The University of Arkansas is spending $40 million on a brand new football complex in Fayetteville.  The school is also planning to expand Razorback Stadium. 

People in Little Rock are paying attention.

Afraid they might lose the two games played annually by the Razorbacks at War Memorial Stadium, there’s now discussion to upgrade and expand the 63-year-old venue.  The school and the War Memorial Stadium Commission currently have a deal that runs through 2016.

Arkansas is the only school at the FBS level that plays multiple “home” games away from its campus each season.  As Bobby Petrino has improved the Razorback program, ticket demands have gone up.  And Razorback Stadium can seat about 22,000 more Hog fans than War Memorial Stadium.  For that reason, there’s already speculation that the season finale between Arkansas and LSU could be moved to Fayetteville this fall.

Obviously the folks in Little Rock can see the writing on the wall.

Following last night’s wins by Kentucky and Arkansas in their home arenas, SEC home teams are now 30-11 on the young season.  That’s a 73% winning percentage and four of those road wins have come from Kentucky.

Lesson: If you’re not Kentucky, your odds of winning on the road are awfully long.


Kentucky 69, Tennessee 44

What do you get when a team with few scoring options ventures into the “we never lose here” arena of a team with sensational defenders?  A beatdown.  Kentucky let it be known with an early scuffle that they would not be out-toughed by the Vols in Rupp last night.  They also happened to knock down their first 11 shots of the game en route to the 25-point win.

Anthony Davis had a ridiculous seven blocked shots bringing his NCAA-best total to 108 or the season.


Arkansas 82, Vanderbilt 74

Mike Anderson needs to figure out a way to play all of the Razorbacks’ games at home.  The Hogs remained perfect at home with an upset Vanderbilt, a team that came in having won 11 of 12 games.  Vandy played well and actually held a three-point second half lead before Arkansas got red hot.

The Hogs hit six out of seven three-pointers in a single stretch as they turned a 40-37 deficit into a 59-46 lead.  You have to wonder just how good Arkansas would have been this year had Marshawn Powell not been sidelined before the season with an injury.

Arkansas appears to be on the verge of adding a former Oklahoma State guard to its roster for next season.  Fred Gulley transferred from OSU at midterm and has enrolled at UA in the hopes of joining Mike Anderson’s squad.

“I am going to continue playing basketball,” Gulley said.  “And I am going to continue playing here.” Currently, Gulley is waiting for NCAA clearance.  Asked if he’d added someone to his team, Anderson said yesterday, “Not that I know of.  Unless you know something I don’t know.”

If/when the NCAA — and Anderson — clear Gulley to join the Hogs, he’ll still have to wait a year to play due to NCAA transfer rules.  By moving at midterm, he would become eligible at Arkansas at next year’s midpoint. 

Gulley is a redshirt sophomore who started 26 games at Oklahoma State, averaging 18 minutes per game (and 4.0 points per game).  He is a former two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Arkansas.

Cowboys coach Travis Ford said of Gulley in December: “Everybody wants 30 minutes and wants to be the guy.  I understand that.”

Taver Johnson is an Ohio native.  He’s played football in Ohio and for the great part of his career he’s coached football in Ohio.  But he’s more than happy to be moving from Ohio to Arkansas now.

The ex-Ohio State assistant was hired as the Razorbacks’ linebackers coach and assistant head coach last week.  He says it was fellow former OSU coach Paul Haynes — now UA’s defensive coordinator — who convinced him to trade in his scarlet attire for cardinal:


“Once he got here, I could hear the excitement in his voice.  Coach Haynes is a mild-mannered guy.  So once he gets excited you know it’s something really good…

It was a difficult decision, obviously being an Ohioan and my family being there and things like that.  But the opportunity here with Coach (Bobby) Petrino and Arkansas… like I told the players (Monday) night, the way this train is rolling, it’s going pretty fast and, tell you what, we didn’t mind hopping on board.”


While Johnson coached cornerbacks at Ohio State from 2007 to this past season, he did coach linebackers from 2000 through 2003 at Miami (Ohio).

There were two games on the SEC slate last night and in case you missed ‘em…


LSU 65, Auburn 58 in OT

In a see-saw battle between two of the SEC’s three sets of Tigers (already counting Missouri on that one), LSU outscored Auburn 9 to 2 in overtime to notch a 65-58 win in Baton Rouge.  The win pushes LSU back to 2-2 in the SEC and drops AU to 1-3.

Trent Johnson’s team finished the game on a 27-12 run including an 18-10 spurt that tied the game in regulation.

Frankie Sullivan led Auburn with 19 points.  LSU was led in scoring by freshman Anthony Hickey’s 18-point effort.  All 18 of his points came off the bench.


Kentucky 86, Arkansas 63

Arkansas’ Mike Anderson said before yesterday’s game that his team was going to run.  They ran into a buzzsaw.  The buzzsaw’s name was Anthony Davis.

