Blame Hogs’ Loss Squarely on ... White Helmets?

While others might look elsewhere, the culprit should spell end of stupid look

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Sep 25, 2022 7:28 PM EDT
Original:
Sep 25, 2022

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

Texas A&M Aggies

ARLINGTON, Texas — When Arkansas announced white helmets for Saturday night's game against Texas A&M, it was bad.

The Razorbacks don't win in the things.

While I don't usually subscribe to jinxes or stuff like that, this one has forced me to re-think some of this stuff and the numbers will back up this theory.

Since the Hogs pulled the things out against Rutgers at Razorback Stadium in 2012 they really haven't worked very well. I'll admit, the look was kinda cool.

The record wearing the things since then is now 2-10. Considering one of those wins was the first game of the Chad Morris Era, that should have been reason enough to donate them to anybody that would take the things. The decals peel off.

This is not a traditional thing, either. It's my theory that's just a fond way to look back at history and feel good about what used to be.

All time (and this goes back nearly 100 years or so), the Hogs are 31-40-3 now wearing white helmets. That should be reason enough to never put them on again.

Oh, they may look cool and all that but goofy things happen wearing these things.

How else do you explain KJ Jefferson's fumble against the Aggies that was caught in the air, snatched away by a teammate and returned 98 yards for a touchdown?

Or Cam Little banging a field goal off the top of the upright?

Those things simply don't happen on their own.

Sam Pittman can feel comfortable in discussing it.

After an absolutely ugly 19-7 win over Oklahoma State in Stillwater back in 1978 when the Hogs put on red pants for the first time in forever, Lou Holtz said he was in favor of burning them.

When they lost to Texas in Austin a month later, that was the end of the things.

Former coach Bret Bielema tried to have the Hogs look as much like Oregon as possible, even going with the horrendous anthracite look that never really caught on.

He wasn't responsible for a front-facing Hog logo, but it was during his time it made an appearance and no one thought to pay attention to how much it looks like a knock-off of the Arkansas State logo.

Riding a wave of wins with the red helmets, somebody decided it would be a good idea to pull the white ones out for a game in Arlington.

Kinda like trying to do a knock-off of the Dallas Cowboys helmet and somebody decided to have a white logo on a silver helmet, thereby rendering it nearly invisible (a correct look would have been a red logo with a white outline).

While the white is a kinda cool look sitting around an office, it doesn't really throw out a great look on television. That's where most of the fans watch the Hogs play, by the way.

Most of all, though, they don't win wearing the things.

That really should be the only thing that matters.