2013: A Razorback Rising

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In 2013 the Arkansas Razorbacks athletic department looks to bring a Razorback Rising to the college athletics. In 2012 their was a big buzz around the program. The beginning of the year saw the football team buzz of a possible National and SEC Championship run. The Diamond Hogs reached the College World Series. The basketball team had the return season of Mike Anderson and fans were extremely excited over his return. The Ladybacks also had a good season last year. They made the NCAA tournament and advanced into the second round. 

We are only a few days into 2013 but there is already a big buzz around the Razorback program. After a disastrous 2012 the Razorback football program is already on the road to recovery. After going 4-8 the Hogs hired a new permanent coach. Bret Bielema has put together a top notch staff and has brought back the excitement to the fans. There is no where to go but up for the football team. A return to a bowl isn't out of the realm of possibilities. It probably won't be a BCS bowl but a lower tier bowl with a 7-5 record is reasonable. 

Mike Anderson has the basketball team off to a good start. As of this writing they are 8-4 and about to enter SEC play. I expect this team to make a run toward the NCAA tournament. This team is getting better and better every game. 

The Diamond Hogs are getting ready to start up the season but the accolades are coming in already off the heels of the College World Series trip last season. The Diamond Hogs are ranked #1 in the preseason poll. Three players were named preseason All-Americans. 

The Ladybacks are off to a hot start again this year. As of this writing they are 12-1 and ranked 23rd in the country. They are also about to begin SEC play. I haven't keep up with them much but they look poised for a return trip to the NCAA tournament. 

The softball team didn't have a great season last year. Only winning 7 games in the SEC they look to improve on that and continue the Razorback Rising in 2013. 

2013 hopefully will be known as the Year of the Razorback by the time its all said and done. The program has several teams poised to make runs and some ready to return to relevance. 

Welcome to 2013: A Razorback Rising! 

2012: Year of the Hog

The stars seem to be aligning for the Arkansas Razorbacks to make a run at a SEC title and National Championship. Knile Davis has decided to stay at Arkansas at least one more year to give his all to Razorback Nation. Knile could have left for the NFL and started his career but choose to return to see how he could help the Hogs. Another piece of the puzzle decided to stay at Arkansas as well. Tyler Wilson will return to lead the Hogs. Colbi Hamilton and Chris Gragg also decided to stay. The offensive line should only improve. The defense showed promise in the short time with new defensive coordinator Paul Haynes. The Hogs are losing a lot at the wide out spot. All world receiver Joe Adams, Greg Childs, and Jaruis Wright all are gone to the NFL. Even with all those losses the Razorbacks have the players ready to step up in their place. Hogs are also chasing a major recruit in DGB. He is a guy that would be able to come in and play immediately as a freshman in the SEC. Even if DGB doesn't choose the Hogs they still have the weapons compete for the SEC and National Titles. 2012 should be the Year of the Hog. I am going to start a twitter campaign using the hash tag #2012YearoftheHog. If you agree use the hashtag to get the word out.

Cotton Bowling: Hogs vs Wildcats

There was no denying at the beginning of the season that Arkansas would make a bowl. A lot of fans including myself had very high hopes for this years team. I still feel that the Hogs had a good year. Their two loses come to the teams playing in the BCS National Championship, LSU and Alabama. Since the BCS has a two team from a conference rule the #6 Razorbacks had to settle for either the Capital One or Cotton Bowls. Cotton was the best pick for the Razorbacks between those two I think. The Capital One is more of a prestigious bowl but the Cotton will give the Hogs the most exposure. It will be the only bowl on Jan 6th on FOX. It is also FOX's only game so it should get plenty of promotion. The SEC shares the bowl revenue so the money difference wont mean much. The BCS is just a busted system. My  main concern for this game is the turnover in the coaching staff. Paul Petrino is back as the offensive coordinator, replacing Garrett McGee who left to take the Head Coaching job at UAB. Paul Hynes was named Defensive Coordinator on December 12th. He replaced Willie Robinson who resigned. John L. Smith left as the special teams coordinator to became head coach at Weber State. Kansas St does have a running quarterback offense and those do give the Hogs trouble. Even with that said I think the Hogs will be fine. The wildcats defense is terrible. Hogs should win in a shot-out at worse. One other big plus for the Hogs playing in the Cotton Bowl is that its at Jerry World in Dallas. That is like a third home game for the Hogs. Arkansas fans should show up in groves and make their presence known. Nothing like that Hog call  to rattle the opposing team. I would imagine the Hogs would like to leave the Dallas area with a better image of them than the last time they played there against Texas A&M earlier this season. This game should live up to the hype of being the third best bowl game.
 I am going to go with the final score of Hogs 42 KSU 24
 What your thoughts on the game?