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BlogHawgs Razorback Rewind–11/5/12

Posted by Adam Butler on November 5, 2012

If we have learned anything from the Arkansas Razorbacks’ 2012 Season of Discontent, it’s that there is no such thing as an ugly win.

They are all precious and head coach John L. Smith has the potential to give them away (sometimes with major help from the Coordinators Paul).

For that reason we can’t look down our nose at the Razorbacks’ pedestrian 19-15 Homecoming win over the Tulsa Hurricane at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

What We Saw

–Some of the decisions made by both head coaches (eschewing much-needed field goals, calling plays as if there was no game clock, going for a 2-pt conversion that wasn’t needed) made us feel like we were attending a Bad Coach-Off. The odd final score seemed fitting.

–Arkansas Wide Receiver Cobi Hamilton continued to be a Beacon of Hope in the Ways Dreary Lighted in 2012.

With 11 catches, Hamilton set the Arkansas  single season record for receptions (69) passing former teammate  and current Minnesota Viking Jarius Wright, who had 66 last season as a senior at Arkansas. The Blog Hawgs Stat Geek will be along in a day or two with a breakdown of where Hamilton could end up across the board in the Arkansas record books.

I won’t steal SG’s Thunder, but let’s just say that if Arkansas somehow wins 2 of its last 3, Hamilton has a chance to leave quite a lasting legacy on The Hill.  As for Saturday, I think I was most impressed with Cobi’s workmanlike reaction after making one of the biggest plays of the game–a 41-yard reception to set up a go-ahead, 4th-quarter touchdown.

Hamilton made the grab despite unpenalized interference, got up without any histrionics and went back to the huddle and helped the Hogs finish off the drive.

–It may be a subpar season for the Hogs, but Arkansas PA Announcer John George (of Julie-O Jones fame) was in peak form, Saturday. George and his spotter tabbed Arkansas cornerback Darius Winston as a tackler early in Saturday’s game when it was actually linebacker A.J. Turner.

Winston has been buried on the bench since Texas A&M’s beatdown of the Hogs 5 weeks ago and has one tackle in the last two months, and it didn’t come Saturday. Winston was a Coach’s Decision “Did Not Play”.

–Turner–an undersized but athletic and intuitive linebacker–continued to make strides. He was Arkansas’ 2nd-leading tackler with 7, and delivered a highlight-reel hit in a hole that provided a glimpse at his immense potential.

–It wasn’t pretty, but the Hogs’ defense continued to improve, holding Tulsa to just 328 yards of offense and three second-half points.

Coming into the tilt with the Hogs, Tulsa ranked ninth in the country in rushing offense (248.8 ypg) and had gained at least 200 yards rushing in six of the previous eight games. Arkansas held Tulsa to 106 yards rushing on 36 attempts for a paltry 2.9 yard per carry average.

–Arkansas defensive end Chris Smith had a big game with a 8 tackles, a game-clinching sack, 2 big pass breakups and his 1st career forced fumble. The performance earned Smith Co-SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors.

What We Didn’t See

A 10-0 lead was not friendly to the Hogs, but that’s nothing new.

Arkansas led Rutgers and Mississippi 10-0 at home before losing 35-26 to the Scarlet Knights and 30-27 to the Rebel Black Bears. Saturday, Arkansas jumped out to a 10-0 lead before falling behind Tulsa 15-13. Arkansas led Auburn 10-0 in the 2nd quarter on The Plains and stalled before scoring two 4th-quarter TDs to pull away from the War Damn Eagle Tigers.

What You May Not Have Seen

–UA senior quarterback Tyler Wilson had a different, but no-less impressive reaction on the 41-yard, 4th-quarter pass to Hamilton. Wilson hung in the pocket despite pressure, and was drilled on a head-hunting hit from a Tulsa defender. As Cobi made the grab and the players for both teams made their way down the field, Wilson let the the defender know who won that battle.

–The announced crowd was 64,451 but it was more of a Home Staying Weekend than a Homecoming Weekend. The pic to the left is an image of the Home Stands 15 minutes before kickoff. The crowd was sparse enough that I was able to get a signal from Reynolds Razorback Stadium lead sponsor AT&T for much of the day–a first.

