Razorback fans should be feeling pretty appreciative towards LSU coach Les Miles today. First, he led his team to a win over Tennessee in the SEC championship game, thus giving the Hogs a good shot at the Cotton Bowl. Second, he (apparently) has committed to coming back to the Tigers next year (instead of going to Michigan, as was commonly assumed), meaning there’s one less job opening to compete with ours. I’m sure that’s weighing on Tommy Tuberville’s mind tonight.

And on a personal note, I’m glad he’s staying. The SEC is certainly a much more interesting place with Les and his crazy antics around.

If you’re a Razorback blogger, it doesn’t get much more fun than wildly speculating on possible football coaches. Although other sites, particularly the Hog Blogger, are all over this topic more than we could ever hope to be, we just couldn’t stay out of the fray. So, with no regard whatsover to truth, accuracy or anything resembling journalistic standards, here’s our quick (and probably completely incorrect) breakdown of the current candidates (or “candidates”).

The Untouchables:
* Jimmy Johnson - Unless Jimmy can run practices from the Caribbean while sunning himself on the deck of his boat, there is absolutely no possible way this is happening. Still, I keep mentioning his name because it’s a fun rumor to stoke.

* Butch Davis - Nope. To be honest, I’m very fine with that. I never quite saw the appeal of a guy who, over his last five seasons of coaching, went 3-8 with North Carolina and 24-33 with Cleveland. I know some people were seduced by the ‘name’, but I say we dodged an expensive bullet here.

* Tommy Tuberville - Just when it looked like it was time to cross him off this list, his name comes back in play. Maybe. Personally, I think it would be pretty sweet if he wound up with the Hogs but I’m not getting my hopes up…the smart money says he’s angling for a raise and an extension at Auburn.

Head Coaches Maybe Looking to Make a Move:
* Lane Kiffin - When I first read about this one, my natural reaction was to scoff and think “no f’ing way!” But, rumors keep popping up, so who knows. I live in Oakland, and although I barely follow the Raiders, my impressions of him have been positive (despite the Butch Davis-esque 3-8 record). The San Francisco Chronicle had a brief report about the rumor today…also, for a fun read, check out this thread on some Raiders message board about the possibility.

* Mike Leach - Well, the guy certainly knows offense. Ironically, if he winds up with the job fans might be complaining in a few years that we don’t run the ball enough. If you have some time on your hands, check out this very interesting and in-depth profile of Leach and his “thinking man’s” approach to football from the New York Times magazine, written by acclaimed “Moneyball” author Michael Lewis (it’s a couple of years old).

* Chris Peterson - Frankly, I don’t know much about him other than that Boise State pulled out some crazy plays to upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl last year.

* Brian Kelly - I know even less about him, sorry. Hopefully you’re not relying on Razorback Expats to be your sole source of news about the Hogs.

Up & Coming Assistants:
* Bo Pelini - Word is that he’s a better fit for Nebraska. Personally, I can’t get that excited about a guy who allowed the Hogs to roll through his defense for 50 points last week. I mean, I know we have a good running game and all, but come on! That’s not much of an audition. Speaking of good auditions, though, what about this next guy…

* Will Muschamp - His Auburn defense shut down the Hogs more than any other team I’ve seen in the last couple of years. Assuming Tuberville passes, I think we should give him a long look. If he does roll into Fayetteville for an interview, though, let’s hope for his sake that he looks a little less shell-shocked than he does in this video (starting at the 1:10 mark).

* Brent Venables - Again, I have to plead ignorance here (a common theme). The Hog Blogger likes him, so that counts for something.

* Gus Malzahn - Hmmm. Where have I heard this guy’s name before? It definitely rings a bell, but I just can’t place it…

Included for Humor’s Sake Only:
* Coach O - Come on, it’d be fun! An old-fashioned coaching swap between us and Ole Miss. If nothing else, we would wind up with some awesome YouTube videos out of the deal.

The one thing that Razorback fans can agree on these days is that the Cotton Bowl would be a pretty sweet place for Reggie Herring’s debut as (interim) head coach. And thanks to the insanely fantastic win over LSU last week, it’s in our sights.

The only catch? LSU has to beat Tennessee this weekend, says Bob Holt at wholehogsports.com. So, grab your purple and yellow face paint, practice your Cajun accent, and start rooting for the Tigers. Hopefully they can shake off their post-Razorback malaise long enough to take care of the Vols for us.

The developments are flying fast and furious. Wholehogsports.com story here. ESPN.com story here.

Living in different cities (the whole expats thing) means Stephen and I often get in touch with our inner teenagers and communicate via text message during Razorback games. So, in honor of text messaging hall-of-famer Houston Nutt and his biggest win ever, I now present to you our complete and unabridged text correspondence during yesterday’s historic victory:

John (after two D-Mac fumbles and two 3-and-out’s): could be a long day for the hogs

Steve (seconds later): Indeed

John (after McFadden capped the epic 97-yd drive with a TD run): 97 yds!

Steve (in reply): Boo-Yah!

Steve (after D-Mac’s long TD run in the 3rd quarter): Wow!

John (after Peyton Hillis’ long TD on the next possession): double wow!

Steve (during the Hogs’ posessession in the 1st OT): I cannot breathe.

