Noah.Dreams
09-20-2006, 11:45 AM
http://www.sectalk.com/boards/images/logos/Arkansas.gifCECIL HURT: Bama game may determine Nutt’s future
Cecil Hurt writes for the Tuscaloosa News
It's early in the college football season, but this weekend’s game in Fayetteville could be the tipping point for both Alabama and Arkansas this season -- Alabama in terms of this year, and Arkansas, perhaps, in the even bigger picture involving its head coach, Houston Nutt.
Usually, this column sticks to commentary about Alabama and doesn’t stray into speculation about the Crimson Tide’s opponent. There’s a good reason for that. After covering Alabama for years, I’ve come to realize that the internal situation of a major college athletic department can involve complex personalities and fierce politics. It’s sometimes hard to tell what’s true and what isn’t, what’s accurate and what’s not, even when you have a pretty good working knowledge of the individuals involved. So when you don’t know all the inner workings at a school (and I do assume that other SEC schools are just as Byzantine, in their way, as Alabama), it’s even harder.
I don’t pretend to be an expert on Arkansas. What I know is what I read from writers in that state, guys like Wally Hall, Bob Holt, Nate Allen, Clay Henry and some others. But if you read the Arkansas media, and apply a little common sense, it’s tempting to say that this game might turn out to be the make-or-break game for Nutt.
It would be impossible to try and cram all the details of Nutt’s career, or even a tumultuous offseason, into a couple of paragraphs, but here’s an attempt to do so anyway.
This is Nutt’s ninth season at Arkansas. He has had some good teams and some good wins, but he’s only had one year -- his first, in 1998 -- in which the Razorbacks haven’t lost at least four games. They’ve made it to Atlanta once, in 2002, when Alabama, the division’s best team, wasn’t eligible to go.
Arkansas has had to overcome some NCAA sanctions, which probably won’t get it much sympathy in Alabama. He’s had some big wins and challenged some big boys out of conference. The Razorbacks knocked off Texas in 2003. But the past two seasons have seen losing records, two embarrassing beat-downs at the hands of mighty Southern Cal and a good bit of disaffection in the Ozarks.
In the offseason, Frank Broles, the Arkansas athletic director, “suggested" a change in offensive coordinators, which, in terms of a coaching career, is sort of like an EMT “suggesting" that they use the defibrilator. It’s an attempt to shock some life into the program. In Arkansas’ case, though, the coordinator who was hired was a Fayetteville-area high school legend, Gus Malzahn, who coached prime prospect Mitch Mustain. Imagine, for a moment, if Mal Moore told Mike Shula that he was being very carefully evaluated and that he had to turn the offense over to Rush Propst, and you’ll get some idea of the situation. As Wally Hall described it in The Arkansas Democrat, Nutt is fighting for his coaching life -- and doesn’t even get to call the plays.
But, perhaps thanks to a fortuitous gust of wind in Nashville, the arrangement is working so far. USC smashed Arkansas, but freshman phenom Mustain (wisely) didn’t become the starter until the next week. The Razorbacks have subsequently handled Utah State and edged Vanderbilt when a Commodore field goal attempt to win the game fell short in the breeze. Thus, two wins -- but not the sort to set a fan base ablaze with joy.
The Alabama game might be another matter entirely.
It’s always risky to look at a team’s schedule and automatically check off “wins" and “losses." (Remember Mike DuBose’s 1999 Alabama team losing to Louisiana Tech one week and beating Florida in Gainesville two weeks later?)
A win over Alabama, though, and Arkansas would appear to have a pretty solid shot at eight or nine victories, a nice bowl -- and a new lease on life for Nutt. A loss to Alabama, and it’s a grumbling off week, followed by a trip to Auburn -- and, perhaps, some decisions being made. Again, I do not pretend to know the inner workings at Arkansas, but that seems like a logical guess.
For the past decade or so, the Arkansas game has been a measuring stick for Alabama -- the Tide teams that have beaten the Hogs have turned out pretty well, and the ones that have lost, generally speaking, haven’t. It will once again be a measuring stick for the Tide on Saturday -- but for Arkansas, it might be even more.