The freakish UK freshman scored a career-high 27 points but he also blocked seven shots on the night.  With 12 more SEC games to play, Davis snapped Kentucky’s single-season blocked shots record with his 84th of the year. 

As for the game itself, well, it never was much of a contest.  Anderson learned that you don’t take a team into Rupp Arena and challenge the uber-athletic Wildcats to a race.  Arkansas fell behind 8-0 to start the game and trailed by 16 at the half.  For the night, the Hogs shot just 40.4% from the floor while the Cats blistered the nets with 57.1% shooting.

Bobby Petrino has added another ex-Buckeye to his 2012 Razorback coaching staff in the person of linebackers coach Taver Johnson.  Johnson  coached cornerbacks at Ohio State from 2007 through this past fall.  His hiring in Fayetteville was reported yesterday evening.

Johnson is an Ohio native and has coached across the state at the small college (Wittenberg), big college (OSU), and pro (Cleveland Browns) levels.  In Columbus, he served under recently-hired Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Haynes.

Johnson replaces Reggie Johnson who went with ex-Hog offensive coordinator Garrick McGee to UAB.

Johnson and Haynes give the Hogs some good ties to the state of Ohio, one of the most talent-rich states in the country.  As you must know, Arkansas is one of the most talent-poor states in the SEC when it comes to producing future NFL players.  And with Texas inroads already laid, Petrino now appears to be turning his attention to the Buckeye State.

Wise move.

No shock here, but Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson announced today via press release that he will return to the Hogs for his senior season in Fall 2012:


“I have decided to stay at Arkansas for the 2012 season because I am extremely excited for what this team has the opportunity to accomplish and to finish earning my degree.  After the feedback I received (from the NFL), the decision was difficult to make.  Ultimately, the chance to complete my academics and play one more season as a Razorback were compelling reasons for me to remain in Fayetteville.”


The Hogs should be a consensus preseason Top 10 team with Wilson and tailback Knile Davis both returning next season.

Wilson led the SEC in passing attempts, completions, yards, and passer rating.  He ranked 13th nationally in passing yards.

Hate to see this one.  Arkansas coach Mike Anderson’s son was arrested and charged with a DWI in Fayetteville early Sunday morning.  The 26-year-old Anderson — Michael Jr. — is the Hogs’ video coordinator.

He was pulled over by an officer who says he was driving erratically in a car with expired tags.  His boss/father released a statement yesterday:


“All of our (staff) members are expected to make the right decision on and off the floor.  I expect that.  Unfortunately some individuals don’t always make the right decision.  But as a father, I will support Mike and hopefully help him learn from this situation.

It will be addressed, the situation will be addressed through the established channels that we have here on our campus.  Our sports administration will address that situation.”


Sadly, Anderson was convicted of driving while intoxicated while playing on his father’s Missouri team in 2007.  Maybe it’s time for dad to take some of his millions and loan Junior enough for cab fare.

New Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Haynes is in an unusual position.  Hired quickly enough after the regular season that he’s already on staff and coaching his new team in their bowl game, the ex-Ohio State assistant says the Hogs’ defensive style in the Cotton Bowl might provide a preview of what he’ll do next season.

Asked if his gameplan for Kansas State will be more of what Arkansas has done in 2011 or what he plans to do going forward, Haynes said:


“I think it’s going to be a little bit of both.  But, again, I think one of the reasons why I’m here is there is a little bit of similarity to what we did at Ohio State and what we do at Arkansas.  It’s going to be a little bit of both.  A little bit of a mixture.  But, to me, football is football.”


Haynes also said yesterday that the “jack” linebacker position used by Willy Robinson the past four seasons will remain a part of the Hogs’ scheme.  “Those type of guys, that position, will stay for sure.”  That position is basically a hybrid safety-linebacker spot.

The Razorbacks will — finally — face KSU in the Cotton Bowl tomorrow night.

Southeastern Conference teams were a perfect four for four on the hardwood last night, though that feat’s a bit less impressive when you consider the cupcake nature of the squads they faced.

Here’s your update…


Arkansas 71, Eastern Kentucky 57

The Razorbacks improved to 7-0 at home under Mike Anderson with last night’s victory.  Mardracus Wade scored 13 and BJ Young added 12 to lead the Hogs.


Georgia 72, Mercer 58

After struggling with their in-state visitors for a half, UGA pulled away with an early 16-3 second-half run.  Connor Nolte and Vincent Williams led the Dawgs with 11 points each.


Kentucky 82, Samford 50

Doron Lamb racked up 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting, leaving Samford coach Jimmy Tillette to joke, “I like fish better than Lamb.”  The Wildcats won in a laugher without Terrence Jones.  The sophomore All-America candidate was held out with a disclocated pinky finger.


Tennessee 72, UNC-Asheville 68

For much of the night, it looked like UT’s losing streak might be extended to five games.  But Renaldo Woolridge and Cameron Tatum came alive with 17 each to lead the Vols back from a 10-point second-half deficit.