John (after the 2nd OT ended with both teams still tied): freaking out

John (after the Hogs closed out the game in the 3rd OT): holy shit!!

In case you need any extra help getting fired up, we’ll be providing a handy pre-game cheat sheet detailing why you should hate each one of the Razorbacks’ opponents this fall. Some weeks will be easier than others…

1. They Screwed Up Our 2006 Mojo. Things were going swimmingly for the Razorbacks as they headed into last year’s Thanksgiving weekend match-up against LSU in Little Rock: Arkansas had won 10 games in a row, was ranked No. 5 in the country, had already claimed the outright SEC West title and was even in the national championship picture. But JaMarcus Russell passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and the No. 9 Tigers walked out of War Memorial Stadium with a wild 31-26 victory despite 182 rushing yards from Darren McFadden and 137 from Felix Jones. Poor Casey Dick completed only three of 17 passes for 29 yards. This heartbreaking and very winnable game kicked off a stretch of three similar Hog losses that closed out what had been a magical season.

2. LSU Fans Make Hating Easy. Yes, we have to say we admire the fact that, after a 1988 upset of Auburn, the LSU home crowd’s reaction was so mighty that it registered on a nearby seismograph. And our arms could be twisted into partaking of the famous Saturday afternoon Death Valley tailgating extravaganza. Still … anybody who has attended an LSU game can testify to the sheer, unrelenting and often frightening obnoxiousness of Tiger fans. Perhaps the “batshit crazy” tag is better applied to the fans of this SEC West team.

3. They’re Lucky. Make no mistake: We recognize LSU is good, occasionally even scary good. But, the Tigers have also led something of a charmed life this season. Against the Gators, LSU converted five fourth downs, one of which was a fourth-and-1 inside the Florida 10 with about 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter – when a field goal would have tied the game. Against Auburn, the Tigers won on a last-second 22-yard TD pass to Demetrius Byrd. Had the pass been batted away, LSU likely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to kick a potential game-winning field goal. Maybe we’re just jealous – but, still, it drives us nuts.

4. They Have Our Number. Ever since the 2002 “Miracle on Markham St.” (which, to be honest, was more miraculous than it was a decisive win…it sure was great, though) the Tigers have completely owned the Hogs. Frankly, it’s hard for us to be a consistent threat to win the SEC West when these guys are standing in the way every year. Dammit, we want that silly Boot back!

5. Their Coaching Drama Is Stealing the Spotlight from Our Coaching Drama. Just when we were settling into the twisted madness that is the Houston Nutt Saga, along comes the Is Les Miles Going To Michigan Saga. All year long we’ve rested easy at night knowing that, if nothing else, the Hogs surely best all comers in the category of wacky, soap opera-esque craziness surrounding the program. Now, as Miles’ hypothetical career moves begin to overshadow the Tigers’ very real quest for the national championship, we don’t even own this category anymore. Is nothing sacred??

Casey Dick has taken quite a public beating over the last 12 months, so it’s nice to see him have a good game and be recognized with the SEC Offensive Player of the Week award. Here’s hoping he throws for 4 TDs against LSU and wins it next week too…

Casey Dick throws for four TDs (!) and the Hogs enjoy a much-needed win over Mississippi State in Little Rock. Still, the rumors about Houston Nutt’s fate are getting louder and louder.

In case you need any extra help getting fired up, we’ll be providing a handy pre-game cheat sheet detailing why you should hate each one of the Razorbacks’ opponents this fall. Some weeks will be easier than others…

1. They’re Better Than We Are. The Bulldogs aren’t Crooming their opponents anymore, they’re just straight up beating them. Looking at the matchup with brutal objectivity, you’d have to say that they’re better than we are at this point in the season, and with Felix Jones hobbled with an injury we don’t like where this train of thought is headed.

2. They Own the State of Alabama (and Kentucky). MSU-19, Auburn-14. MSU-31, Kentucky-14. MSU-17, Alabama-12. Given how our own games turned out at against those three teams, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t a little jealous.

3. They’re Standing in the Way Between Us and a Crappy Bowl Game. With all but two SEC teams already bowl-eligible (sorry Ole Miss and Vandy) but only limited spots available, this game could amount to a play-in for the Blah Blah C-List Corporate Sponsor No Name Bowl. Think about that for a second. Then think about how much it sucks that a team with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones is having to battle the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the right to play in even the lamest of bowl games.

4. They Get Fired Up in Ways That Make Us Queasy. Or at least they used to…who can forget when Jackie Sherrill, that legendary class act, tried to rally his team before a game against Texas by castrating a bull during practice? (ok, Sherrill didn’t actually do the castration, but he made it happen) Of course, the Bulldogs won that game 28-10, which shows you how much we know about motivating college football teams (or at least ones from Mississippi).

5. They Might Not Have the Internet in Starkville. Astute readers of this blog might have noticed that we haven’t done a Q&A with a Mississippi State blogger this week. That’s because there don’t seem to be any Mississippi State bloggers. A search of the Best of the SEC blogroll as well as the Internet at large turned up exactly zero appropriate sparring partners for us. Maybe AOL should drop off a bunch of their free CDs on and around the MSU campus before next year’s game.