LSU-Arkansas, or How I Forgot Holiday Schedules Screw Great Ideas Up

So I was all ready to be watching the LSU-Arkansas game from the opening kickoff … then life got in the way. Let’s pick it up at halfway through the 3^rd quarter with the score tied at 14. Side game today will be Texas-Texas A&M; A&M just went up 17-0 with less than 3 minutes to go before the half. James is going to hear about this something fierce if this keeps up.

Before we get started, a healthy f-you goes to whatever local cable affiliate I’m having to deal with for saying that Montel Williams was on CBS. Thanks, guys. It’s not like I know the channels here or anything like that.

5:04 pm: Hey look, Felix Jones is healthy, but it’s Jones and third-string QB Michael Smith back to receive. I’m sure there’s a reason behind this, but I don’t know what it is yet. Also confusing me: LSU QB Matt Flynn has run into the locker room; Ryan Perriloux is warming up, but since Arkansas has the ball, he’s got some time to get kicked off the team.

507 pm: Huge run by an Arkansas RB; who had Peyton Hillis killing it for a 60-yard TD dash in the pool? 21-14 Arkansas. Great separation by Hillis once he cleared the first level, and I’m now thinking that Hillis would get a lot more publicity if he wasn’t 3^rd or 4^th on the team at the RB position. Fortunately, he gets most of his snaps at FB.

5:11 pm: Matt Flynn’s healthy. The offense, as my girlfriend is quick to point out, isn’t, since Arkansas’s defense is in name only.

5:16 pm: I find out that Trindon Holliday is injured and not playing today. I don’t think that would’ve meant a whole lot, but I don’t know what Arkansas’s closing speed on defense is like. After watching Keiland Williams destroy the first line and blow up for a 20+ yard run, my guess on Arkansas’s closing speed is “none”. That may have been a personal record for screwing up a prediction.

5:18 pm: Doucet’s down thanks to a pancake and an incredibly late facemask (!) call. Of course, once you ignore that one of the guys clearly arrived early and the other guy didn’t even come close to a facemask, that makes perfect sense. It’s of the 15-yard variety, but we only figure that out because of where the marker was; CBS gets no points for not showing the ref’s call.

5:20 pm: Flynn threads a TD pass to Demetrius Byrd in the face of an all-out blitz. I think that makes Flynn 1-for-34 in the passes I’ve seen him throw to Byrd. Tie game again. In other news, A&M goes into the half up 17-3 on Texas. Wonder if Upset Watch has a hangover from last night – or if he’s already pounding the eggnog.

5:25 pm: CBS just showed a graphic saying that Arkansas’s already run for 265 yards. Anyone who’s watching the game (or even the last 15 minutes of it) could probably figure that out, but it does confirm my suspicions. Of course, Verne Lundquist then says McFadden rushes to the 43 when it was clearly the 41, so maybe Arkansas’s only run for 150 yards today.

5:31 pm: Casey Dick finally lines up to take the snap. While that sounds boring, it was the first time in six plays where that happened. LSU’s defense, presumably in shock, allows him to complete a pass.

5:36 pm: We have an Ali Highsmith sighting! I was wondering what was happening with him; apparently he’s an All-American and has 11 tackles today. Moral of this antecdote: I’m not paying attention.

This is going to be it for the game here for me, unfortunately, the game’s not over.