FAYETTEVILLE -- Who knew Texas Tech Coach Kliff Kingsbury would come into Fayetteville guns up and a'blazing in 2015?
Kingsbury was riled up with some hard feelings that struck to the very core of his philosophy when his Red Raiders came to Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Sept. 19, 2015, with a future NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP quarterback in tow.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporters who covered memorable Arkansas sports events of the past share their insights from today.
Razorbacks fans got to witness what amounted to Patrick Mahomes' coming-out party. The sophomore had played in seven games the year before behind Davis Webb, but now the reins of the Red Raiders' Spread offense were in his capable hands.
Mahomes completed 28 of his 30 passes against the Razorbacks, 26 to his own teammates and 2 interceptions by Arkansas in the first half. He passed for 243 yards and a touchdown and added 58 rushing yards and another score. Arkansas could not contain him, as the Red Raiders went 7 for 10 on third-down conversions.
With the 6-3 Mahomes running and slinging, the Razorbacks could not keep up in the shootout, won 35-24 by Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders scored on their first possession, Mahomes' 3-yard pass to Reginald Davis capping a 77-yard drive, and the Razorbacks could never get on top.
Arkansas answered the Red Raiders' first three touchdowns, but Texas Tech scored on the opening drive of the second half on a 2-yard run by Mahomes and the Red Raiders pulled away late.
The game is best remembered for Kingsbury's postgame remarks in the visitors press conference room under Razorback Stadium.
Kingsbury had taken exception to some things Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said to a coaches' convention in Texas that summer and he offered them up, unbidden. It wasn't unusual that a Power 5 head coach had a beef with an opposing coach, it was quite strange that he aired them publicly.
"I just think the physicality," Kingsbury said. "That's a program that prides itself on being physical.
"At the Texas High School Coaches Convention this summer, he stood up and said, 'If you don't play with a fullback, we'll kick your ass. If you throw it 70 times a game, we'll kick your ass,' and he just got his ass kicked twice in a row, and probably next week by A&M as well. So that did feel good."
As a reference, Kingsbury, who was on the hot seat by then, was probably a little sore at the whipping his defense took against Arkansas the season before.
In a breakout game for the Bielema era, the Razorbacks destroyed Texas Tech 49-28 on Sept. 13, 2014, in Lubbock, Texas, behind 438 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. The Hogs occasionally used a fullback, or a moving tight end, in that game, as Alex Collins ran for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns and Jonathan Williams added 145 yards and 4 touchdowns.
There is no known video documentation of Bielema's actual comments at the clinic Kingsbury referenced, but the way his Razorbacks finished 2014 and with the talent on hand in 2015, Bielema was probably feeling pretty feisty about his program's ascent.
The 2015 team was undoubtedly Bielema's best at Arkansas with a 5-3 SEC record and some remarkable wins, but it struggled out of the gate.
The loss to Texas Tech came on the heels of a stunning 16-12 upset loss to Toledo in which the No. 18 Razorbacks outgained their visitors 515-318 in total offense.
Reporters had already talked to Bielema on the night of the loss to Texas Tech when Kingsbury's caustic remarks came to light, courtesy of reporters like Dudley Dawson of wholehogsports.com and Kurt Voigt of The Associated Press.
Bielema, never shy of verbal combat, was asked about Kingsbury's comments at his Monday press conference.
"I'm happy he got to vent, and hopefully he feels a lot better," Bielema said. "As a coach that's been in it for 10 years, I know better than to worry about somebody that's been around for a couple there, [with a record] around .500.
"Come on, brother. Don't be so sensitive. We're talking about football here. We're not talking about you in particular and what you believe in. It is what it is."
Kingsbury would last that season and three more before departing Lubbock with a 35-40 record. He's now headed toward his second season as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Bielema last through 2015 and two more years with the Razorbacks before being fired with a 29-34 overall record and an 11-29 mark in SEC play. He's now the outside linebackers coach and senior assistant with the New York Giants.
The Giants are scheduled to host the Cardinals at Met Life Stadium during the 2020 NFL season.
Some side notes to the game include another massive performance by Collins, who rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
The Razorbacks lost receiver Jared Cornelius, who had to run across the field with a broken arm after being tackled at the end of a 34-yard catch in the first half. It was a tough blow for an Arkansas offense that lost ace receiver Keon Hatcher to a broken foot the week before.
Arkansas fans will say their officiating ghosts from the old Southwest Conference days came back when a Brandon Allen touchdown pass to Hunter Henry, which could have drawn Arkansas within 35-31 midway through the fourth quarter, was waved off for offensive pass interference against Henry by the Big 12 crew.
Mahomes was on fire, but he was intercepted on deep balls by D.J. Dean in the first quarter and by Jared Collins on the second-to-last play of the first half.
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw had nine tackles for the Razorbacks, third on the team behind Brooks Ellis (12) and Rohan Gaines (10). Greenlaw and Mahomes met again in February in the Super Bowl, with Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs notching a 31-20 win over Greenlaw and the San Francisco 49ers in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Sports on 04/12/2020