Hogs salivating at Rebel rematch

Ron Higgins

Thursday, Aug. 2, 2001 | 11:11 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- It's not often you get such a quick rematch with the last opponent that left a bad taste in your mouth.

But through the heat and the sweat of offseason workouts, the Arkansas Razorbacks can't wait for the 2001 football season opener in Little Rock against UNLV on Aug. 30.

The Hogs' final memory of an injury-filled 2000 season was a 31-14 loss to the Rebels last Dec. 21 in the Las Vegas Bowl in a game thoroughly dominated by UNLV. The loss dropped Arkansas to 6-6 for the season.

"It's not about getting revenge," said Arkansas senior offensive guard Kenny Sandlin earlier this week at the Southeastern Conference media days. "It's about playing your best game, about showing the nation we're better than we showed that night.

"Maybe we were complacent because we were just happy to get into a bowl. I can't put my finger on it, but there was something there that didn't allow us to play our best game. Finishing 6-6 was unacceptable. Anything less than eight or nine wins is unacceptable."

That's why Arkansas has worked with a firm resolve since the bowl loss. There have been coaching staff changes, the return of a healthy Cedric Cobbs at running back and the ongoing saga whether junior quarterback Robby Hampton's shoulder has recovered from rotator cuff surgery.

The way fourth-year Arkansas coach Houston Nutt sees it, if his team could survive last season's onslaught of injuries, it can handle anything.

Three Razorback quarterbacks were knocked out of the South Carolina game in a 25-play span. The top three tailbacks had season-ending injuries at various times during the year, including Cobbs going down after separating his shoulder in game three vs. Alabama.

"We were 3-0, had just beaten Alabama on national TV before millions of people and the next day your trainer tells you to sit down when he's giving you the medical report," Nutt said. "We lost five difference-makers that day. It got so tough late in the year we went to the intramural field to find a quarterback (John Rutledge)."

The uncertainty at quarterback still haunts the Razorbacks. Because Hampton isn't quite 100 percent and because backup Zac Clark didn't overwhelm anybody last year, it's enough reason for the Hogs not to be mentioned among the favorites to win the SEC's Western Division.

Certainly along with Mississippi State, the Razorbacks have the league's deepest running game. That's good, but that's not enough.

"You can't just run the ball in this league because there are too many talented athletes on defense," Nutt said. "You've got to have balance. You've got to throw the ball and have guys make plays."