What We Hope To See Next Week

Arkansas is a big underdog as it prepares for South Carolina next week. But, don’t sleep on the Hogs if they can contain Gamecock defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and Arkansas runningback Dennis Johnson continues his recent surge.

DJ has an outside shot at a 1,000-yard season despite only having 105 carries thus far. If he and the Arkansas offensive line can set the tone and slow USCE’s salty pass rush, Arkansas could nab a road win over a Top 10 team.

The Gamecocks will be without injured, All-Everything running back Marcus Lattimore and at 7-2 and 3rd in the SEC East, have little chance of reaching their lofty preseason goals.

Also, it’s worth noting that Arkansas is 3-0 against USCE the last 3 seasons and has outscored the Gamecocks 33-16 (2009), 41-20 (2010) and 44-28 (2011) in that span. The 41-20 UA win in Columbia in 2010 wasn’t as close as that score. USCe picked up a cheap, late TD on a 1-yard fumble return with 3:52 left in the game.

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Blog Hawgs Razorback Rewind–Will It Ever Stop? Edition

Posted by Adam Butler on October 28, 2012

I am fresh out of adjectives–at least ones that I am willing to put into cyberspace under my name–to describe the pain of the 2012 Arkansas Football season.

Even when Arkansas senior runningback Dennis Johnson capped a clutch, manly drive to tie the game at 27-27 with Mississippi Saturday at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium with 2:09 left on the clock, a Mississippi win seemed to be inevitable. That is just the way Arkansas’ Season of Discontent has gone.

The Hogs’ much-maligned defense had played well for most of the game, but the 2012 Razorbacks have played (and been coached) just poorly enough to lose several times this season and the Rebel Black Bear game was no different.

With Mississippi facing a 3rd down and 9 from its own 38, Razorback Nation allowed itself to envision a stop and a much-deserved last second field goal drive for an Arkansas win.

But, for the 412th time this season, Arkansas Defensive Coordinator Paul Haynes and the UA defense showed a blitz too soon, and Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace realized that, just as it was on the previous play, the middle of the field was wide open.

Wallace capitalized and found his best weapon–speedster Jeff Scott–for a far-too-easy 14-yard slant that kept Mississippi’s drive going. It was the last 3rd down Mississippi would face as the play sparked an 8-play, 61-yard drive that zapped the remaining time off of the clock, ending with Bryson Rose’s 31-yard, chip shot game winner as time expired.

The 30-27 win was Mississippi’s 2nd in as many league games after enduring a Houston Nutt fueled, SEC-record 16-game conference losing streak.

What We Saw

–Arkansas did just enough in every facet of the game….to lose. The offense sputtered for the bulk of the game. The defense played well for most of the day, but buckled at key times. The Special Teams were anything but–allowing a key blocked punt and losing the battle of field position all day, whether it was due to poor punts or worse punt returns.

–I am as big of a Tyler Wilson fan as you will find, but the Hogs’ star quarterback had one of the worst games of his career Saturday.  He has been a great Razorback on and off the field and has led Arkansas to many great wins.

But, Saturday, he was off in a major way. It started on Arkansas’ first possession when, on 2nd and 7 from the Mississippi 10-yard line, Wilson missed runningback Jonathan Williams on a sure touchdown throw that Wilson could  make in his sleep. Arkansas then settled for a field goal after a failed 3rd-down conversion.

Later, a beautiful 42-yard Wilson touchdown strike to senior tight end Chris Gragg gave Arkansas a 10-0 lead and appeared to signal a return to form for Wilson, but it was a fleeting feeling.

For much of the remainder of the game Wilson was late and/or inaccurate with his throws, and he compounded his physical errors with mental ones as he forced several pass attempts, with 2 of them resulting in easy interceptions.

In fairness to Wilson, for much of the day he was again without two of his biggest weapons–Gragg and former All-SEC runningback Knile Davis–who each sustained in-game injuries minutes apart in the 2nd quarter and didn’t return.

–UA JUCO transfer Austin Flynn is making a move. He continued his recent solid play and made several athletic plays on the edge against a fast paced, read-option oriented offense that offers plenty of opportunities for defensive ends and linebackers to make plays.

–Two crucial officiating decisions went against Arkansas Saturday. On 3rd and Goal from the Arkansas 1-yard line late in the first half, Mississippi made a late substitution that the Razorbacks coaching staff thought was illegal.

