As Arkansas gears up to play LSU, somebody decided it would be a good idea to interview Darren McFadden. It’s pretty entertaining, especially when McFadden, who was one of my favorite players to watch, reminisces about that ridiculous 3OT game back in 2007.
Q: What do you remember most about that game where y’all came to Baton Rouge and won? I think it ended up being, 50-48.
“That’s exactly what it was: 50-48. One of the things I remember most about that game is I broke a long run down the sideline, and my quarterback at the time, Casey Dick, came back and threw a block for me that pretty much sprung me into the end zone.”
Dial this bad boy up to about the 2:15 mark and you’ll see what he’s talking about:
My other favorite moment of his that he brushes on?
Q: Is that one of the biggest memories from your college career?
“Definitely. I would have to say so. Those games against LSU, and then I had several good games against South Carolina, too, that still stand out to me.”
He set an SEC rushing record against the ‘Cocks, so I can see why that would stand out. And you gotta love this clip, especially the capper at the very end.
All that talent in the backfield and Arkansas wound up going 8-5. Still, they were a blast to watch.
Get The Picture 
Arkansas changes coaches about as often as Bobby Petrino changes the oil in his….ah….motorcycle? Their record in the SEC is commensurate with that deal, there.
Darren McFadden was a helluva football player.
Glad he did not go to Georgia where his natural talents would have been ruined by the coaching staff and he would have been swallowed up by a plague.
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Right, because UGA has been horrible for RBs. Maybe some would have liked the way Nutt had both McFadden and Jones on the sideline for a crucial short yardage against TN at Neyland. Big play, with two great play makers standing within 6 feet of Houston while they failed miserably on the play. He would have really suffered as a Dawg, running backs should run the other way. Honestly, I didn’t follow recruiting enough to even know who he was before he started running wild, great special talent indeed.
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Nutts teams were consistently, every where he went, the most undisciplined major college football teams I ever saw…especially on defense…late hits, out of bounds….if they’d had targeting then, half his defense woulda been in the locker room before the end of the first quarter.
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He will land a HC job this year with all the openings to be filled, doubt it is anything major, but a gig of some sort. The Right Reverend in….Memphis maybe?
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“Arkansas wound up going 8-5.”
That’s because Houston Nutt was in the people helping business. Some of the people he helped were opposing coaches.
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+1
They certainly were running back u that year. I wonder if Douglas is our version of Peyton Hillis. I think Hillis wound up in the pros.
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Fraid Hillis is a bit bigger and faster, but not a bad comparison.
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That was worthy of a visor throw from the Old Ball Sack..
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He caught a seam on a toss sweep in Athens in 2005 and went 80 yards in what looked like warp speed. It was so fast that my initial thought was that there must have been a whistle that I didn’t hear and everyone else had pulled up.
Awesome college RB.
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Yep…I remember that play vividly. I was in the student section and McFadden just ran away from our safeties…I looked at my friend and said, “Oh, he’s fast.”
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Dude was a beast. I remember Richt specifically saying he was glad he didn’t have to face him anymore.
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I remember being glad Arkansas wasn’t on our 2006 schedule after that game, even moreso than being worried/frustrated with Shockley getting injured (still say with a healthy DJ we beat UF that year, possibly Auburn too. Though that would have ended up with Richt going undefeated, winning the SEC, and watching Texas and USC play for a title.
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No doubt we would have beaten FU, almost did anyway. Our offense in that game reminds me of this year’s.
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I’ve seen two runs in Sanford that made it look as it everyone else was standing still: the first was Branden Smith’s end-around vs. SC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCtSJFVt4Yk). The second was McFadden breaking a long one in 2005. My jaw dropped. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfyiU6z72oY
Good to see the nascent wildcat from Arkansas – that was the year, team, and arguably the game that brought it into the mainstream.
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What’s the difference between the wildcat and DJ in the shotgun?
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DJ had a better arm. McFadden was a better runner.
😉
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mmmm, Homez, I don’t know about that…man do you remember the move Shock put on down around the goal line, the other team escapes me, but I can still see the blur. McFadden got more carries for sure.
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I’m sure you’ve seen it, but you must be too young to have witnessed Herschel vs. South Carolina in Sanford. Not sure how to post the clip, but he runs past about 5 defenders who have the angle on him down the sideline. Jaw-dropping.
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Agreed. I still think about that McFadden run from time to time. You couldn’t even be upset with the defense.
I might add the tunnel screen for long TD by Champ Bailey against Wyoming. He was surrounded by defenders . . . and then he wasn’t.
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“There’s nobody in this building–and there are 90,000 people in here–that could run that young man down.”
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Yep. LSU’s last regular season game was a loss and they still ended up in the MNC while we had to settle with destroying Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. Ugh.
But if Kentucky could have scored on first and goal from the five…
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What’s the difference between Tennessee and Kentucky?
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Well, take consolation in them not letting bammer in the MNC in 2011 even though they deserved it but didn’t win their half of their conference either.
Wait a minute…
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+1,000.
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McFadden was one of the fastest sprinters at tailback I’ve ever seen. And yet, before the block by the QB, he was being caught from behind by Chad Jones in that LSU clip. Holy crap.
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