LSU finally made the hiring of offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe official last night.  The former Tulsa and Louisville head coach replaces Gary Crowton who left LSU for Maryland.  Initial reports indicated Les Miles would take his time in finding a replacement, but he inked Kragthorpe exactly one week after Crowton’s announced his departure. 

Why Kragthorpe?

“Steve brings to our staff the type of experience necessary to develop quarterbacks,” Les Miles said via press release.  “He’s an experienced play-caller who will bring a great deal of enthusiasm and energy to the staff.  Steve will come in and build on what we’ve been able to accomplish on offense in the past.”

Ah, yes… quarterbacks.  Crowton became an unpopular man in Baton Rouge the past three seasons as he was forced to work with Andrew Hatch, Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson at the signal-caller position.  None of those three will likely be drafted into the NFL anytime soon.

But Crowton has a long history of working with successful passers and high-flying offenses.  Tiger fans don’t want to hear it — because everyone loves to bash their offensive coordinator — but it’s likely the past few seasons’ problems started with the players and not the coach.

That said, many of the much-publicized recent gaffes at LSU have come on the offensive side of the ball (at the end of the Ole Miss game in 2009 and at the end of the Tennessee game in 2010).

Kragthorpe will be called upon to fix those mental errors and tutor incoming juco transfer Zach Mettenberger.  Jefferson is back and he had a solid Cotton Bowl, but folks in the Pelican State are counting on Mettenberger becoming the starter sometime in 2011 (preferably in the spring).  Jarrett Lee and incoming freshman Stephen Rivers will round out the QB position.

RC Slocum — the former Texas A&M coach who once employed Kragthorpe as his OC — believes Miles’ new hire will be “a perfect match” at LSU.  “Steve is the kind of guy you can’t help but like.  And I think a lot of Les and what he’s done since he got to LSU.  Those are two very good people who are going to work very well together.”

Slocum doesn’t believe Kragthorpe’s history as a head coach will be a hindrance, either.  “A lot of guys come in with a big ego, especially when they’ve been a head coach like Steve, but he’s not that kind of guy.  He’s very knowledgeable and will offer a lot, but he won’t come in and try to fight the head coach every step of the way.”

Many expect Kragthorpe’s offense — “A pro-style, run-first offense that set up play-action passing” — to be a better fit with Miles’ desires than Crowton’s more pass-happy system.  Of course, Crowton also employed more option with Jefferson as his starter.

A former Louisville quarterback under Kragthorpe, Tyler Wolfe said of his old coach’s system: “He runs a pro-style offense and always does a lot of things — shotgun, I-formation and multiple wide receivers.  He does a little bit of everything.”

Whether he does the things Miles and LSU fans are looking for, well, that remains to be seen.

The star of LSU’s ground game is taking his game to the NFL next season.  Tailback Stevan Ridley told Randy Rosetta of The Baton Rouge Advocate today that he will skip his senior season and turn pro early.

Ridley rushed for 1,147 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Tigers this past season.  He was briefly declared ineligible over an academic issue but was cleared in time to play in last weekend’s Cotton Bowl… in which he topped the century mark against Texas A&M.

1.  Ryan Mallett could have gone pro last year but chose not to.  This year he’s making the move.  And no Arkansas fans should blame him.

2.  So who’s the next man behind center for the Razorbacks?  (Tyler Wilson isn’t a lock.)

3.  In the Cotton Bowl, LSU will enjoy their own Friday Night Lights in the heart of Texas.

4.  LSU and Texas A&M used to have a strong rivalry… and no one seems to know exactly how that rivalry ended.

5.  The Tigers will be facing an up-tempo Aggies offense that averages 80 snaps per game.

6.  Here are the keys to an LSU victory tonight.

7.  With Zach Mettenberger transferring in, the Cotton Bowl could be Jordan Jefferson’s last start at quarterback for the Tigers.

8.  On Monday night, Darron Thomas will be quarterbacking Oregon in the BCS title game.  He might’ve been playing for LSU tonight if the Tigers had called him a quarterback rather than an “athlete.”

