Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

11/26/2011 at 12:41pm

Image by CBS Sports

Bobby Petrino was not happy with the way things ended Saturday at No. 1 LSU.

It wasn’t just the yards and points allowed by his team or the way the Razorback offense stalled in what some saw as a play-in game for a BCS title spot. Petrino was upset that Tigers Coach Les Miles was still scoring late in what wound up being a 41-17 loss for the third-ranked Razorbacks.

Miles and LSU threw on five of eight plays during a drive that resulted in a field goal that set the final margin. That was too much for Petrino.

We’ll not write specifically what Petrino is believed to have yelled across the field at Tiger Stadium. But we’re positive, knowing the phrase included words beginning with f,y,m and f, it wasn’t “For You, My Friend.”

Petrino had words for Miles across the field, but little to say when the two met up for the postgame handshake. After briefly engaging Miles, Petrino turned to head for the locker room. Miles reached out to Petrino to try to get his attention and was brushed off as Petrino appeared to say, “Whatever.”

Asked after the game what sort of words he and Petrino had, Miles deadpanned: “Not many.”

A reporter for a local paper asked Petrino about the exchange with Miles as the coach left his postgame press conference. Petrino kept walking to meet up with his team.

This brings to mind a few questions:

•Was Miles try to run up the score in the name of style points? Not that LSU needed to solidify its spot as No. 1 after clinching the first undefeated, 12-0 regular season in school history, but maybe Miles wanted to match or best Alabama’s margin of victory against Arkansas (38-14).

•Were the Tigers actually letting off the gas by throwing since Arkansas couldn’t stop the run? LSU had run for 210 yards and on its previous possession went up  

38-17 on a 48-yard run by Jefferson.

•Would Petrino have been better served to stick with his motto that this is a “show me world,” and saved the protest/payback the next time the two teams meet?

•Had LSU taken a knee and run out the clock rather than score like the Tigers did a week earlier against Ole Miss, would that have been a more palatable option?

•Was Petrino’s reaction justified? It had been a tough week in Fayetteville with the death of Garrett Uekman coming just days before the bad loss.

Petrino is being taken to task nationally for his reaction, including in a post by "The Big Lead." There’s the thought that the most recognizable face of the university, a guy making $3.56 million annually to coach football and lead/mold young men, should not react to adversity in the manner he did.

The Big Lead does note that it was a difficult week for Arkansas and Petrino, following the death of redshirt freshman tight end Garrett Uekman.

Thoughts?

Tagged: The Big Lead, Arkansas Razorbacks, Les Miles, Bobby Petrino, LSU Tigers