In the Redzone: Boot's headed back to where it's appreciated

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

LSU gave Arkansas the Boot Friday.
Well, the Tigers didn't give it up. The Razorbacks took back the Boot with a 14-3 victory over LSU.
The Boot is a 24-carat gold-plated trophy shaped like Arkansas and Louisiana that is the brainchild of former Razorbacks' linebacker David Bazzel and since 1996 has been awarded to the winner of the Arkansas-LSU game.
While Arkansas has a prominent spot for the Boot to be displayed in the Jerry Jones and Jim Lindsey Hall of Champions in the Broyles Center, LSU has had it stuck back in a dark corner of its football museum after beating the Razorbacks 35-10 last season.
"Every day we've walked through [the Hall of Champions] on our way to practice and seen there's a place for the Boot, but it's been empty," Arkansas junior center Josh Melton said. "It's good to know we've got the Boot back now to fill that space."
The idea behind creating the Boot was to add some spice to the Arkansas-LSU rivalry.
"I know winning the Boot means something to us," Melton said. "We talked about it all week, about how the Boot got taken from us last year.
"We wanted to get that trophy back. It's going back to its home now where everybody can see it."

SNOUTIN' OFF
HILL IMPRESSED BY HOLMES
The two Arkansas players who have had the most carries in a game were at War Memorial Stadium on Friday.
Freshman tailback Brandon Holmes rushed for 143 yards on 42 carries against LSU with Madre Hill -- who rushed 45 times for 186 yards against Auburn in 1995 on the same field -- watching from the stands.
"Brandon is a hoss," said Hill, who is on the injured reserve list for the Cleveland Browns this season. "He's a real big, physical running back, and he did a great job of carrying the load for us today."
Holmes was carrying the load because of the loss of Cedric Cobbs and Fred Talley to season-ending knee injuries.
"I'm just so glad our program has gotten to the point where we can suffer the type of losses we've had at the running back position and still have it to the point where we can win a game like this," Hill said. "I think that's a credit to Houston Nutt and his coaching staff for recruiting some great players."

SABAN, THOMPSON TALK
Arkansas co-defensive coordinator John Thompson had a brief talk with his old boss -- LSU coach Nick Saban -- after Friday's game.
Thompson, who went from Memphis to LSU last December, worked for Saban for about three weeks before deciding to return to his home state and accept a job offer from Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt.
While Saban wasn't happy about Thompson's abrupt departure from LSU, he had to appreciate the number the Razorbacks' defense did on the Tigers in holding them to three points and 149 yards in total offense.
"We talked on the field after the game, and he [Saban] told me, 'Good job and good luck,' " Thompson said.
Thompson said beating LSU didn't mean anything extra to him.
"Absolutely not," Thompson said. "This game means extra to me because it's just a thrill to be at Arkansas. That's all."
When leading at halftime ...
It was a good omen for the Razorbacks when they led LSU 7-3 at halftime. Arkansas is now 17-1 under Coach Houston Nutt when it has had a halftime lead.
The only game in the last three seasons that Arkansas has led at halftime and then lost was at Tennessee in 1998, when the Razorbacks were ahead 21-10 and the No. 1-ranked Vols rallied to win 28-24.

TUBERVILLE OWES HOUSTON AGAIN
Last week when Arkansas' victory at Mississippi State clinched the SEC West's spot in the conference title game for Auburn, Tigers Coach Tommy Tuberville said "thank-you" to Razorbacks Coach Houston Nutt.
Now Tuberville can thank Nutt again. The Razorbacks' victory over LSU means Auburn is the SEC West's outright champion.

RECOUNT MAY BE IN ORDER
We salute the fans who showed up at War Memorial Stadium on a cold, rainy day when they could have stayed home and watched the Arkansas-LSU game on CBS.
But the announced crowd of 43,982 seemed a little high.
It appeared to be more like 35,000.
Not that Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt was complaining. He praised the fans who braved the weather to support the Razorbacks in person.
"The fans were phenomenal, just awesome," Nutt said. "They were vocal and they made a big difference for us."

SAY HEY, BILLY RAY
Billy Ray Smith Jr., a two-time All-American defensive end at Arkansas in 1981-82, was in Little Rock over Thanksgiving visiting family, and was honored during a halftime ceremony for his induction into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame.
Smith started an Arkansas-record 48 consecutive games from 1979-82 and still holds school records for tackles for losses (63) and yards lost (343). He lives in San Diego -- where he played 10 seasons with the Chargers -- and does television shows for the Chargers and San Diego State as well as serving as a radio color analyst for UCLA.
The Bruins are 6-5 and bowl-bound. They will play either in the Sun Bowl in El Paso or in the Aloha or Oahu Bowls in Honolulu.
"I'm pulling for a trip to Hawaii," Smith said.

HEY, IS THIS THING ON?
During the third quarter an official accidentally hit his microphone -- the one the officials use when they're announcing a penalty -- and could be overheard saying, "Boy, I sure feel good right now."
We're assuming he was joking about being out in the inclement weather.

THE GOOD
There's a lot to choose from regarding the Razorbacks, but the best of the good were sophomore punter Richie Butler and freshman tailback Brandon Holmes. Butler kept LSU playing on a long field all day and Holmes carried 42 times without fumbling.

THE BAD
It was a tough day for LSU quarterback Josh Booty. His only touchdown pass went to Arkansas linebacker Quinton Caver and he completed just 6 of 27 passes to his own guys.

This article was published on Saturday, November 25, 2000

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