Hogs not collecting trophies
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks have one more opportunity to reclaim one of their rivalry game trophies after going barren in that department in 2016.
“Our guys … have great resiliency and in their preparation this week they were very spirited in practice,” Coach Bret Bielema said. “We really played up the boot. Obviously you don’t have to be from Arkansas or Louisiana to play for the boot. It’s about the Razorbacks and Tigers.”
LSU held on to the Golden Boot Trophy for a second consecutive year, improving to 14-8 since former Arkansas linebacker David Bazzel introduced the prize to the rivalry in 1996.
“Coach B[ielema] said to just keep our heads up, even though we wanted it bad,” Arkansas linebacker De’Jon Harris said. “It was a trophy game. We’ve just got to learn how to finish games in the second half.”
The Golden Boot Trophy was rolled onto the field late in the game beyond the west end zone near the LSU sideline. A handful of Tigers went over to claim the trophy, not the scores of players who raced across the field to retrieve it after Arkansas won the trophy back with a 17-0 victory in 2014.
“This is a rivalry game,” LSU Coach Ed Orgeron said. “I think it’s a little bit more of a rivalry game for them. They want to beat LSU. I think when they play LSU they play over their heads. … They came to play, but I always felt like we were going to win the game.”
The Razorbacks went 0-3 in trophy games last year. Texas A&M has held the Southwest Classic Trophy each of the last six years since joining the Hogs in the SEC.
Missouri is in possession of the Battle Line Trophy, won after its comeback from a 24-7 halftime deficit last season. The Tigers are 2-1 in the series since the teams were made permanent crossover opponents
and their game moved to Thanksgiving weekend in 2014.
Tube talk
The Arkansas Razorbacks will play their fifth game with an 11 a.m. kickoff on CBS on Saturday against Mississippi State.
The Hogs’ previous 11 a.m. kickoffs came against Texas A&M, New Mexico State, Ole Miss and LSU.
Arkansas leads the series against Mississippi State 1610-1.
Hog heat
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron said the resolve and aggressiveness of the Arkansas defense in the first half was impressive. The Tigers had 135 total yards in the first half, 45 of them on a touchdown pass.
“Offensively, we were very sluggish,” Orgeron said. “Seemed like their defense was penetrating a lot more than we thought, [with] the sacks and tackles for loss. Had a couple of balls we missed.
“We knew it was going to be a struggle. After the first quarter, I thought, ‘These guys came to play.’”
0 for Hammonds
One week after tailback T.J. Hammonds racked up 179 yards from scrimmage on 8 touches, the sophomore was held to zero rushing yards on 3 carries at LSU.
Hammonds was targeted once on a quick swing pass, but he bobbled it a couple of times, nearly into the hands of a Tiger defender before it fell incomplete in the second quarter.