The officials took notice and discussed the substitution, but did not penalize the Rebel Black Bears. Scott ran for a touchdown on the next play.

Later, Wilson hit a wide open Austin Tate for an apparent 15-yard touchdown on a subtly tricky play that Arkansas had clearly been saving for the situation. Despite being told in pregame that Arkansas planned to run the play, the officials ruled that Arkansas did not have enough players on the line of scrimmage.

The TV announcers for the game–Dave Neal and Andre Ware–sided with the officials and said Arkansas clearly lacked a necessary player on the line of scrimmage. The Arkansas staff vehemently disagreed. Either, way, under the circumstances, it was a close call and a ticky-tack one to make at that point.

The wide receiver in question could have (and probably should have) “checked” with the line judge to make sure he was “legal”. On the other hand, Arkansas was trying to hit Mississippi with a quick strike that it correctly thought would be wide open and wanted to get the play off quickly before Mississippi recognized it was about to have a busted coverage.

–Arkansas senior wide receiver Cobi Hamilton continued his stellar campaign. Despite often drawing double coverage, The Mayor of Markham made his final trip to Little Rock a memorable one with a career-high 12 catches for 146 yards. On the season, Hamilton has 58 catches for 900 yards and 4 TDs with 4 games left to play.

What We Didn’t See

Arkansas Offensive coordinator Paul Petrino didn’t do Wilson any favors by stubbornly waiting until the 4th quarter to ride Dennis Johnson, who finished with 162 yards and 1 TD on 27 carries.

Mississippi often played 2 high safeties, giving Arkansas the chance to gash the Rebel Black Bears with the run. But, Petrino dialed up 46 pass plays even though Wilson was struggling. Johnson and Williams averaged  5.75 yards per carry on 32 attempts on the day.

When Petrino gave the ball to Johnson 3 consecutive times in the 4th quarter (the only time it happened all day) Johnson darted and then bulldozed for gains of 21, 20 and 5 yards to cap a game-tying rally in an impressive show of will.

What You May Not Have Seen

It’s easy to remember the last thing we saw and blame the Arkansas defense entirely for the loss. It’s also unfair.

Yes, the UA defense caved when it had a chance to put its stamp on the game. And, in a bottom-line business, the defense should take some of the blame.

But a close look at the numbers reveals that the Hog defense was solid for most of the game. Arkansas nabbed 2 turnovers and held Mississippi to 109 less yards than the UA offense but was undone by 3 Mississippi scoring drives (one at the end of each half and another following a blocked punt) that took a total of 4:31 and made up 158 of Mississippi’s 355 total yards.

On the Rebel Black Bears’ 11 other possessions, they gained a total of 197 yards and had 6 punts, 1 fumble, 1 interception, 1 touchdown and 2 field goals (one from 53 yards out).

The blocked punt by Mississippi safety Charles Sawyer in the 2nd quarter gave the Rebel Black Bears momentum and a short field (leading to a touchdown), and was probably the key play in the game.

Wilson’s second interception also gave Mississippi the ball at the Arkansas’ 18-yard line, but the UA defense stiffened and forced a (successful) field goal.

–Wilson’s first interception came on a 3rd down and 2 force to Cobi Hamilton on a deep route over the middle that Sawyer was all over just minutes after his blocked punt.

Neal and Ware noted that Arkansas freshman wide receiver  Mekale McKay was wide open deep on the play. Wilson also had a wide open receiver on a shallow drag route directly in front of him that would have given Arkansas another first down deep in Mississippi territory.

What We Hope to See Next Week

At a miserable 3-5, 2-3 on the season,  it would be easy for Arkansas fans to stay away in droves next Saturday when the Hogs host 7-1 Tulsa at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Hopefully that won’t happen.

This Arkansas team has underperformed, and everything that could go wrong has. But the Hogs have shown some resolve, recently. Razorback fans could certainly help by doing the same this week.

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Blog Hawgs Stat Geek Weekly Newsletter–On The Davey O’Brien Award’s Tyler Wilson Snub

Posted by Adam Butler on October 24, 2012

On Monday, the 2012 Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist list was released, naming the nation’s 16 best QBs based on “quarterback skills, athletic ability, academics, character, leadership and sportsmanship”. Tyler Wilson was inexplicably absent.

