The 2007 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

in the

2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 30, 2007, and ended on D ...

. The Razorbacks played six home games at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

and two home games at War Memorial Stadium in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. Running back Darren McFadden entered his name into the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

after the 2007 season. He left Arkansas holding most of the school's rushing records, to include rushing yards in a single game (321), a season (1,830), and a career (4,590). The single game total is also an SEC record. McFadden became only the second player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, along with former Hog

Ben Cowins Ben Cowins (born April 7, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks from 1975 to 1978. ...

. McFadden also became the second player in SEC history with three straight 1,000 yard seasons, alongside

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election ...

Pre-season

Ranking

The 2007 Arkansas Razorbacks football team was selected in the top 25 in several pre-season polls.

Pre-season coaching changes

* Due to plans for David Lee to be hired as its co-

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

, Gus Malzahn departed to

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

. Malzahn's departure led to Lee being named the sole offensive coordinator. * Louis Campbell was previously the secondary coach, but was moved off the field after being named assistant athletic director for administrative services. * Alex Wood was previously the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

s coach but was moved to

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

s coach. * Chris Vaughn was named the safeties coach and will continue his role as the director of on-campus recruiting. * Due to Danny Nutt's resignation as the

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

s coach because of a recurrence of bleeding from his brain stem, the University of Arkansas has hired Tim Horton as its running backs coach.

Pre-season award watches

* Jr. C Jonathan Luigs ** Rotary Lombardi Award **

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that g ...

* Jr. RB Darren McFadden ** Heisman Memorial Trophy Award **

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

Doak Walker Award The Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. Established in 1990, it is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Foot ...

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information direc ...

* Jr. RB Felix Jones ** Maxwell Award ** Doak Walker Award * Sr. WR Marcus Monk ** Maxwell Award * Jr. P Jeremy Davis **

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Fo ...

Pre-season All-SEC Team

First Team

* C Jonathan Luigs * RB Darren McFadden * RB/RS Felix Jones * WR Marcus Monk

Season

Schedule

Post-season coaching changes

* Head coach Houston Nutt resigned from his position on November 26, 2007. With Nutt's resignation, the Razorbacks' defensive coordinator Reggie Herring was named the interim head coach for the Razorbacks' bowl game. * Due to Herring becoming the interim head coach, Louis Campbell coordinated the defense and Pierre Brown coached the linebackers in the Razorbacks' bowl game. * On December 11, 2007, former

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

coach

Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American college football coach who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Arkansas. He served as the head football coach at Missouri State from 2020 to 2022. P ...

was introduced as the new coach. However, Petrino handled recruiting for the Razorbacks for the 2008 season and did not coach the bowl game. * Chris Vaughn resigned from his position to head to Ole Miss. Because of this, Louis Campbell also coached the safeties in their bowl game.

Awards

* Jr. C Jonathan Luigs ** Dave Rimington Trophy Winner * Jr. RB Darren McFadden ** Doak Walker Award Winner ** Walter Camp Award Winner ** Heisman Memorial Trophy Award Runner-Up ** Maxwell Award Finalist * Jr. RB Felix Jones ** Doak Walker Award Semifinalist * Sr. FB Farod Jackson ** Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy Semifinalist

All-SEC Team

First Team

* C Jonathan Luigs * OL Robert Felton * RB Darren McFadden * Kick Return Felix Jones

Second Team

* OL Nate Garner * OL Mitch Petrus * DT Marcus Harrison * S Matt Hewitt * DB Michael Grant * RB Felix Jones

Freshman Team

* TE D.J. Williams * DL Damario Ambrose * LB Freddy Burton * PK Alex Tejada

Cotton Bowl Classic

On December 2, 2007, the Arkansas Razorbacks accepted the invitation to play in the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

against the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

. Arkansas lost to Missouri, 38–7, and their all-time record in the Cotton Bowl Classic fell to 3–7–1.

Game summaries

Troy

''Last meeting: November 2,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, W 23–0''

Alabama

''Last Meeting: September 23,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, W 24–23 (2OT)'' Alabama built an early 21-point lead but had to mount a come-from-behind drive in the final two minutes of the game in order to capture a 41–38 victory.

Kentucky

''Last Meeting: November 1,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, W 71–63 (7 OT)''

North Texas

''Last Meeting: September 20,

, W 31–7''

Chattanooga

''Last Meeting: First Meeting''

Auburn

''Last Meeting: October 7,

, W 27–10''

Ole Miss

''Last Meeting: October 21,

, W 38–3''

Florida International

''Last Meeting: First Meeting''

South Carolina

''Last Meeting: November 4,

, W 26–20''

Tennessee

''Last Meeting: November 11,

, W 31–14''

Mississippi State

''Last Meeting: November 18,

, W 28–14''

LSU

''Last Meeting: November 24,

, L 26–31''

Missouri (Cotton Bowl Classic)''Last Meeting: December 31,
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
, W 27–14''

Rankings

Personnel

Roster

Coaching staff

References

{{Arkansas Razorbacks football navbox

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Arkansas Razorbacks football seasons

Arkansas Razorbacks football The Arkansas Razorbacks football program represents the University of Arkansas in the sport of American football. The Arkansas Razorbacks, Razorbacks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...