SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA - Arkansas has been to a bowl game every year since Houston Nutt became coach, but only once has it left with a victory.
Players say the excuses are many, from not respecting their opponents to staying out late and partying the night before the game. Whatever the reason, Arkansas is 1-4 in bowls under Nutt, with the lone win coming against former rival Texas at the 2000 Cotton Bowl.
The Razorbacks (8-4) are trying to be serious about all things this week, as they prepare to face Missouri in the Independence Bowl on Wednesday. The Tigers (8-4) are making their first bowl trip since 1998, so Arkansas has bowl experience over its opponent, just not winning experience.
``I think we know the reason we lost those other games,'' said senior linebacker Caleb Miller, one of 16 seniors who redshirted the year Arkansas beat Texas and has been a part of three straight losses.
``We had too many people staying up too late and doing things. You can't win a game when you're physically exhausted, in every game. (Some) were certain key players and in some games, more than not, especially in the UNLV game. Last year, I heard about some guys going out. That has a lot more to do with it, but it's definitely not an excuse,'' Miller said. ``That's my personal opinion for most of those bowl games, but this game we've kind of changed that a little bit.''
In the past three years, Arkansas has lost to UNLV at the Las Vegas Bowl, Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl and Minnesota at the Music City Bowl.
This year, the team is staying at a hotel away from downtown Shreveport and it almost has the whole place to itself. That's different from last year at the Music City Bowl, when the Razorbacks stayed at the massive Opryland Hotel before losing 29-14.
Arkansas senior running back Cedric Cobbs is the only one who has played on a winning bowl team. He set a freshman record with 668 yards rushing on the 1999 team that beat Texas.
Going to the Independence Bowl bodes well historically for Arkansas, because the Southeastern Conference hasn't lost in Shreveport since it became affiliated with the bowl in 1995. Overall, the SEC is 10-2 at the bowl, the best winning percentage of any conference.
``It makes us feel like we have to keep this tradition going and of course to win this bowl game, because it's been a while since we've won one,'' cornerback Lawrence Richardson said.
Nutt tied a school record of taking Arkansas to six straight bowls this year, but he has a 1-4 record in bowl games and 1-5 in postseason outings counting the 2002 SEC championship game.
He is not the first coach to struggle in bowls with the Razorbacks, who are 10-20-3 overall and 2-15 since Lou Holtz was fired after the 1983 season. Holtz (3-2-1) and John Barnhill (1-0-1) are the only two Arkansas coaches with a winning bowl record.
Before Nutt arrived, coaches Danny Ford and Jack Crowe lost in their only bowl appearance and Ken Hatfield, the school's career winning percentage leader at .760, was 1-5.
Nutt lost his first at the 1999 Citrus Bowl and Arkansas has failed to score more than 14 points in the past three bowl games.
Nutt put the Razorbacks through some hard-hitting workouts in Fayetteville before the Christmas break and they held a practice at Independence Stadium when they arrived on Saturday.
This year's team has 25 seniors overall, counting those who arrived in 2000 or transferred in from elsewhere. That's the most in Nutt's tenure and they have led Arkansas' serious demeanor during bowl practices.
``The seniors here have never won one with the exception of Cedric Cobbs,'' said Tony Bua, who will move back to outside linebacker this week after leading the team with 121 tackles at free safety this year. ``I think it's just been a matter of taking our opponents lightly in the past and thinking we were going on vacation a little bit. This year, we have tremendous respect for the Missouri football team.''
BOWL NOTES ...
Nutt took most of his freshmen and redshirt freshman to the Shriner's Hospital on Sunday, something he didn't get a chance to do last year at the Music City Bowl. That game was played on Dec. 30, so the team had less time to prepare for the bowl. ... Bowl officials said about 3,000 tickets remain for the 50,015 seat Independence Stadium. Arkansas has sold it's allotment of tickets and Missouri still has about 2,000 left to sell. There are about 1,000 left open to the public. The bowl record for attendance of 50,459 was set at the 1997 game when LSU beat Notre Dame, 27-9. ... Besides Miller and Bua, the other 14 seniors on the team who were redshirted in 1999 were: defensive back Jimmy Beasley, guard Mark Bokermann, receiver Tom Crowder, defensive lineman Scott Davenport, center Dan Doughty, kicker Ryan Gullett, cornerback Eddie Jackson, offensive tackle Bo Lacy, holder Dowell Loggains, offensive lineman Caleb Perry, guard Jerry Reith, defensive end Justin Scott, receiver Richard Smith and receiver George Wilson.
Wednesday
February 5th, 2025
2:54AM
