Stories by Wally Hall

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Clyde Horton left profound impact on many He never tried to do it, he couldn't help himself. Being a role model mentor, no, make that father figure, was in his DNA. Clyde Horton was a husband, father, grandfather, cousin, uncle, etc..., etc... October 5, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: This one was all but decided after coin toss Arkansas won the coin toss and nothing else. The team that beat ranked Texas and Texas A&M to go to 4-0 was dominated from start to finish by the Georgia Bulldogs. Dominated on the scoreboard an... October 3, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Georgia shuts out Razorbacks, 37-0 Arkansas didn’t play well, but the Razorbacks may have met the best football team in the country today in a loss to the No. 2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. The Razorbacks committed far too mental mistakes... October 2, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: SEC schedule packed from start to finish There are still five undefeated teams in the SEC, and that will change Saturday when 4-0 Arkansas takes on 4-0 Georgia and 3-0 Ole Miss plays 4-0 Alabama. Before forgetting, Kirby Smart did win the S... October 1, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Smart's elusive national title within reach It seems most coaches who have spent time at Alabama under Nick Saban have adopted some of his methods and personality. There's seven reasons why they should not. National championships. Kirby Smart... September 30, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: That chip on Hogs' shoulder isn't going away So far it has been a magic carpet ride. A September to remember forever. The Arkansas Razorbacks didn't just turn a corner in Sam Pittman's second year, they got on a different course. It's like th... September 29, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Yurachek made the right hire at the right time Less than an hour into his first meeting with Sam Pittman, Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek got it. He knew why so many former players had called or written in support of Pittman being the ... September 28, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Nothing's bigger than beating a Texas team ARLINGTON, Texas -- Call them the undisputed heavyweight champions of the state of Texas. The 16th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks found a way Saturday afternoon to overcome No. 7 Texas A&M 20-10, eve... September 26, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas' defense steps up in 20-10 victory over A&M It almost looked hopeless as Arkansas desperately clung to 17-10, after leading 17-0. It fel like all the momentum had swung in the fourth quarter. Texas A&M was moving the ball. Arkansas’ starti... September 25, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Poor Bama relegated to SEC Network A few good games are on tap for the SEC this week, but there are also several that could be blowouts. The SEC has six teams still undefeated, four in the West, but that will definitely change this we... September 24, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Fisher has life back on track with Aggies Jimbo Fisher was not run out of Florida State. However, no one made him a counter-offer to not go to Texas A&M where he signed a 10-year $75 million contract. In fact, things were shaky between ... September 23, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: A&M defense will give Arkansas supreme test All indications are it will be a low-scoring, head-knocking game Saturday when the Arkansas Razorbacks host Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas. Low scoring gives the Razorbacks a better shot and proba... September 22, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Southwest Classic drawing to a close Unless Jerry Jones does some shrewd negotiating, the Arkansas-Texas A&M game in Arlington will return to campuses in 2025. Aggies officials have already said they will honor the contract and then... September 21, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Now McFadden just wants to be a great dad Darren McFadden sounded more proud talking about his children than he did his considerable accomplishments on the football field. He and his wife Tita celebrated the arrival of their third child a mo... September 21, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Pittman says the magic words at halftime Sam Pittman was not happy at the half and he told an SEC Network audience the Razorbacks had a lot to clean up. The head coach had every right to be upset. The Razorbacks led 14-0 after the first qu... September 19, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: No. 20 Arkansas pounds Georgia Southern, 45-10 The Arkansas Razorbacks passed only seven times in the second half as they rolled over Georgia Southern, 45-10. Arkansas, ranked No. 20 in the country, led only 24-10 at the half. Head coach Sam Pitt... September 18, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: I love football Saturdays I love football Saturdays. More times than not most of the day is spent traveling to and from an Arkansas Razorbacks game and then writing about it. All total those are usually 12-hour days. Today ... September 18, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: SEC teams to start feeling the burn of losing Going into the third week, 10 of the 14 SEC schools are undefeated, but that's about to change. With six of seven standing at 2-0 in the West, undefeated Alabama plays Fl0rida as a headline game, plu... September 17, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Move along USC; there's nothing to see here Chad Morris' name has not come up for the Southern Cal job, but he's apparently got his hands full at Allen (Texas) High School. Allen had never lost in its $60 million stadium, winning 84 consecutiv... September 16, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Game to be remembered must be forgotten Somehow, someway, Sam Pittman will get it done before Saturday. His team will be mostly focused on Georgia Southern. On the other hand, the fans can continue to bask in the glory of beating the Texa... September 15, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Crowd reminder of another orange victory Maybe it is the color orange. On the elevator after Arkansas' 40-21 victory over Texas on Saturday night, a young man remarked the only time he remembered a crowd as loud and involved was when he was... September 14, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas win comes across loud and clear FAYETTEVILLE -- Turn the damn jukebox up. It was thought none of the students and most of the fans under 40 years of age had an idea what a University of Arkansas game with Texas means. It didn't so... September 12, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: A great newspaper It is not too late to get a look (probably need a subscription but it it worth every penny) at one of the greatest newspaper efforts in America. Most people know I write about sports, and today we ha... September 11, 2021

