No shortage of tickets for this one

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The previous two weeks, there were plenty of people outside Reynolds Razorback Stadium holding up fingers, meaning they needed tickets.
That was for Alabama and Georgia.
It was a different scene outside the stadium on Saturday night as people were holding up tickets to sell, and there didn't appear to be any takers.
The combination of the opponent (1-5 Louisiana-Monroe), the weather (48 degrees at kickoff and sure to get colder) and last week's game (a 38-7 loss to Georgia) no doubt contributed to it being a buyer's market for tickets.
But the fans who had tickets showed up. The announced crowd was 50,947, and most of the stadium's 51,000 seats appeared to be full.

SNOUTIN' OFF
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM
What was Arkansas' starting quarterback, redshirt sophomore Robby Hampton, doing taking snaps in the third quarter with Arkansas leading 31-6?
Houston Nutt apparently had forgotten last year's game against Louisiana-Monroe, when Arkansas starter Clint Stoerner injured his shoulder when he inexplicably was playing with the Razorbacks leading 38-7 in the fourth quarter.
Fortunately for Arkansas, Hampton wasn't injured Saturday night, but the point is he could have been hurt and should have been on the bench in the second half with the game well in hand.
Plus, by playing Hampton longer than he should have, for the second week in a row Nutt blew an opportunity to give valuable snaps to backups Jared McBride and Zak Clark.
Last week Hampton was still playing even after Georgia took a 31-0 lead midway through the third quarter of what became a 38-7 Bulldogs' victory. McBride didn't get in until Arkansas' final possession against Georgia, with less than two minutes left.
Hampton finally came out of the game late in the third quarter after Arkansas went ahead 45-6.

WAS BROYLES AD THEN?
Louisiana-Monroe may be the perfect homecoming opponent, but it's a rarity for the Razorbacks to play a nonconference patsy for homecoming.
Saturday night marked the first time since 1929 that Arkansas hadn't faced either a Southwest Conference or SEC opponent for homecoming.

NOT QUITE $1 MILLION
Arkansas paid its three nonconference opponents a combined $890,000 in guarantees.
That breaks down to $425,000 for Boise State, $315,000 for Louisiana-Monroe and $150,000 for Southwest Missouri State.

JONES TOP SENIOR
Considering all the injuries Arkansas has suffered this season, maybe the Razorbacks should have given out the Crippled Hall Award.
Instead, for the 50th year in a row, there was a Crip Hall Award for the outstanding senior in the homecoming game.
The award went to linebacker J.J. Jones, whose second-quarter interception return gave the Razorbacks a 14-0 lead.

ANOTHER CONCUSSION
By the second quarter, Louisiana-Monroe was down to its third-team quarterback, junior Andre Vige.
Sophomore Andy Chance, who had started the Indians' previous 16 games at quarterback, didn't play because he sustained a concussion against Southwest Texas last week.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Corcoran made his first start in Chance's place, but he had to leave the game after suffering a concussion against the Razorbacks.

NIGHT OF FIRSTS
Arkansas linebacker J.J. Jones had his first career interception and turned it into his first touchdown. ... Freshman tailback Brandon Holmes scored the first two rushing touchdowns of his college career. ... Freshman defensive back Jimmy Beasley became the first Razorback to block a punt since 1997, when Ryan Hale had a blocked punt against SMU.

MADRE MAKES THE CALL
Madre Hill, the former Arkansas running back who is with the Cleveland Browns, was among those phoning in to Hog Calls, the pregame show on Arkansas' radio network.
Hill made the call on his cell phone while traveling to the airport for the Browns' flight to Phoenix, where they will play the Arizona Cardinals today.
Hill is on the Brown's injured reserve list and is ineligible to play, but he said he still has to make all the road trips. He noted that Anthony Lucas -- the Razorbacks' all-time leading receiver who is a rookie with the Green Bay Packers but is on injured reserve because he is recovering from knee surgery -- has it good because he doesn't have to travel with the team.
Lucas has been back in Fayetteville for the past couple of weeks and was among the Arkansas "legends" appearing at the Southwestern Bell Hog Trough.

PLAYING IT SAFE
With Arkansas leading 24-0 and facing fourth-and-1 at the Louisiana-Monroe 45 with 1:30 left in the second quarter, Razorbacks Coach Houston Nutt elected to punt.
Maybe Nutt was thinking back to the Boise State game earlier this season, when the Razorbacks led 24-0, faced fourth-and-1 at the Broncos 48 with 8:20 left in the second quarter and didn't get the first down when Cedric Cobbs was stopped for no gain.
Boise State responded with a drive for a field goal that got it back in the game. The Broncos eventually tied it at 31 before the Razorbacks pulled out a 38-31 victory.

NOT IN HIS WILDEST DREAMS
Keith Jackson, the former Oklahoma All-America tight end who is the color analyst on Arkansas' radio broadcast, didn't catch his Sooners' 63-14 pounding of Texas.
"I laid down," Jackson said.
Looked like the Longhorns did, too.

NEW OLD NUMBER FOR BALL
With Arkansas sophomore Nathan Ball's move from tight end back to offensive tackle, he changed numbers from 82 to 79.
Ball also wore 79 last season when he played tackle. He started at left tackle Saturday night in place of junior Shannon Money, who was sidelined because of an ankle injury.

THE GOOD
Robby Hampton threw four touchdown passes to tie an Arkansas record he now shares with his quarterbacks coach, Joe Ferguson (vs. TCU in 1972), Brad Taylor (vs. Rice in 1983) and Ronnie South (vs. SMU in 1967).

THE BAD
Louisiana-Monroe. These guys may want to change their name again.

This article was published on Sunday, October 8, 2000

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