejada PAT and appeared to have recaptured momentum.

The bonehead penalty in the kicking game giving UK a 2nd chance was critical. Many will point to #41, Ryan Powers, but he was knocked into the kicker by Michael Grant. Of course, Powers did have several busts on the night, looking more like Austin Powers than an SEC linebacker at times.

Bob Davey pointed out from the booth that most teams don't rush from both ends on the FG defense team for just that reason. UA isn't most teams, playing "Nutt-ball", a strange brand of football in which you seldom throw over the middle of the field, preferring 2-5 yard flare passes to the backs.

In Nutt-ball the defense plays bump and run man to man defense, or tries to, no matter whether the DB's are capable of staying with the opposing WR's or not. Usually not. After taking a 20-7 lead late in the first half, the Razorbacks got outscored 35-9.

Since the thumping of Tennessee last Nov. 11, the Hogs are 2-5 with the wins coming against Mississippi St. and Troy St., both of which were lackluster. That's 5 losses in the last 6 games, for those of you keeping track. That's 10 straight seasons in which the Hogs have lost the next week after the first conference loss, a streak of which Nutt said he wasn't aware of but one "we're gonna break".

I'm sure the injuries to some receivers will serve as Nutt's excuse, something he has a seemingly bottomless well of. In fact, his list of excuses is even longer than the list of phone calls, emails and text messages to a certain TV personality last winter."The SEC is haaaaaaaaaard" he likes to say. He might say the same of keeping his job after all the controversy in the offseason followed by losing football games.

Like the old saying "you reap what you sow" Houston Nutt's chickens seem to be coming home to roost. With all the lies and deceptions in the Malzahn-Mustain Springdale situation, the email scandal involving a close family friend sending scathing emails to a player and the retirement of his surogate Daddy on Dec. 31, HDN's days at UA may be numbered. At least many fans can hope.