Jim Harbaugh was believed to be Michigan’s first choice to replace Rich Rodriguez.  In fact, if reports are to be believed, Harbaugh was offered $5.2 million to take the job… before Rodriguez was officially canned.

That 5.2 million number might sound pretty good to LSU coach Les Miles, but he said today that he hasn’t heard from his alma mater.

“I have received no contact from Michigan.  I’m really here to speak about no other school.  I’m here to speak about LSU.  Michigan will be fine.  There will always be Michigan.

“Speculation is not factual.  The only think I can say to you is my focus is complete.  We’re preparing to play a great (Texas) A&M team.  That’s my want and desire.

Speaking at a Cotton Bowl presser, Miles was asked if there are any similarities between this situation and the 2007 Michigan rumors that so bothered him.

“I have no real view of anything else but what I’m getting done right here, preparing your team, taking practice today, working in that event.  I very much enjoy where I’m at.  I don’t think anybody has any reason to be concerned in any way.  Let’s just go practice and enjoy this week and go on.

“If you look back at things, speculation was terrible.  Things were said without fact.  In my opinion, it does not benefit us to go back and talk about speculation which again is not based in any fact.  Let’s put that behind us and focus on the Cotton Bowl, please.”

1.  Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower is hitting his stride in return from knee injury.

2.  The Tide opened practice in Orlando in 40-degree weather.

3.  The rumors about Bama’s coaches taking other jobs have died down.

4.  Auburn’s O-line has the edge on Oregon’s D-line.

5.  Arkansas’ offense is preparing to meet Ohio State’s top-flight defense.

6.  As his junior season nears its end, Jordan Jefferson is showing signs of maturity as LSU’s starting quarterback.

7.  Heading toward a Cotton Bowl date with Texas A&M at Cowboys Stadium, Les Miles is saying great things about Jerry Jones and his own time as a Dallas assistant.  (Maybe that’s why those Miles-to-Dallas rumors never seem to end.)

8.  The Tigers’ struggling basketball team will face Southern U. tonight in Baton Rouge.  (In its last outing, LSU was trounced at home by North Texas.)

9.  Mississippi State and Michigan arrived in Jacksonville to 30-degree temperatures yesterday.

10.  State practiced in a hotel ballroom.

11.  Dan Mullen believes MSU can become “a national power.”

BATON ROUGE – LSU will renew its longstanding football rivalry with Texas A&M on Jan. 7 in Dallas as the Tigers will face the Aggies in the 75th-annual AT&T Cotton Bowl, officials from the bowl announced on Sunday night.
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Reports are that Texas A&M has accepted an invitation to the Cotton Bowl, January the 7th. Since the Hogs played them earlier in the year and will play them again next fall, you can count on the Cotton Bowl not offering the Hogs if Auburn (gasp!) should lose in the SEC Championship game. LSU or Alabama would be more attractive for a game against the Aggies. The Capital One Bowl could choose Alabama over the Hogs, for it would put Saban against his old Michigan State team and would bring the Tide to a bowl they haven’t been to since 1995. Though the Hogs have a better record than the Tide, the Capital One people could point out that the Tide beat the Hogs and that they are the former National Champions with a Heisman winner on the team. So where would that put the Hogs? The Outback bowl in Tampa is a possibility. It is a January 1st bowl game, and the Hogs would get a Big Ten team, possibly Iowa. And the Hogs have never played in that bowl. Of course, if we don’t get the Sugar that is going to be a big let down for all of us. Dropping even further below the Capital One to possibly the Outback Bowl (I hate these corporate names!) would even be more of a downer. I am sure he is not feeling it, but from a Razorback point-of-view, more pressure on that son of a preacher man to get the job done in Atlanta for all of us Hog fans.