Cecil Hurt writes for the Tuscaloosa News
It's early in the college football season, but this weekend’s game in Fayetteville could be the tipping point for both Alabama and Arkansas this season -- Alabama in terms of this year, and Arkansas, perhaps, in the even bigger picture involving its head coach, Houston Nutt.
Usually, this column sticks to commentary about Alabama and doesn’t stray into speculation about the Crimson Tide’s opponent. There’s a good reason for that. After covering Alabama for years, I’ve come to realize that the internal situation of a major college athletic department can involve complex personalities and fierce politics. It’s sometimes hard to tell what’s true and what isn’t, what’s accurate and what’s not, even when you have a pretty good working knowledge of the individuals involved. So when you don’t know all the inner workings at a school (and I do assume that other SEC schools are just as Byzantine, in their way, as Alabama), it’s even harder.
I don’t pretend to be an expert on Arkansas. What I know is what I read from writers in that state, guys like Wally Hall, Bob Holt, Nate Allen, Clay Henry and some others. But if you read the Arkansas media, and apply a little common sense, it’s tempting to say that this game might turn out to be the make-or-break game for Nutt.
It would be impossible to try and cram all the details of Nutt’s career, or even a tumultuous offseason, into a couple of paragraphs, but here’s an attempt to do so anyway.
This is Nutt’s ninth season at Arkansas. He has had some good teams and some good wins, but he’s only had one year -- his first, in 1998 -- in which the Razorbacks haven’t lost at least four games. They’ve made it to Atlanta once, in 2002, when Alabama, the division’s best team, wasn’t eligible to go.
Arkansas has had to overcome some NCAA sanctions, which probably won’t get it much sympathy in Alabama. He’s had some big wins and challenged some big boys out of conference. The Razorbacks knocked off Texas in 2003. But the past two seasons have seen losing records, two embarrassing beat-downs at the hands of mighty Southern Cal and a good bit of disaffection in the Ozarks.
In the offseason, Frank Broles, the Arkansas athletic director, “suggested" a change in offensive coordinators, which, in terms of a coaching career, is sort of like an EMT “suggesting" that they use the defibrilator. It’s an attempt to shock some life into the program. In Arkansas’ case, though, the coordinator who was hired was a Fayetteville-area high school legend, Gus Malzahn, who coached prime prospect Mitch Mustain. Imagine, for a moment, if Mal Moore told Mike Shula that he was being very carefully evaluated and that he had to turn the offense over to Rush Propst, and you’ll get some idea of the situation. As Wally Hall described it in The Arkansas Democrat, Nutt is fighting for his coaching life -- and doesn’t even get to call the plays.
But, perhaps thanks to a fortuitous gust of wind in Nashville, the arrangement is working so far. USC smashed Arkansas, but freshman phenom Mustain (wisely) didn’t become the starter until the next week. The Razorbacks have subsequently handled Utah State and edged Vanderbilt when a Commodore field goal attempt to win the game fell short in the breeze. Thus, two wins -- but not the sort to set a fan base ablaze with joy.
The Alabama game might be another matter entirely.
It’s always risky to look at a team’s schedule and automatically check off “wins" and “losses." (Remember Mike DuBose’s 1999 Alabama team losing to Louisiana Tech one week and beating Florida in Gainesville two weeks later?)
A win over Alabama, though, and Arkansas would appear to have a pretty solid shot at eight or nine victories, a nice bowl -- and a new lease on life for Nutt. A loss to Alabama, and it’s a grumbling off week, followed by a trip to Auburn -- and, perhaps, some decisions being made. Again, I do not pretend to know the inner workings at Arkansas, but that seems like a logical guess.
For the past decade or so, the Arkansas game has been a measuring stick for Alabama -- the Tide teams that have beaten the Hogs have turned out pretty well, and the ones that have lost, generally speaking, haven’t. It will once again be a measuring stick for the Tide on Saturday -- but for Arkansas, it might be even more.