Here on the Slophouse, we’re 9-1 in predicting Arkansas games so far this season.

The key Saturday morning for Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock? Stopping running back Anthony Dixon. He had a career game in overcoming Arkansas’ 14-0 advantage with 179 rushing yards and three touchdowns (2 receiving) in a 31-28 win for the Bulldogs.

Arkansas gets the advantage in skill position players, and we know the Hogs can throw the ball. But what about the Hogs’ running game? That crew has been coming on as of late, and if they can further prove their worth against a good Bulldogs defense, Arkansas may just not only win the game but do so in favorable fashion.

And how about this to give Hog fans more confidence? Arkansas has NEVER lost to Mississippi State in Little Rock.

I see Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett throwing for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Broderick Green gets two rushing TDs as Arkansas cruises …

Arkansas 38, Mississippi State 21.

Don’t forget to join our Slophouse group (group name: The Slophouse; password: slop) in our Hog Call U-Pick-Em contest to compete against me and other Slophouse fans for a chance at winning two tickets to the next Fayetteville game.

Share your picks below and I’ll see you at War Memorial Stadium.

— Brandon Marcello

These Hogs are talented, but the depth issues are as concerning as presumed.

Louisville's Edgar Sosa (10) shoots as Arkansas' Mike Washington (00) defends during the first half of the Cardinals' win Tuesday over the Razorbacks in St. Louis. (Associated Press/JEFF ROBERSON)

You almost didn’t even have to glance at the stats or even flip the TV over to ESPN2 to know that Arkansas would need a near-perfect game, a few shots of adrenaline and a foul-laden Louisville team to pull off an upset as large as the St. Louis arch.

Sure the Cardinals are only ranked 22nd in the nation, but the Hogs had as much a chance of knocking off Louisville as it did beating No. 1 Kansas Tuesday night.

I heard several people saying they believed getting the ball more to Rotnei Clarke, who scored a school-record 51 points with 13 three-pointers on Friday, would cure some of the ails. Not even close. Rick Pitino was not going to let that happen. His former pupil, Arkansas coach John Pelphrey knew as much. He figured with as heavy as Pitino scouts teams, Clarke would be guarded from the moment he stepped off the airplane in St. Louis on Tuesday.

And Pelphrey was right. Louisville’s players were yelling, “Clarke!” nearly every time the Hogs passed the ball on offense.

Arkansas needs bodies more than it needs more shots from the nation’s best shooter, Rotnei Clarke. With five players out because of suspensions, plus forward Michael Sanchez sidelined due to foot problems, the winded Razorbacks made their debut late in the first half and again for the final 15 minutes against Louisville.

When Clarke had a heavy hand in drawing attention and getting up shots, it paid off for a freshened Razorbacks team in the first 5 minutes of the second half. Arkansas used some speed, Clarke’s dangerous touch and big man Michael Washington to build a 14-0 run and cut Louisville’s 17-point lead to within one possession. Clarke had his hand in eight of those points.

But that’s when the Hogs’ legs began tighten and Louisville’s depth and shooters began to re-emerge.

Really, it’s that simple. Arkansas had eight players it could count on, and two of which wouldn’t start for any team in the SEC. Over on Pitino’s sideline, there were at least nine players that could pose a problem for many teams in the country.

Why did the Hogs lose and why will they struggle as they deal with suspensions? It really is simple.

“I think Arkansas was overmatched tonight,” Pitino said. “We had more numbers, we had fresher bodies. We were able to play our style and they were not able to play their style.”

But let’s look at the stats, because it’s always good to see some hard proof of what is being described.

BENCH POINTS
Arkansas — 8
Louisville — 32

THREE-POINTERS
Arkansas — 3 (all by Rotnei Clarke)
Louisville — 15

REBOUNDS
Arkansas — 36
Louisville — 47

ASSISTS
Arkansas — 12
Louisville — 25

Still, as expected, there was high praise from Pitino to his former player and the Razorbacks.

“Once they get their numbers, they are going to be a terrific basketball team,” said Pitino, who coached Pelphrey for three seasons at Kentucky.

Yep. Arkansas needs the numbers, just as presumed.

UPDATE (9:55 a.m., Wednesday): Here’s some video from the post-game press conferences of the coaches talking depth, complete with Pitino’s expectations for Arkansas this season.

NOBLES CAUSE
How about freshman Julysses Nobles‘ debut? The point guard never left the floor Tuesday night and has piled up some eye-opening numbers in place of the indefinitely suspended Courtney Fortson.

Nobles finished with 7 assists and 3 turnovers, and also had 4 steals in the 30-point loss Tuesday. In his first two games of his Razorbacks career, Nobles has 16 assists to just 5 turnovers.

Not bad, especially since Pelphrey knew going in to Tuesday that Louisville would try to put Nobles on the ground as much as possible.

