After my earlier fretting about a trap game (I'll admit it - I was a little worried) the Hogs went out and took care of business in impressive fashion, routing the Troy Trojans by 36 points. It was a good night, and we'll certainly have more to say about it soon, but for now a few quick thoughts:
* the Razorbacks are bowl-bound for the first time in the Bobby Petrino era. That's very cool. I'd been holding off from posting any bowl-related speculation so I wouldn't jinx anything, but now that we're over the hump let's speculate away. it depends on how the rest of the season plays out, of course, but where will the Hogs be bowling this year? And will we break the decades-long slump and actually win the game? I'm feeling good about our chances for the rest of the season and the bowl right now.
* here's an observation that, although incredibly obvious, needs to be said: Ryan Mallett is really, really good. And when he's on his game, the Hogs are pretty damn tough to stop. Arkansas has never had a QB like this before...combined with the Petrino offense and great crop of receivers the sky really is the limit.
* think back to where we were this time last year. The Hogs were 4-6 after a depressing loss against South Carolina (with another depressing loss to Mississippi State on the horizon). Casey Dick was locked in a heated battle with Nathan Dick for the starting QB slot. Michael Smith was our only consistent offense and he was wearing down fast. A faction of players left over from the Houston Nutt regime was stirring up trouble in the locker room. We still have a ways to go, but I definitely like the progress we've made so far. Feels very good.
What do you think about the game? The bowl situation? The Hogs in November '09 vs November '08? Tell us all about in the comments section.