Houston Dale Nutt: Good Times, Bad Times at Arkansas

By game time Saturday, anti-Nutt feelings will understandably be at a fever pitch among Razorback fans, but we thought that now would be an appropriate time to reflect on both the good and the bad of his tenure.

We’re mainly interested in hearing about your memories of the Houston Dale era, but for the sake of starting the discussion, we’ve compiled the following list of our favorite and least-favorite games from his time in Fayetteville.

Favorite

1. Arkansas 50, LSU 48, 3OT, Nov. 23, 2007

A no-brainer for the top of this list: The unranked Hogs defeat a No. 1 team for the first time since 1981 in an epic, nationally televised thriller.

2. Arkansas 27, Texas 6, Cotton Bowl, Jan. 1, 2000

Victories over Texas and victories in bowl games have been in short supply in the history of Razorback football. On this day, the Hogs got both.

3. Arkansas 27, Auburn 10, Oct. 7, 2006

The 2006 season wasn’t shaping up to be anything special until the unranked Hogs went on the road and, fueled by the one-two punch of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, embarrassed the No. 2 Tigers.

4. Arkansas 21, LSU 20, Nov. 29, 2002

Matt Jones to Decori Birmingham. ‘Nuff said.

5. Arkansas 58, Ole Miss 56, 7OT, Nov. 3, 2001

No, that’s not the score of one of that year’s Hog-Rebel basketball games (for starters, that’s way too many points for the hoop teams of that era). This never-ending and endlessly entertaining game was the first in what was to become something of a Nutt trademark: games with overtime piled upon overtime.

Least Favorite

1. Tennessee 28, Arkansas 24, Nov. 14, 1998

Stoerner fumbles. Devastating.

2. Florida 38, Arkansas 28, Dec. 2, 2006

Fish fumbles. Only slightly less devastating.

3. Alabama 41, Arkansas 38, Sept. 15, 2007

An epic Hog comeback goes for naught when the Tide pull off a last-second win. Unfortunately, this loss set the tone for a disappointing season.

4. UNLV 31, Arkansas 14, Dec. 21, 2000

This appearance in the prestigious Las Vegas Bowl merits serious consideration as the most humiliating bowl loss in the Razorbacks’ humiliating bowl-game history.

5. Southern Cal 70, Arkansas 17, Sept. 17, 2005

The Trojans looked like an NFL team, the Hogs...like a junior high team.

OK, that’s our take. What’s yours?