The Arkansas Razorbacks looked night and day different in this years opener compared to last seasons.

The Hogs took care of business in Little Rock versus the Missouri State Bears in an impressive 48-10 victory that included a new passing record.

Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson combined 30 competitions on 41 attempts for a record 447 yards.  Mallett of Texarkana was 17-22 for 309 yards and 1 TD while Wilson of Grenwood was 13-19 for 138 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 interception.  Both quarterbacks were very crisp and very patient staying in the pocket making good decisions.

Thirteen different receivers caught passes in the game.

Arkansas wide receiver Jarius Wright carries during the second quarter of the NCAA college football game with Missouri State in Little Rock, Ark., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/David Quinn)

If developing a quarterback is an art then Bobby Petrino is Pablo Picasso.

That is very evident with what he accomplished at Louisville.  I am convinced if he had another year or two with Casey Dick then he would have smashed many passing records.

One week into the 2009 camp and three days into two-a-days, Petrino sees an improvement in his quarterbacks.

“We’ve been very hard on them and grading them tough,” says Petrino.  “They had a better day today, but still have a ways to go”.

Quarterbacks Ryan Mallett of Texarkana and Tyler Wilson of Greenwood had a fine scrimmage late in the afternoon.

Mallett, who led the first-team offense against the second defense, completed 8 of 10 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Wilson, who practiced against the first defense, was 6 of 8 for 119 yards and a touchdown.

In fact, the entire offense looked much better than the defense and that concerned Petrino.

“I thought the offense got after the defense,” Petrino said. “We gave up some big plays which we can’t have on defense. But we had guys flying around making plays offensively.”

Running back Michael Smith liked what he saw as well.

“If this was the first time we got together and put it together and it was like this, you know we can only go up from here,” he said.

This may be the year the Razorbacks break many records on offense and you can count on this artist being in rare form.

University of Arkansas basketball coach John Pelphrey announced today that Razorback recruit Anthony Borden will enroll in junior college for the upcoming 2009-2010 season.

“Anthony will not be joining us this fall,” Pelphrey says. “He will be going to a junior college.  I have a lot of respect for Anthony and his family, and we wish him well.”

Borden played at West Memphis High School and signed with Arkansas during the early signing period.

It is not known which junior college he will attend at this time.

Former Arkansas football coach Lou Holtz is considering running for Congress.

According to the Orlando Sentinel Holtz will challenge first-term U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, FL.

Holtz met with top Republicans (on his terms) last week and said he was interested in running as a republican.

“You put him in the ring and it’s all but over,” said John Dowless, an Orlando-based Republican consultant. “He’s on TV, he’s likable, the name ID is huge and people respect him enormously.”

Roger Handberg believes it will be interesting.

“He has a personality in sports, but I don’t know how that translates to politics,” said Handberg, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida. He warned that Democrats almost certainly would comb past Holtz broadcasts to find other incendiary statements.

“Holtz has said enough things on TV; and because of this I’m sure he’s said enough stupid things,” said Handberg.

Last year, he called Adolf Hitler a “great leader” when comparing the Nazi leader to Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez. He later issued an apology.

Arkansas fans will remember the time he said, “Arkansas is not the end of the world, but you can sure see it from there”.

If Dr. Lou decides to indeed run you can count on the democrats to go back and watch video of his ESPN show to find disparaging comments.

And they will find them.

Bobby Petrino at SEC Media Days

Hoover, Ala. – It was night and day this year at SEC Media Days for Bobby Petrino.  He looked very comfortable behind the podium and smiled several times.

“I feel a little more comfortable today than I did a year ago standing up here,” the head coach said. “I can tell you that,” he added with a smile.

He should smile because his Arkansas Razorback Football team is finally catching on to what he wants done.

“I think what happens,” he explained, “is when you come in change is hard on everybody. When you have new philosophies, new ways that you work, new ways that you practice, it takes a while for players to adapt and adjust to that.

Our players have been in our system now for a year. They understand what the expectations are. Not only of the coaching staff, but they’ve now learned to expect that from themselves and from each other. You get your systems implemented. The first year you’re going out there sometimes and there’s still question and doubt on what you’re doing, what the coach is asking you to do, and therefore you can’t play as fast, as aggressive, as you normally do or would like to do.

The second year, you see a lot of improvement because the players understand what you expect, they know what they need to do, and they’re comfortable with what you’re doing. ”

Tight End DJ Williams agrees with his coach.

“There’s a big difference between last year and this year in what we know,” Williams said as he took his turn in front of the microphones. “Like, last year, if you were to ask me about what we were doing, I would’ve said it almost looks like Chinese to me. But Coach Petrino’s a tough coach and he knows his stuff and just one year into the system. I know so much more. So this year, instead of thinking about what we need to do on the field, we’ll be reacting.”

Petrino as been on Williams  about his blocking this Spring and Williams says that it is paying off.

“Sometimes, I’m in practice, and he’ll be getting on me, but when I look at the video, I see he was right. One thing he’s been telling me for a while is that I need to work on my blocking. Typically, when you tell a player anything’s wrong with their game, they’ll be offended, but when you adjust, you see he was right, and that’s why he’s just about as good as anyone in the country.”

Williams and the offense could make Petrino smile a lot this year if they can put a lot of points on the board.  One position Petrino shoud be very happy about is at running back.

“We have more depth and more competition at running back,” Petrino pointed out. “That will make us better. Michael carried the ball a few times last year in a game way too many times. We’ll be able to give more carries to different guys, whether it be Knile Davis. We have a true freshman I like coming in, Ronnie Wingo, 215 pounds and fast. Then we have the two guys that helped out last year in De ‘Anthony Curtis and Dennis Johnson. Hopefully Broderick Green. We have yet to get a decision on that. NCAA is taking their time. Hopefully we’ll know something soon. I’m hoping for a positive outcome.”

Every Razorback fan in the state of Arkansas would like to know the answer on Green.  That will make the fans feel more comfortable and make them smile.