Just a few morning nuggets on the SEC bowl front:


* The Cotton Bowl extended an invitation to Texas A&M yesterday and the Aggies happily accepted.  Our speculation that the Big 12 Championship Game loser — Oklahoma or Nebraska — would get that slot was made without considering one key piece of information: The Big 12 title game is now played in Cowboys Stadium. 

The idea of bringing the Sooners or Huskers back to Arlington just three weeks after a loss in that building was clearly a concern for Cotton Bowl officials.  In addition, Oklahoma State was in the Cotton Bowl last year.  Thus, A&M.

But in going with the “new” choice, Cotton Bowl officials will still be bringing in an A&M squad that played in Cowboys Stadium earlier this season.  And that’s where the SEC figures into this mix.

It’s doubtful that Arkansas would have fallen to the Cotton Bowl in the first place, but you can be certain that the Hogs will go elsewhere now.  The Razorbacks and Aggies played the second of a 10-game deal in Arlington in October.  It’s doubtful that the bowl would pair those schools again.

With Alabama probably a lock for the Capital One Bowl, that leaves LSU or South Carolina as the likely opponent for A&M.  Expect a reboot of the old Tiger-Aggie rivalry.


* Speaking of Carolina, we have the Cocks penciled in for yet another return to the Outback Bowl — as do most other pundits — but Travis Haney of The Charleston Post & Courier isn’t sold on that idea.

According to Haney, if USC loses to Auburn on Saturday, the Chick-fil-A Bowl remains a possibility.  In his view, Outback Bowl officials might be leery of a Carolina fanbase that didn’t travel well to Tampa two years ago.  That might lead them to tab Mississippi State for their game (likely against Iowa).

Haney makes sense.  Of all the SEC’s bowl partners, the Outback Bowl is the one that has shown in years past that it is 100% out for itself.  Nothing wrong with that, but several schools have been upset that they’ve been passed over by that bowl… and several other bowls have seen their favored selection nabbed unexpectedly by the folks in Tampa.

MSU to the Outback would be good for State and the Outback, but it would leave Carolina and the Chick-fil-A Bowl in an odd spot.  As we discussed above regarding the Big 12 title game and the Cotton Bowl, would the Chick-fil-A want to ask Gamecock fans to return to the Georgia Dome just three weeks after a loss in that very same building?

Carolina to the Cotton and LSU to the Outback would make the most sense from an outsider’s perspective — Carolina’s never been to the Cotton, LSU hasn’t been to the Outback since 1989 — but the decision will be made by insiders, not outsiders.  And those insiders have just one thing on their mind: tourism dollars.


* Meanwhile, the Music City Bowl and the Liberty Bowl have made it clear to Andrew Gribble of The Knoxville News Sentinel that they would both like to land Tennessee.

If the SEC gets two teams into BCS bowl games (which is likely), then the Music City will most certainly take the Vols.  If the SEC only gets one team into the BCS, then UT will likely fall to the Liberty Bowl.

Either way, it looks like the Volunteers will have a home crowd advantage in their bowl game.

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FAYETTEVILLE - It seems to be pretty cut and dry that if Auburn beats South Carolina in this weekend’s Southeastern Conference Championship Game, the Tigers will play for the national championship and Arkansas will go to the Sugar Bowl.

But what happens if the Gamecocks upset No. 1 Auburn? It isn’t too much of a stretch to think that might happen. After all, South Carolina led the Tigers by 13 points in their meeting earlier this season, before falling 35-27.

A South Carolina win would send the Gamecocks to the Sugar Bowl as the SEC champion representative, while the Tigers would likely still earn a BCS bid in either the Orange or Rose Bowls, or perhaps even still play for the BCS championship.

For No. 7 Arkansas, it would be a bitter pill as Razorbacks fans seem to have their hearts set on a new year in the bayou. There are likely two destinations for Arkansas under the scenario: the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, and the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.

The Cotton Bowl seems to be the most likely choice if Arkansas doesn’t earn the first BCS bid in school history. It is a bowl the Razorbacks have plenty of history with and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is the second largest out-of-state alumni base for the University of Arkansas.

