Arkansas vs Nicholls: The Good, Bad And Ugly

The Good:

Just about everything concerning the actual play on the field was good. The weather ended up being fantastic, temperature-wise. I will never forget how hot the ULL game was last season, and this year's home opener was about the best weather we could ask for. I thought the crowd of 64,000 was a good number considering the opponent.

Obviously, the offense as a whole was good. I'd like to give a special shout out to Keon Hatcher for not dropping the toss on the first play from scrimmage. Great job by Jim Chaney to call a play that could get Hatcher some confidence in his hands again.

I think I actually saw a coverage sack. I can't be 100% sure because it has been so long since I've seen one in person. But, if I really saw what I thought I saw, that's pretty awesome to see again.

The Bad:

The new sound system they installed into the stadium. There was constant feedback and they couldn't figure out what the volume should be. When they played the censored version of "Move" by Ludacris, the song uses the sound of a woman screaming to censor the "B" word. That is an awfully annoying sound when you're blasting it at level 10 throughout the stadium.

Also, the SEC has now allowed teams to play music in between snaps. It is suppose to go off when the offense walks to the line of scrimmage, but that rarely happened Saturday. It caused at least one false start on Nicholls. Some people may think that's awesome, but I think it's in poor taste. I wouldn't want a team doing that to Arkansas on the road. I heard this was a problem in several other SEC games over the past few weeks. They may change the rule mid season if this keeps up.

The over-hype of the new team intro also makes it onto the bad list. The intro itself isn't bad, but it was more over-hyped than the last 10 NBA Dunk Contests combined. Yeah, its cool, but everyone has already done everything you can possibly do. So stop acting like you are doing something revolutionary.

The Ugly:

The final score makes my "ugly" list. Was this type of game EXACTLY what the Razorbacks needed? Probably. But, it wasn't too long ago when the Hogs were losing 52-0 Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier. They were gracious enough to not hang 70 on Arkansas. I even remember how embarrassed I was when USC hung 70 on the Hogs. Is it their job to stop you? Yes, but just because you paid the little kid down the street $100 bucks to punch him in the face, doesn't always make it right. I felt like I needed to take a shower after the game, but that is par for the course when a slump buster is involved.

Also, Bielema challenging the spot on a first down up 63-0. I disagreed with this because our defense needed the reps. Regardless of the spot of the ball, at this point in the game, the offense didn't need anymore reps. They had proven their point.