Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Welcome back, Hog fans and other followers. The 2012 Arkansas Razorback season opens at Reynolds Razorback Stadium with (FCS) Jacksonville (Ala.) State, and we'll be live blogging the game through its duration with tidbits, scoring plays and drives and any other info we deem necessary for you.

Be a part of the blog and feel free to comment in the accompanying comment section, or send me an email at jharris@abpg.com (I periodically will check the mail during the game).

The game is significant not only as the Razorbacks' season opener, but it also marks the return to Fayetteville of former head football coach Jack Crowe, who lost his job following a stunning 10-3 upset at the hands of The Citadel on Sept. 5, 1992, nearly 20 years ago. Crowe left coaching for a while, only to return 13 years ago to lead Jacksonville State, where he's had the Gamecocks contending regularly for Ohio Valley Conference championships (they've won three under Crowe's guidance).

Arkansas fans will be anxious to see Knile Davis' return to the tailback position after missing all of 2011 with a broken ankle. Davis, quarterback Tyler Wilson and receiver Cobi Hamilton decided to forego leaving early for the NFL draft to return for one more UA season.

And, of course, we all know what happened on April Fool's Day, which led to the firing of Bobby Petrino. John L. Smith coaches his first game for the Hogs.

Arkansas fans also are interested in the performance of the defense under new coordinator Paul Haynes. Jacksonville State will feature Washaun Ealey, who started at Georgia in 2010 and will provide the Hog defenders with a tackling test, to be sure.

I've heard media members and others predicting scores in the neighborhood of 56-3. If the Hog players are thinking it will come that easy, then it probably won't, though I also doubt there's any chance for a Citadel repeat here. I see more of an opener like the Tennessee Tech game in 2010, in which the Hogs were slow to blow that game open against a gambling defense that tried to limit the Hogs' running game (or so Bobby Petrino said; it was still Tennessee Tech, and yet the Hogs had to air it out to take the game over).

So, sit back, join in, and if you're watching the game on pay-per-view, let us know how the coverage is. Also, if you're reading this after the game, it's logged in reverse chronological order, so start at the end to follow how the game unfolded as we saw it:

9:40 p.m. 49-24 Arkansas — Not really much to talk about with the last few minutes. Arkansas' defense gave up more chunks of yardage but stopped JSU on a fourth-down at the 20, and then as the final minute ticked off they teed off on JSU's Blanchard trying to pass.

Plenty to work on for the defensive, to be sure.

The worry offensively is the injury to Cobi Hamilton, which was described as an injury above the shoulder. Not sure what that means.

Frankly, 24 points seems like a lot of points to surrender to a FCS team, remember that the Hogs also blocked a makeable field goal and then stopped the late drive, or we're talking giving up 34 or so points.