“He has done exactly what we needed him to do,” Pelphrey said. “… I thought he did very, very well. I’m excited about the way he’s playing. He’s going to give us a chance in some of these games.”

NOTABLES
Forward Marshawn Powell has recorded double-doubles in each of his first two games at Arkansas. He finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds against Louisville. … Clarke has 16 of 24 three-pointers (66.6 percent) this season … Louisville’s Reginald Delk, a Mississippi State transfer, hit 8 of 9 shots and four 3-pointers off the bench for a game-high 20 points … Pitino is now 23-6 in games against his former assistants, including 2-0 against Pelphrey. Pitino beat Pelphrey’s South Alabama team, 90-79, in 2002. Pitino joked the win total might be more even if he didn’t coax his former assistants to travel to play their mentor.

Make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates via @bmarcello and@wholehogsports.

— Brandon Marcello

Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson was back at work Sunday, two days after being hospitalized for an infection. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JASON IVESTER)

Robinson was battling an infection, was hospitalized over night and was released Saturday while the Razorbacks were dismantling Troy, 56-20. Robinson did not coach the game, obviously, but Coach Bobby Petrino expects the 53-year-old to be back on the sidelines Saturday in Little Rock.

That’s good news for the Razorbacks, especially with Monday being such a heavy game planning day. Last week the Hogs at least had Robinson for the entire week leading up to the game, which mean the game plan was already in place before Robinson fell ill.

Most of all, this scare has opened some of the eyes of the coaching staff at Arkansas. Eating healthy and exercising usually goes to the wayside during football season for coaches. Petrino’s vice is drinking coffee.

It’s habit, it seems, to pour yourself a cup of coffee when breaking down tape in the offices, Petrino said.

“I think the biggest thing is to make sure we do a good job of eating properly, not drinking so much coffee,” Petrino said. “And when I say that, I’m talking to myself because I’m not very good at it.”

This isn’t the first time Petrino has been a part of a health scare on a coaching staff. While at Louisville, defensive coordinator Mike Cassidy fell ill before a road game at Syracuse. Reggie Johnson, as he did Saturday for Arkansas, called plays for the defense that day, Petrino said.

It certainly has been a wild year for health on the football team, hasn’t it? Joe Adams‘ mild stroke in October will never be forgotten.

Flash Wingo
Watching Ronnie Wingo’s 83-yard touchdown catch and run develop late Saturday against Troy certainly was jaw-dropping. The true freshman ran most of that distance out of the backfield and his speed was apparent as he went untouched into the end zone.

He has a sprinter’s mentality. After all, he was one of the top track stars in the state of Missouri in the spring and won the 100 and 200 meters as a high school runner.

“It was great to see the other night,” Petrino said. “Just about all the coaches at the same time on the (head)phones said, ‘he’s gone’ and it was about 8 yards down the field. He’s very fast and he really showed the sprinter’s speed the other night.”

Is he the fastest player on the team, though? Well, he certainly is fast but probably isn’t even the fastest player in Arkansas’ large stable of running backs.

That honor, at least in the 40-yard dash, would probably go to kickoff return man Dennis Johnson. He tested out as the fastest player during spring drills.

JOHNSON IN THE DOGHOUSE?
Speaking of Johnson, the sophomore was in Petrino’s doghouse for a short time after the Ole Miss game.

Why? Well, he had a small injury and didn’t do everything the coaching staff asked of him to recover properly. Don’t worry, Johnson is back in the good graces of his head coach.

Johnson rushed for 58 yards on four carries against Troy on Saturday.

“If you react in a positive manner then it helps everybody,” Petrino said. “I thought it helped Dennis. It helped the fact that he got more on the field.

“I’ve always had a tremendous amount of confidence in him carrying the ball. You know he’s going to make yards and do a good job when he carries the ball. There was a time the other night where I just said, ‘Hey, Dennis. Let’s go. Get in there and go and we’ll get you the ball.’ He made three really, really good runs.”

We had been wondering why Johnson, who is now the school’s career leader in kickoff return yards, hadn’t been getting many carries since his 107-yard rushing performance against No. 1 Florida. Now we know.

INJURIES
RB Michael Smith didn’t see much time against Troy because of an unspecified injury, but should be good to go Saturday in Little Rock. OL Zach Stadther (knee) and DB David Gordon (foot) are the most worrisome for Petrino entering this evening. They’ll be evaluated tonight.

Make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates via @bmarcello and @wholehogsports.

You can read more about the game in a short game story on WholeHogSports.com, and you can relive the action through our ever-popular live game blog. After doing that, check out the video below of the players and coaching staff reacting after the big night that gives Arkansas bowl eligibility for the first time in the Bobby Petrino era.

Make sure to check out the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and WholeHogSports.com for complete coverage Sunday morning. Make sure to follow us on Twitter (@bmarcello and @wholehogsports) for breaking news as well.

