On a day when the stock market made even the Hogs’ last two games seem like wild successes by comparison, it feels like time for a completely random diversion. With that in mind, your friends at Razorback Expats would like you to climb off that ledge for a moment and enjoy this excellent recap of the 1989 win over Heisman winner Andre Ware and the Houston Cougars.

Not only is it high on my personal list of great Razorback games (I was fortunate to watch it from the War Memorial north end zone), no less of an expert than James Rouse cited it as his favorite in our recent Q&A. So, sit back, forget your troubles and watch Rouse, Quinn Grovey, Derek Russell and company work their magic:

(The clip is courtesy of Rexgasm, whose YouTube collection of old Hog games is really quite impressive.)

Many of our favorite Razorback memories involve Ken Hatfield’s wonderful back-to-back Cotton Bowl teams of the late 1980s. Therefore, it was a real thrill to get the chance to speak last week with James Rouse, who teamed with with fellow running back Barry Foster to give those Hogs a mighty one-two punch in the backfield. Click here to read part one of our Q&A. In today’s second and final installment, Rouse discusses the best players he played with in Fayetteville, where he ranks on the all-time list of Razorback running backs and his frustrations with Ken Hatfield’s offense.

Who was the most talented player you ever played with at Arkansas?

We had so many talented players. From Freddie Childress to Wayne Martin to Steve Atwater. Those are some of the big-name guys that people recognize.

Steve Atwater was probably the most talented just because of his size and his ability. He went on of course to play in the pros and played several years and made several Pro Bowls. Out of that whole group that I played with, he probably had the best career at the next level out of all of us.

Arkansas has a long tradition of great running backs. Where do you think you rank among this group? Feel free to cast modesty aside, if need be.

That is a tough question to answer. When I talk to people and people remember me from my playing days, the comments are “I thought you were one of the best running backs that we ever had at the UA, particularly with the offense that you ran.”

As opposed to Darren McFadden, Madre Hill, Cedric Cobbs – those guys were feature backs. Considering that I wasn’t one of the feature backs and had to share the ball with three other guys, most people put me in the top three to top five running backs that have played at the U of A.

I think that’s quite an accomplishment, especially with the offense that we ran. I came from a traditional I-back formation in high school into to a flexbone/wishbone offense, which negated a lot of my touches. Coming from having the ball 20 to 25 times a game and then coming to college and carrying it maybe 12 to 15 times a game, I think I was still successful.

Personally, I really don’t harp on that. I was the first back in a while that gained a 1,000 yards in a season. It had been a long time since anyone had done it and then maybe five, six, seven years after that someone came through and did the same thing. [Editor’s note: Rouse gained 1,004 yards in 1987. Before that, Ben Cowins in 1978 was the last Hog running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. In 1995, Madre Hill become the next to do so.]

Not bragging or boasting, but I think that speaks volumes for my play and also for my abilities. Also, I had a great team that opened up the holes and was able to help me achieve those goals.

Did you ever feel any frustration with the offense?

(Read on …)

Many of our favorite Razorback memories involve Ken Hatfield’s wonderful back-to-back Cotton Bowl teams of the late 1980s. Therefore, it was a real thrill to get the chance to speak last week with James Rouse, who teamed with with fellow running back Barry Foster to give those Hogs a mighty one-two punch in the backfield.

A Razorback from 1985 to 1989, Rouse ranks sixth on the U of A’s list of career rushing leaders with 2,887 yards, and only Bill Burnett (46) and Darren McFadden (41) have more career rushing touchdowns than Rouse’s 38. The Little Rock native, who went on to play a couple of seasons with the Chicago Bears, now lives in his hometown and is a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch. In part one of our Q&A, he talks about the day Tony Jones broke his heart, which team he got the most fired up to play against (you’ll never guess!) and how his teams stack up against other squads in Razorback history.

Your Razorback career saw a lot of really big wins. What was your favorite one? On the flip side, what was the most disappointing loss?

As fans, you guys are probably going to choose the same one I’m going to choose. I would say it was probably the Houston game in Little Rock, with Andre Ware, the Heisman Trophy candidate [editor’s note: and eventual winner]. Just going back and forth and ultimately coming out to win the game — for me, that was one of my favorite games that I played in. It was so exciting, playing against a Heisman Trophy candidate, and we came out on top.

It really seemed like every time each team had the ball, you pretty much had to score because you knew the other guys —

Oh yeah. We knew going into the game against the Run and Shoot, which was a new form of offense that everybody was trying to implement, that we would have to score every time or at least have the defense hold them once or twice in order for us to catch our breath. It felt like whoever had the ball last was going to win the game, and that’s kind of how it happened.

On the flip side, I would say the most disappointing loss probably was the [1987] Texas game in Little Rock. We were winning [14-10]. With just a few seconds left, they had the ball on about our 20-yard line, and they had no more timeouts. It was desperation time for them, and they hit Tony Jones in the endzone for a TD [editor’s note: link may not be suitable viewing for Hog fans who remember the game], and that was the ballgame. That was the most disappointing game that I ever played in.

It’s funny. I actually went to the Atlanta Falcons training camp, and Tony Jones was there, and we actually talked about that play. He was kind of laughing about it and said, yeah, that was probably one of the most disappointing losses in Razorback history.

We have a lot of great memories of watching you play in games at War Memorial — it seems like your name was up on that scoreboard a lot. On a personal level, what’s your favorite memory from your playing days?

I would say that the most touching moment for me was my senior year, running out through the “A” in Little Rock for the last time. They had maybe 10 or 15 little boys out there with my jersey number on. And soon as I ran through the “A,” they let go of balloons.

I would say that’s probably the most memorable or the most touching, just because I knew that it was my last time ever playing in Little Rock, in War Memorial Stadium, and because I knew that these guys that I had become good friends with, that we were going to be going our separate ways. I’ve tried to stay in contact with some, but you lose contact with others.

This might be an obvious question, but which opponent did you guys get the most fired up to play against?

(Read on …)