In light of the snub, I feel compelled to highlight how well Tyler is performing as a player/coach for the Hogs this season.

While the folks at The Fort Worth Club may not think much of Wilson’s performance this year, he continues to display the talent and skill that make him a probable 1st round draft pick.

Tyler is putting up a statistical performance on par with any in program history. So far this year, playing in essentially 5 games due to missing the 2nd halves of the ULM (injury) and Kentucky (rain) games, Wilson is on pace to surpass his production from last year.

Let that sink in. Due to an injury-riddled defense and rushing production that landed in the bottom 1/3 of the FBS, the Razorbacks leaned heavily on Tyler in 2011 to lead them to an 11-2 record.

He passed for 3,638 yards in 2011 and is currently on pace for 3,886 this year. Wilson is currently 6th in yards per game in the NCAA and makes up of 65% of the Arkansas offense this year (the exact same % as 2011).

Season marks :

·        3,886 would give Wilson the top passing yardage season UA history;

·        3,886 would give Wilson the 3rd best passing yardage season in SEC history;

·        Wilson’s current pace would give him 8,195 career passing yards, which would put him 702 yards ahead of Ryan Mallett’s current school mark of          7,493; and

·        8,195 would put Wilson in the 18th spot for career passing yards in the SEC. Wilson is also on track to end up in the top 20 for TD passes in a season and in the          top 20 all-time in career SEC TD tosses.

SG+1:

Here is a little perspective on just how horrible West Virginia’s defense has been so far in their inaugural BIG XII season – After 4 conference games, the WVU D has given up a total of 2,259 yards and 212 points.

That averages out to 53 points and 565 yards per game and an average of 7.68 yards per play.

By comparison, Alabama has given up 2,302 yards in the past 13 conference games (a 177-yard per game average going back to the 2011 Arkansas game) and 221 points in the past 19 conference games (an 11.6 points per game average going back to the 2010 Mississippi State game). Those conference games include the LSU BCSNC repeat game.

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BlogHawgs Razorback Rewind–10/15/12

Posted by Adam Butler on October 14, 2012

Arkansas’ offense struck as quickly as lightning against Kentucky Saturday night and rained points down on the Wildcats while storming out to a huge lead.

Mercifully, Mother Nature intervened and the game was called in the middle of the 3rd quarter with Arkansas winning 49-7 and sparing UK head coach Joker Phillips further embarrassment as he winds down his tenure at Kentucky.

What We Saw

–Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson was superb, particularly considering he was working in less-than-ideal weather conditions. Wilson was 23-of-31 passing for 372 yards and a career-high five touchdowns (tying a school record).

Wilson unveiled a new weapon–true freshman runningback Jonathan Williams–on the first play from scrimmage, finding him on a wheel route and raising his arm in the air as Williams made multiple Wildcats miss, picked up a block from fellow runningback Knile Davis, and bolted 74 yards for a touchdown.

Later, Williams exploded later, as well, hauling in a pass on the opposite side of the field on another wheel route and again showing off his speed and elusiveness on the way to a 77-yard score.

–He is undersized and raw, but true freshman A.J. Turner from Lepanto, AR, is beginning to show the kind of ability that has been lacking in the Razorbacks linebacking corps for some time.

Turner tied for the team lead with a handful of others who notched 5 tackles Saturday night, but stood out by showing the “thump” that Hog fans have been wanting to see from the UA defense.

A.J. makes eye-popping plays when he comes downhill and shoots his hips when he reads a play. And, when he makes contact, the ball carrier goes down in a heap.

Once he gets in the weight room and is able to focus on football (Turner was a talented high school basketball player) Turner should blossom into an All-SEC caliber linebacker, barring injury.

–Arkansas runningback Dennis Johnson put up another workmanlike effort and continued to quietly work his way up NFL draft boards. DJ scored 3 TDs (2 rushing, 1 receiving) and ran for 82 yards on just 12 carries.

With his ability to grind out tough yards while also posing a big play threat both from scrimmage and on special teams (Johnson has the most kick return yards in SEC history) DJ is the type of back that could be a draft day footnote from the middle rounds who turns into a productive pro.