Arkansas fans know burnt orange well A few good games in the SEC and a bunch of those games ESPN hates -- and for good reason. There's been a lot of excitement in the state, as usual, with the Texas Longhorns coming to Fayetteville. Lot... September 10, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: If memory recalls, Longhorns aren't all bad It was 1974 and your scribe was barely a year out from his honorable discharge from the Air Force and trying to decide if my lifelong dream of being a sports reporter was going to work out. If memory... September 9, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Memories of my dad and Razorback football My dad was not a huge sports fan. In fact, he discouraged me from playing sports when I was a kid and helped me get my first paper route when I was 12. However, my dad, like many Arkansans who would ... September 8, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Texas animosity skipped a generation of fans Maybe there is no explaining it. Maybe you had to live it. Arkansas Razorback fans wanted to beat Texas more than any other team in the country. For Hog callers, it was an unrivaled rivalry. What m... September 8, 2021

Despite optics, Razorbacks will take victory FAYETTEVILLE -- It is widely known that an ugly win is better than a pretty loss. With 4:05 to play Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, KJ Jefferson found Tyson Morris alone in the end zone for a... September 5, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Finally, game time FAYETTEVILLE _ It is 55 minutes until kickoff for the Arkansas Razorbacks and Rice Owls. This is the Razorbacks' first nonconference game since Nov. 9, 2019 and they lost to Western Kentucky 45-19. ... September 4, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: SEC opens play with pair of headliners Finally, football is here and the SEC has a full slate of games. The biggest game is Georgia at Clemson; LSU, which spent part of the week practicing in Houston, may get an early test at UCLA, and Al... September 3, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Razorbacks' belief in themselves is reassuring Going into the Arkansas Razorbacks' season opener against Rice at 1 p.m. Saturday, fans can expect to see a lot of familiar faces. The Razorbacks return 19 starters. There are 12 super seniors, guys... September 2, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Rice is even overlooked in its own city In the heart of Houston, the fourth-largest city in the U.S. with almost 2.4 million people, sits an academic giant with less-than-glamorous sports programs in Rice University. Houston, a sprawling c... September 1, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Lundquist's stories included ties to Arkansas Verne Lundquist was definitely worth the price of admission. For a little more than 50 minutes, the national play-by-play sportscaster kept more than 400 people at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in t... August 31, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Forecast calls for new teams in title game College football Top 25 rankings are in, and the same old four teams are dominating. Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma. The preseason tradition in this space is to predict the final Top 25, ... August 29, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Rice, Texas bring back good memories A week from today I will have driven to Fayetteville for the Arkansas Razorbacks opener with Rice. If my math is still good, it is my 40th opener. It is a 1 p.m. game, which will make it one of the ... August 28, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Change is here, and expect more on the way In an obvious response to Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 announced an alliance. The new alliance said it would not be poaching teams from each other. Once and for al... August 26, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Audience comes together as one for head Hog They came early and stood in line in hopes of a choice seat. Sam Pittman was speaking to the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Tuesday for the first time, and probably one of the bigger indoor crowds sin... August 25, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Pittman does what's necessary to be present In July, Auburn's new football Coach Bryan Harsin did not want to talk about the coronavirus. He got flippant, almost irritated, when asked how many of his players were vaccinated. It was not a slap... August 24, 2021

OPINION | WALY HALL: Predictions for the Hogs' season It wouldn't have been shocking if the Arkansas Razorbacks didn't win a game last year. Sam Pittman and his staff took over a dumpster fire, but in a very short time they gained the confidence of the ... August 22, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Who is trying to protect the teachers? Reuters, a worldwide news gathering organization, sent a reporter to Fordyce, where high school football players and their parents are vaccinated, partly because of a quest for a third state champions... August 20, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Beverley not slowing down in the NBA Patrick Beverley was traded twice in three days this week. The Los Angeles Clippers send him to the Memphis Grizzlies who then traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Beverley averaged 7.5 points ... August 19, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Saban's grip on SEC doesn't seem to loosen So it is now written, there are three things we know will happen in our life: death, too many taxes and Alabama ranked No. 1 in football. How does a man from Fairmont, W.Va. -- the county seat of Mar... August 18, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas lacks important built-in edge Ran across an interesting story that ran last year on Bannersociety.com. Not a lot is known about the website, but it also publishes SBNation and Vox. The story ranked all 50 states for producing bl... August 17, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: SEC's powerhouses all reside in the West While preparing for this predictions column, a thought kept crossing my mind about how much better the SEC West should be than the SEC East. The top four picks in the West probably could win the East... August 15, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Are big-name schools capitalizing on NILs? Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it lives large in the hearts of journalists. With that in mind, five colleges were picked to see whether there is a new recruiting pattern going on in football ... August 12, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Little Rock Touchdown Club's list of speakers doesn't disappoint Dueling quarterbacks, college and pro football hall of famers, national champion quarterbacks, Super Bowl quarterbacks and more headline this year's Little Rock Touchdown Club lunch bunch. David Bazz... August 11, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: My personal grand slam to fight the virus With cases of the coronavirus on the rise in all 50 states I’ve come up with a personal plan I’m calling the grand slam. I’m vaccinated, will continue to wear a mask indoors, socially distance and wa... August 10, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: If Rebels get defensive, they're dangerous Some national pundits believe Ole Miss is under the football radar this season. The Rebels should be better IF they play better defense. Last season, the first under Lane Kiffin, their offense was t... August 10, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Big 12 left with work to try and save face Football is finally back. College, high school, NFL and maybe even the pee-wee leagues that start too soon and too seriously at times are practicing. For now, at least today, Texas and Oklahoma and ... August 8, 2021

OPINION | WALLY HALL: Longer drive to the beach I am not a beach person, at least not in the last 30 years. I’m constantly battling pre-cancers on my arms and legs. So here I am at the beach, watching Olympic beach volleyball in a condo. I can se... August 4, 2021