I’ll have more on the blog late Sunday after I do some traveling across the state.

Thanks for sticking with us for complete Razorbacks coverage.

— Brandon Marcello

Literally.

Rotnei Clarke goes up for his 13th, record-breaking 3-pointer against Alcorn State on Friday night. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MICHAEL WOODS)

Clarke, who had foot problems when he arrived on campus as a freshman, buried his feet in a bucket of ice after practice Wednesday. Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey saw Clarke cooling his feet and automatically thought the sophomore, as he has done his entire life as a basketball player, had just finished taking a few hundred extra shots in Bud Walton Arena and was treating his aches and pains.

“Come to find out, he was back here two hours later to throw up a whole other series of shots,” Pelphrey said. “Yeah, that’s the type of guy you want to coach. It means something to him and he’s willing to work for it.”

Clarke’s record-breaking night of 13 three-pointers and 51 points in Arkansas’ 130-68 win Friday was the result of extra work after practice at Bud Walton Arena and at the sports complex his father, Conley, runs in Springdale.

Apparently the sophomore hit 275 of 300 treys and then followed that up with 281 of 300 the following night after practice.

“My dad is all about the numbers,” Clarke chuckled. “He’s helped me up until this point. I felt like I was really shooting it well the last couple of nights.”

That’s the understatement of the year.

Pelphrey, who played at Kentucky and coached great shooters like Matt Bonner at Florida, said he had never seen a shooting night like Clarke’s 15-of-21 shooting performance against Alcorn State.

“He may take it to a whole other level,” Pelphrey said.

What about Farmer?
And what about Jemal Farmer in his debut as a Razorback? The forward hit 9 of 16 shots and 9 of 10 free throws to record a double-double of 28 points and 12 rebounds.

Not bad.

“That’s an unbelievable night,” Pelphrey said. “Too bad your teammate had 51 (points).”

Foul trouble
Forward Michael Washington picked up two quick fouls just 46 seconds into the game, and only played 5 minutes in the first half. With Arkansas’ depth issues because of suspensions and injuries, only six scholarship players dressed out for Arkansas. Coupled with that, Washington’s absence could have proved huge but thanks to Clarke and Farmer, the Hogs did just fine.

Washington played 12 minutes in the second half and managed to bump his stats up to 14 points and 5 rebounds with 4 blocks.

Block party
Speaking of blocks, the Hogs had 10 against the Braves. Marshawn Powell led the way with 5 blocks.

Getting the point
Pelphrey was admittedly worried about giving the point guard duties to freshman Julysses Nobles with guard Courtney Fortson out due to suspension.

In his debut, Nobles did admirably with 9 assists and 8 points. The best stat, though, might be the five steals he accumulated.

“Everybody looked like an all-star tonight,” Alcorn State coach Larry Smith said. “It’s hard to pin-point one guy.

“We showed not a whole lot of resistance and they did what they wanted to do. The outcome reflects that.”

Up next for Arkansas is a Tuesday trip to St. Louis to play Louisville at the Scottrade Center in the Hall of Fame Showcase. Plenty of storylines there with Pelphrey coaching against his mentor, Rick Pitino.

“Coach (Pitino) isn’t going to let him shoot,” Pelphrey told FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman late Friday night. “He’ll pick him up as soon as he lands in St. Louis.”

— Brandon Marcello

Make your picks and win some tix.

Here on the Slophouse, we’re 8-1 in predicting Arkansas games so far this season.

Troy would be best served throwing the ball 40 times in this game, otherwise the Trojans may be limping home after a beating at the hands of a bunch of Razorbacks looking to become bowl eligible.

Honestly, Troy has not met expectations despite a 7-2 record and seven-game winning streak. And I know everyone wants to talk about coach Larry Blakeney supposedly picking a win over the Hogs. The fact of the matter is this: Blakeney says he never said such a thing and, perhaps, never should have even thought it after losing its season opener to Bowling Green State, 31-14.

Yikes.

So how do I see the game developing? Well, Ryan Mallett will not have a day like he did against South Carolina last week but will still break the school record for passing yards in a season and most pass attempts without an interception against the Trojans. I’ll go with 215 yards for the redshirt sophomore with 2 touchdown tosses. What’s interesting to me is whether Michael Smith gets going on the ground in his final game as a Razorback in Fayetteville.

Hogs start hot, hold off Troy and set some records along the way. Oh, and don’t forget about becoming bowl eligible.

Arkansas 35, Troy 21.

Don’t forget to join our Slophouse group (group name: The Slophouse; password: slop) in our Hog Call U-Pick-Em contest to compete against me and other Slophouse fans for a chance at winning two tickets to the next Fayetteville game.

Share your picks below and I’ll see you at Razorback Stadium.

— Brandon Marcello