What We Didn’t See

–With as big of a  SEC cupcake as you will ever see in town, and an open week on the horizon, Arkansas took the opportunity to sit 6’5, 299-pound senior defensive tackle DeQuinta Jones. Jones has been battling soreness in both knees and should return refreshed in two weeks when Arkansas takes on Mississippi in Little Rock.

Similarly, senior tight end Chris Gragg, who has been out with a deep thigh bruise since early in an eventual loss to Rutgers in Week 4, should be ready for the Rebel Black Bears on October 27th.

What You May Not Have Seen

–Arkansas took the redshirt off of a pair of true freshmen who had not previously played this season. Wide receiver D’Arthur Cowan from Olive Branch, MS, and safety Defonta Lowe from Bearden, AR, both played against Kentucky and logged stats.

Cowan had one catch for 9 yards and Lowe made two tackles. Both are athletic and figure to provide much-needed depth down the backstretch of the season.

–Morgan Linton, Arkansas’ 5’11, 240-pound walkon fullback from Lonoke, AR, continued living the dream Saturday night as he again led the way with solid blocks on Johnson’s two TD carries. Linton also caught a swing pass and rumbled 19 yards for a first down in the first quarter.

What We Hope To See Next Week

–With Arkansas off next week, I’ll be paying particular attention to Texas A&M’s showdown with LSU at Kyle Field.

TAMU (5-1, 2-1) is rolling thanks to a lethal offense and some good fortune. Mississippi and Hugh Freeze handed them a victory 9 days ago, and let’s just say that if I were Louisiana Tech Head Coach Sonny Dykes, I would have been hard-pressed to avoid a meltdown during A&M’s wild 59-57 win over the Bulldogs in Shrevport on Saturday.

The officiating was bad enough that ESPN’s television crew (that included NFL journeyman and Vegas 800-number tout sound-alike Kelly Stouffer doing color) mentioned several times that the Bulldogs ”had several close calls go against them”. In today’s politically correct sports broadcasting climate, that’s about as much criticism as you will hear.

Nevertheless, Aggie freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel is having a remarkable season (just ask him). In only seven games, Manziel has already amassed 2,356 yards from scrimmage (1680 passing and 676 rushing) with 24 TDs (14 passing, 10 rushing).

But now, things should get tougher for Manziel and the Aggies. In the next 4 games, they will host # 6LSU before going on a 3-game road trip to struggling and desperate Auburn, #12 Mississippi State and #1 Alabama. The Ags will be lucky to split those 4 games.

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Revisiting the Mother of All Razorback Jinxes.

Posted by Adam Butler on October 10, 2012

All Right. Go for it. Blame me for the Pu Pu Platter the 2012 Arkansas Razorbacks Season has been.

Avid readers of this site that have not forever blocked the excitement of the preseason from their memories may recall that on August 24, 2012, as part of our “30 Posts in 30 Days” leading up to the kickoff of the season, I made a post titled, “Godspeed and Good Health, Hogs” in which I analyzed which players the Hogs could least afford to lose.

In retrospect, despite my best efforts to pull off a reverse jinx, it was the Mother of All Razorback Jinxes.

Amazingly, as Arkansas (2-4, 1-3) sits at the midway point of the season, it HAS LOST ALL 7 PLAYERS I NAMED for some period of time, and of those, two (Senior Captains Alonzo Highsmith and Tenarius Wright) have gone down within the last week with season-ending injuries.

The 1st player on the virtual cutting room floor–senior fullback/linebacker Kiero Small (you will just have to trust me on that)–was not immune from the jinx as he went down with a season-ending foot injury in the first week of the season. His backup, Kodi Walker, suffered a similar fate in Arkansas’ meltdown Week 2 loss versus Louisiana Monroe.

If you have the stomach for it, here is the breakdown of the players I listed (in order) in the “Godspeed and Good Health, Hogs” post, along with their plight thus far in 2012. Notice the concentration of injuries at Arkansas’ weakest/thinnest positions.

_____________________________

  • Tyler Wilson, QB–Missed half of the ULM loss and all of the Bama beatdown.

 

  • Tenarius Wright, LB–Missed the AU game and is set to have season-ending surgery. Wright has been alternately injured and ineffective all season. His Razorback career is over.

