1. Burks’ Incredible Performance - HUTCH
I touched on most of these stats in
my notebook Sunday and - even though I know ALL of you read it - I feel like they’re worth going over again because they’re simply incredible…
~Treylon Burks became just the fifth player in UA history with 200 receiving yards in a game. His 206 yards rank third on the school’s single-game list, behind Cobi Hamilton (303 vs. Rutgers in 2012) and Jarius Wright (282 vs. Texas A&M in 2011). The other 200-yard receivers were Mike Reppond (204 vs. Rice in 1971) and Lucas Miller (201 vs. Mississippi State in 2008).
~It was the fourth 100-yard game of the year for Burks, making him just the third player in school history with four such performances against conference opponents in a single season. Reppond did it in SWC play in 1971 and Anthony Eubanks did it in SEC play in 1997.
~Burks racked up those yards on 10 receptions, which was one shy of his career-high 11 set against Ole Miss earlier this year. There are only two other players in school history with multiple games of 10-plus catches: Cobi Hamilton (five times) and Wright (twice).
~For the season, Burks has 804 yards and seven touchdown on 49 receptions. Those marks are 16th, tied for 8th and tied for 18th in school history already, despite him playing in only eight games - and all eight being against SEC foes.
~For his career, Burks has 1,279 receiving yards, which ranks 21st on the UA’s all-time list. His 206-yard performance against Missouri moved him up seven spots on that chart, passing Gary Anderson (1,075), Boo Williams (1,123), Peyton Hillis (1,195), Mike Woods (1,205), Emanuel Smith (1,235), Jared Cornelius (1,265) and Tracy Caldwell (1,269). With 41 yards against Alabama, he’s surpass Jim Benton and Jim Hodge to move into 19th place.
All of that doesn’t even include was might have been his best play of the season - a 1-yard run to move the chains on fourth down and keep Arkansas’ go-ahead drive alive in the final minute of the game. He was hit short of the line to gain, but stayed up and kept his feet moving before stretching the ball across for a first down.
2. SEC News of the Weekend - NIKKI
Less than a month after firing Will Muschamp, the Gamecocks have hired one of their own former assistants–Oklahoma associate HC and tight ends coach Shane Beamer. Beamer was at Georgia with Kirby Smart at the same time as Sam Pittman and Scott Fountain, coaching TEs and coordinating ST before he left for Oklahoma and Fountain took over the ST role. Beamer was implicated in scandal during his time at Virginia Tech (under his father Frank Beamer) for taking info on Wake Forrest and allegedly using it in the game plan. Since the info came out in 2016 when he was already at Georgia, the Bulldogs fined him $25,000.
Perhaps foolishly, Beamer is finishing his duties coaching at Oklahoma while also attempting to take over at SC and finish a recruiting class that has just 10 commits left with 9 days before early signing.
Read up on the newest member of the SEC HC mafia:
5 things to know
Beamer officially named Gamecocks HC
Also, in what is likely to be the first of many coordinator firings this year, (have there been others so far? Feel free to remind me) Mark Stoops fired his OC team of Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw. It was a move as obviously necessary as Coach O getting rid of Bo Pelini, which it probably just a game away.
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The Wildcats averaged 21.7 points per game and only had 1,244 passing yards in 10 games.
More info on the firings and the CatsIllustrated OC Hot Board:
Gran, Hinshaw Out
Hot Board 1.0
3. Grant’s Impending Decision - HUTCH
When I saw Grant Morgan down on the turf Saturday, I was pretty disappointed. Not only did his absence hurt the Razorbacks, but selfishly, I really enjoy watching him play and tracking his unbelievable season.
As I wrote in
my feature on him last week, the fifth-year senior is having one of the best seasons we’ve ever seen from an Arkansas linebacker. With seven tackles before his injury against Missouri, Morgan now has 111 tackles - which still leads the country.
We’ll hopefully find out the extent of his knee injury when we talk to Sam Pittman on Monday afternoon, but it didn’t look good. According to the SEC Network broadcast, he tried to go back in with a knee brace, but he just couldn’t do it.
Even if it’s a season-ending injury, though, there’s a chance it won’t be the last time we see him in an Arkansas uniform. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA has granted eligibility relief to all players. That means he could return for a sixth season in 2021.
Morgan told reporters last week that all options are on the table. That could mean coming back, it could mean giving the NFL a shot or it could mean enrolling in med school and moving on with his life as a married man.
Obviously the injury could impact his decision, but it sounded like he was looking forward to being recruited back by Sam Pittman, especially considering he wasn’t really recruited coming out of high school. This will be one of the major offseason storylines to watch.
4. Bauer's Leg - NIKKI
While most elements of Arkansas’s special teams have ranged from mediocre to abysmal, Reid Bauer has actually been pretty good. He’s top 25 in the nation in average yards per punt (44.09). His average was 38.9 two seasons ago, which led to the Hogs adding Sam Loy and then George Caratan.
Looking at more advanced stats with the help of PFF, Bauer is ranked 28th in overall punting grade. Of 28 punts, he’s put 13 down inside the 20.
The punt return % is quite high at 35.7%. His average hang time is .12 shorter than Caratan’s.
5. Possible Tulsa replacements - HUTCH
Considering the state of things in college basketball and in the country, in general, it was only inevitable that Arkansas’ basketball season was impacted by the pandemic.
Even though Eric Musselman has said enough of the Razorbacks have already had it that it shouldn’t cause them to shut things down, there was always the possibility of an opponent having virus issues. That happened this week with Tulsa shutting down basketball operations, forcing Tuesday’s road game to be cancelled/postponed.
No make-up date has been set for the game and it’s likely that it isn’t played until next season. (It’s the return game of a home-and-home series, so it will presumably be played at some point.)
Instead, the Razorbacks are looking for a replacement game. Musselman tweeted that they’d be willing to play Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Here’s a look at some possible fill-in opponents…
~Little Rock: This is the most obvious choice. Musselman already has a relationship with the Trojans’ head coach, Darrell Walker (who is also an Arkansas legend), as evidenced by the exhibition game played before last season. Walker has already publicly said he’ll reach out to Musselman. Little Rock played Sunday and doesn’t have a game until next Tuesday (Dec. 15), plus it has already had a cancellation (Western Kentucky on Dec. 4).
~SMU: The Mustangs were scheduled to host Vanderbilt on Tuesday, but the game has already been cancelled because of COVID-19 issues at Vandy. Being in Dallas, they fit the geographical footprint of the rest of the non-conference schedule. Plus, SMU would be a quality opponent, as it is 4-0 and No. 54 on KenPom.
~Wichita State: Another somewhat local team, the Shockers are just a 4.5-hour drive from Fayetteville. They currently have only four non-conference games on their schedule. Wichita State lost to Missouri on Sunday and doesn’t play again until Saturday (vs. Oklahoma State). However, would the Shockers be willing to add another high-major opponent to its schedule, as it also plays Ole Miss later in the season.
~Stephen F. Austin: The Lumberjacks previously announced they’d play Hardin-Simmons - a DIII school - on Wednesday, but the game doesn’t appear on either school’s schedules and a recap of Stephen F. Austin’s win Sunday on its official website says the next game is at ULM on Saturday. If that’s the case, that would mean there’s an opening to play Arkansas. It would be a quality opponent, as Stephen F. Austin is No. 151 on KenPom and the preseason favorite in the Southland.
