Razorbacks ignoring Big Ten bowl woes; avoiding discipline issues
by January 3, 2011 9:02 am 76 views
When Arkansas and Ohio State square off Tuesday night (Jan. 4) in the Sugar Bowl it will be the Big Ten’s last chance to salvage from post season pride, notes this report from KFSM 5 Sports.
In a New Year’s day massacre Mississippi State, Alabama and Florida took out Michigan State, Michigan and Penn State. Wisconsin, a fourth Big Ten team, lost to TCU.
5 Sports reporter/anchor Jonathan Huskey visited with several Razorback coaches and players in New Orleans to gauge their reaction to the Big Ten’s frustrations and how that might affect Arkansas attitude about the Sugar Bowl. They basic message they offered: Those other games have nothing to do with our game.
"You know, I don’t put a lot into that," head coach Bobby Petrino said. "We have to worry about our game, and we’re playing a great football team that’s very well coached."
Big Ten teams were outscored by a combined score of 138-45 on New Years day courtesy of the SEC, but senior safety Rudell Crim downplayed the significance of those numbers.
"We try not to really look at it like that," Crim explained. "I mean, we just try to keep our focus on the game that’s ahead of us, and just try not to even worry about, as far as, the SEC’s record is right now. We’re just focused on Ohio State. They’re an elite Big 10 team and we’re just focused on them."
Also, less than 48 hours before the 2011 Sugar Bowl there have been no curfew or discipline issues reported by Arkansas head coach bobby Petrino in contrast to what happened at last year’s Liberty Bowl.
Three Razorback football players were suspended during the Liberty Bowl appearance after violating curfew. The suspensions sent a strong message to the rest of the team, according to this report from 5 Sports staff writer Mike Irwin. Petrino said it was difficult to send the player home ending their college careers since they were seniors but he said he had no choice.
A year later his actions have paid off leading up to the biggest Razorback Bowl game in decades.
"We’re mature," Petrino told reporters. "We’ve been together now for three years, and we have some great leadership from within our team, our seniors really understand, what’s at stake. I think our players think that this is a big game for our football team, for our university, and we wanted to come down here and handle things the right way."