Raw Dogging Finebaum Instead of Waiting Well
A Preview of the Arkansas Razorbacks v Mississippi State Bulldogs on November 1, 2025
If you’re over the age of 28 you might be offended by the title of this article or clicked on it expecting some spicy content. But if you’re in Gen Z or Alpha you know the term “raw dog” has evolved to mean doing any activity without the usual comforts, conveniences, or support. It’s like having to drink coffee black with no cream or sugar, working out without headphones, or taking a long flight with no entertainment.
Note, this is the same group of people that made “6-7” the word of the year. A non-sensical statement during the chorus of rapper Skrilla’s song Doot, Doot, took the TikTok generation by storm to mean “so-so” or “maybe this, or maybe that” and frustrate parents everywhere.
As the Arkansas Razorbacks stand at 2-6 overall and are in the midst of a coaching search with no end in sight and seemingly more and more (and better and better) jobs keeping opening up at other schools, its hard for fans to know what to do. Most people fall into one of four camps:
Listen to the talking heads
Bo Mattingly said Bobby Petrino will be our next coach because we can’t get anyone better. Trey Biddy said to burn the whole program down. Fire the AD, change the in-game music, it all has to change. Paul Finebaum said Petrino came back as Offensive Coordinator because he knew Sam Pittman would be fired and he would be able to takeover as head coach, win back the fans, and keep the job full-time. They are on TV/Radio/Podcasts, they must know.
There are some people that just can’t help themselves from consuming other peoples opinions instead of thinking of their own. They listen to talk radio, while they watch tv, and stream other content on their phones.
These folks are flip-floppers. They change their minds on who should be our next coach multiple times per day. Their attitudes and emotions swing up and down based on what they hear others say.
Enter a great debate
Can you put ketchup on a pork chop, A1 on a Kobe steak, or mix coke with bourbon? Some would call them atrocities others would call them personal preferences.
These folks are here to argue with you in fine detail about why your future coaching choice is absolutely wrong.
“Rhett Lashlee would never come back to Arkansas. We can’t afford him. You know SMU has lots of money and they will pony up to keep him.”
“We’re like the 20th best available job in the SEC alone, bruh.”
“Why would we hire Ryan Silverfield? Memphis beat us. We ain’t gonna be like Kevin Durant going to the Warriors after they knocked the Thunder out of the playoffs.”
Become a creepy internet sleuth
Have you ever tracked a private plane and “known” who must be on it? Or have you seen John Gruden wear a red tie in a photo from 2014 that you think is new and “know” he’s telling us something about our next coach?
These folks have on their aluminum foil hats as they stare at their evidence board, crafting the perfect conspiracy for who our next coach will be.
“Look I’m pretty sure James Franklin is our next coach. When he was on GameDay he said he was going to go coach somewhere that they respect integrity, and that’s the exact same thing Yurachek said. And I heard Stephens is going to pay for it. Oh where did I hear that last part? Stevens… yeah both my brother and buddy are named Steven, but they told me indecently. Like they hadn’t talked and they both heard the same thing so it has to be true.”
Wait well
My friend Mike is also a blogger. He collected lots of his past works and wrote some new ones and published a daily journal called Impact Others. And it has made a big impact in my life this year. He had a recent entry titled Wait Well.
We live in a microwave world. Need it now. Fast. Yesterday.
The clip in the movie Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory comes to mind with the little girl telling her dad, “I want it now,” in the British accent.
This is us. We live in a fast-paced, “gotta have it now” culture. And I am the world’s worst. Possibly the most impatient person you have ever met.
Our nemesis, my nemesis……………………………………………… waiting.
He goes on to talk more about what we can learn about waiting from the Bible. Here’s a link to a separate post he made on the same topic a few years back.
We’ve become addicted to our phones, constantly needing inputs but never lingering long enough to absorb anything or be able to think about or reflect on those inputs.
We are slaves to stimuli. We are constantly refreshing our X accounts to see if there’s any breaking news on the new Hogs head coach, but once we have a new coach we will quickly become bored, dissatisfied with what we have, fire that coach, and start this whole cycle again.
Galatians 4:8 says, “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.” In other words, we idolize the information, knowing first, and rubber-necking chaos.
As an aside, I was fascinated this week to learn the etymology of the Greek word doulos, which means slave. Not only is it the root of the word we still use for someone who provides support during birth to expecting mothers, doula, but it’s also linked to the word robot. The first written word for slave came around 4500 BC when Proto-Indo-European’s coined the word orbh, meaning “to be deprived of a parent”. You see orphans were some of the first peoples to ever be enslaved. Since robots have no parents and do the bidding of their masters, the same root word orbh was used.
So now that you know that little fun fact, Let’s relax a little. Take a long slow breath inhaling some crisp fall air. Be amazed at the beauty of nature’s paintbrush as leaves continue to change. Laugh at kids’ halloween costumes. Live in the moment with the comfort and the faith that God’s time is not our own.
We’ll get a coach eventually and maybe this time he will win…
The Hogs are in a [sic] spot
Tomorrow two of the three remaining teams that are winless in SEC play go head-to-head and despite their best efforts, one team will actually win the game. When Arkansas and Mississippi State take the field, they will both be playing against the last SEC opponent they beat. Arkansas last one a conference game in 2024 against Mississippi State 58-25 and Mississippi State last won a conference game in 2023 when they beat the Hogs in Fayetteville 7-3.
The Bulldogs are 4-4 and have a pretty good team despite their record. They got a good non-conference win over Arizona State early in the season and then have given away games to Tennessee (34-41 in OT), Florida (21-23), and Texas (38-45 in OT).
Jeff Lebby’s team can score lots of points and they like to play fast. For Arkansas to have a remote chance of winning the game we will have to play mistake-free and score a touchdown every time we get the ball. Which I for one, doubt we can do based on Bobby Petrino’s second half play calling and execution this season.
Bulldogs 45 - Hogs 35
But that’s just my opinion. We will have to wait well and see…
And maybe Petrino can win out and get the Hogs to a bowl, but if we lose that game we would end up 6-7.
Hey Kyle. This is your friend Mike with the blog. Ironically, this friend is also a Mississippi State alum, MSU fan, and lives in NWA. The message boards for both schools sound eerily similar these days. No one in the SEC waits well. I suppose we learn the impatience as kids listening to sports with our dads.
I tried it with my son, too.
Back in October 2014, I would grab my then 7 yr old son, ask Siri who was the number 1 team in college football, and Siri would tell my son Mississippi State. That only worked one year. My son didn't wait well. He had all he could take of the over-promised preseason that would end the same every year. He flipped and is now a die hard Ole Miss Rebel, following his uncle.
For me, I am just waiting for an SEC win. It has been a couple of years. Any win will do.
And, I do disagree with your prediction. The only cure for this fever ain't gonna be the Hogs.