What's Going on at Arkansas?

CNNSI.com columnist Stewart Mandel had a great article today on the drama that has been developing all year within the Arkansas football program. I for one feel that Houston Nutt is a good football coach who is very under appreciated at Arkansas.

The article makes claims that a lot of the criticism Nutt has received is because he never let former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn run his infamous spread hurry up offense that dominated the high school ranks. It also makes claims that Mitch Mustain was betrayed into believing he would be playing in this type of offense and slinging the ball all over the field at will. Much of the blame for Malzahn, Mustain and former WR Damian Williams' departure from the program has been placed squarely on the shoulders of Houston Nutt. All three came from the same high school in Springdale, Arkansas before coming to the Razorbacks program.

Malzahn never made any comments about the allegations that he and the others from Springdale High School were betrayed or lied to, but many are drawing these conclusions none the less. The bottom line should be that Houston Nutt lead Arkansas to a 10 win season last year and won the SEC West; a mark not hit since 1989 for the Razorbacks.

The highly regarded Mitch Mustain had a 52.3 completion percentage while backup Casey Dick was no better with a 49.2% completion rate. Arkansas was 104th in the nation in passing yards per game. Meanwhile Darren McFadden rushed for 1,647 yards and 14 TD's while throwing for 3 and catching 1. His sidekick Felix Jones ran for 1,168 yards and 6 tds while receiving 3.

This begs the question: Why would Arkansas fans be crying for an increased passing game and a change of offensive philosophy? If you have a Heisman caliber running back, why would you take your chances with a true freshmen quarterback who's close to 50% accurate passing. My guess is if Nutt went to the spread offense, Razorback fans would be crying for an increase in the running game because of him under utilizing McFadden. There is a no win situation for Nutt.

If Houston Nutt promised things to the three who came from Springdale High School and never delivered, then he was wrong. However instead of speculating like the rest of Razorback nation, look at the season he's accomplished and what he's looking forward to in the coming year. He's coming off a 10 win season, an SEC West division championship, he has a front-running Heisman candidate returning this season along with 14 starters from last year's team, and he knows he has to win or hit the road. All in all I'd say this is a winning combination for Arkansas fans.......with or without the help of the three from Springdale High.