Arkansas has played in the Cotton Bowl 11 times, the most recent of which came following the 2007 regular season. The Razorbacks lost that game to Missouri.

That bowl likes to take teams from the SEC West. While LSU and Alabama are certainly attractive candidates because of their histories and large fan bases that are sure to travel to the game, the Cotton Bowl would have a tough time justifying taking one of those teams over Arkansas, based on the way the three finished their respective seasons.

The opposition there would be a team from the Big 12 – likely the loser of this week’s league championship game at Cowboys Stadium between Oklahoma and Nebraska. Arkansas has played both of those teams in the Cotton Bowl, losing to Oklahoma following the 2001 regular season and beating Nebraska on Jan. 1, 1965 to earn the school’s only national championship.

Oklahoma State and Texas A&M would be other potential candidates to represent the Big 12 in that game, but the Cowboys played there last season and a match-up between the Razorbacks and Aggies seems unlikely, given the two schools are in the midst of a 10-year contract at the stadium.

If the Cotton Bowl were to want a team other than Arkansas, the Capital One Bowl would almost assuredly take the Razorbacks. Arkansas has played in that bowl game twice, the most recent of which came following the 2006 regular season. Arkansas lost that game to Wisconsin.

The Big 10 representative in that game will likely be Michigan State. The Spartans finished the regular season 11-1 and in a three-way tie for its league championship with Wisconsin and Ohio State.

The No. 5 Badgers are likely heading to the Rose Bowl, while the No. 6 Buckeyes seem destined for the Sugar Bowl. That leaves the No. 10 Spartans the odd man out of the BCS games for a league celebrating one of its best regular seasons in quite some time.

Arkansas is heading to a good bowl game following its 10-win season. Just which bowl and just how good will be determined Saturday.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

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LITTLE ROCK - A trophy doesn’t make a rivalry.

So when then “Golden Boot” – a trophy shaped in the outline of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana – was introduced in 1996, it seemed forced. Sure, neither team had an exclusive rival, the proximity between the two fan bases was close and the game fell in the middle of rivalry week in college football, but to call the series a rivalry was a stretch.

Now the two schools have met 14 times for this unique trophy, with LSU holding a 9-5 advantage in those contests. While the results have been somewhat one-sided, the games have been anything but.

Nine of those contests have been decided by 10 points or less, with the last five games decided by five points or less. A shot to play in the SEC Championship Game has been on the line three times during the last decade, with the already-crowned SEC West champion losing the contest twice.

LSU ruined Arkansas’ bid for a perfect SEC season in 2006 with a win in Little Rock. The Razorbacks beat the No. 1 Tigers a year later in Baton Rouge. LSU needed a wild series of events to occur the next week to become the first two-loss team to ever play for the national championship, which it won.

As the boot has continued to exchange hands, the games have seemingly become better. An unranked Arkansas team scored 17 unanswered two years ago to beat the Tigers on a last-second touchdown, while LSU kicked a field goal as time expired in regulation and another in overtime to down the Razorbacks a year ago.

The combined score for the last three contests is 111-111, with two of those games going to overtime.

Do you want longevity? LSU snapped a 22-game Arkansas winning streak in the 1966 Cotton Bowl, keeping the Razorbacks from winning their second consecutive national championship.

History alone molds rivalries and the history of this series tells us it is indeed such.

And now there is the game this year. With Auburn’s comeback win over Alabama in yesterday’s Iron Bowl and Boise State’s late night loss to Nevada, this game has significant BCS implications. No. 5 LSU has outside hopes of making a national championship. while the winner of this game becomes an attractive candidate for the Sugar Bowl if Auburn wins the SEC championship next weekend.

The rivalry transcends just football, too. Last-second heroics have marked the basketball series between the two schools and the two baseball programs are among the best in the nation, with both reaching the College World Series in 2009.

Yes, Arkansas fans, you have a rival. No, it’s not Texas and it’s not universally agreed upon. But this has been a great series and it’s the closest thing to a rivalry we’ve got.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.