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| | Monday, September 4 Cobbs has plans of running hog-wild over SEC | |||||
| By Pat Forde Special to ESPN.com Arkansas Razorbacks 1999 record: 8-4 (4-4 SEC) Coach: Houston Nutt Returning starters: 9 (4 offense, 5 defense) Outlook After the first back-to-back bowl bids in 10 years, they're going Nutts over Houston in Fayetteville. Construction is underway to expand Razorback Stadium from 51,000 to more than 70,000, with the enthusiastic backing of the populace. Nutt's third Arkansas team will ride on the strong legs of sophomore running back Cedric Cobbs. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder shared the position with Chrys Chukwuma last year and still ran for 668 yards (a fat 5.8 per carry). This year Nutt says he'll get 25-30 carries a game -- which could make him a darkhorse Heisman candidate. Robby Hampton looks like the quarterback after Gary Brashears unexpectedly left the team. Hampton certainly isn't expected to be as dramatic as departed Clint Stoerner, who captured the nation's attention by abjectly fumbling away a huge game against Tennessee in 1998 and then leading a stirring upset of the Volunteers in 1999. The Razorbacks don't play a road game until mid-October -- and that one's against South Carolina -- so hope stirs for a repeat of their serendipitous 8-0 start to the Nutt Era in '98. But two of those early home games are against the league favorites, Alabama and Georgia. Keep an eye on ... Big split end Boo Williams, who had 28 catches for 384 yards and four touchdowns in only eight games. At 6 feet 4 and 235 pounds, the junior-college transfer is one of the biggest wideouts in the country. It's a good season if ... The Hogs can parlay a soft non-league schedule and a major home-field upset into a third straight bowl bid. |
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