 

  • Alonzo Highsmith, LB–suffered a season-ending injury against Auburn. After being injured in both Spring and Fall practice, Highsmith got off to a slow start, but was quietly putting together a nice bounce back season with 47 tackles. His Razorback career is over.

 

  • Eric Bennett, S–The leader of a young, thin and not very talented secondary, Bennett was slowed in Fall Practice with a nagging hamstring injury that hasn’t gone away. It has caused him to miss 2 games (ULM & TAMU) and have to feel his way around in the others.

 

  • Darius Winston, CB–Underperformance and attitude have placed him so far in the doghouse that the Senior, former 5-star prospect may not play another down as a Hog.

 

  • Tevin Mitchel (no typo), CB–suffered a scary head injury against ULM that necessitated a back board and probably affected the outcome every bit as much as Wilson’s injury. Adding insult and injury to injury, he also had to have his gall bladder removed while in the hospital for the head injury. In one of the few feel good stories of the season, Tevin is set to….oh, nevermind. Let’s not talk about it.

 

  • Cobi Hamilton, WR: Missed almost all of the season opener, but set a SEC record with 303 yards receiving against Rutgers. With 36 catches 663 yards and 4 TDs, Cobi is…oh, nevermind. Let’s not talk about that, either.

Honorable “Almost Mentioneds”:

  • Kiero Small, FB/LB: Was the first of 3 2012 Arkansas Team Captains to suffer season-ending injuries. Highsmith and Wright are the others.

 

  • Chris Gragg, TE: One of Arkansas’ biggest and best weapons, Gragg (19 catches, 234 yards and 2 TDs in essentially 3 games) suffered a deep thigh bruise 3 weeks ago. He has missed most of the last 3 games and is unlikely to play this Saturday against Kentucky.

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BlogHawgs Razorback Rewind–A Plain(s) Beatdown.

Posted by Adam Butler on October 8, 2012

That felt good, didn’t it?

Arkansas (2-4, 1-2) emphatically turned the page on one of the ugliest months in program history by pulverizing the homestanding Auburn Tigers 24-7 Saturday before a crowd of 85,813 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The Hogs surprisingly did so behind a much-maligned defense that had been helpless for most of the season before rising up to tally 5 turnovers and 8 sacks on Saturday against Auburn (1-4, 0-3).

Those are overwhelming single-game numbers for any defense, but had to be particularly satisfying for a crew that doubled its previous season totals (2 turnovers, 8 sacks) in both categories a week after giving up 58 points and 716 total yards to Texas A&M.

It was Arkansas’ 4th win in its last 5 meetings with Auburn.

The Razorbacks’ lone loss to the Tigers in that span was Auburn’s controversial,  65-43 shootout win in 2010 in which Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson came into the game in relief of injured starter Ryan Mallett and threw for 332 yards and 3 TDs in less than  2 1/2 quarters of action.

What We Saw

–Arkansas benefitted from another poor performance by Auburn quarterback and Springdale, Arkansas, (Shiloh Christian) product Kiehl Frazier. Frazier was benched at halftime and has quickly gone from “Must Have/Can’t Miss 5-star QB prospect” to Tight End-in waiting in the span of 16 career games played.

Frazier’s numbers Saturday–9 for 14, 118 yards passing, 1 interception–weren’t awful on their face, particularly for a QB who is averaging 133 yards/game passing while completing just 54% of his attempts.

But, Frazier’s statistics belied his performance, which featured “happy feet” and a tendency to hold on to the ball far too long. To be fair, Frazier didn’t have much of a chance. Auburn’s porous offensive line would have spelled trouble for any quarterback in America.

Clint Moseley took over for Frazier and was a bit better (13-21 163 yards, 1 TD 2 Ints.), thanks in large part to 1 of the few coverage busts on the day for Arkansas. Whatever Moseley added in terms of a quicker trigger he gave back with slower feet, though. Moseley was a sitting duck, and Arkansas sophomore defensive end Trey Flowers (3.5 sacks) and company took advantage.

–For the first time all season, Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Haynes gave his defensive ends the green light to come after the quarterback, and also dialed up frequent blitzes.

With an inexperienced and banged up secondary, Haynes has often been wary of mobile opposing quarterbacks this season and has been reticent to call many blitzes or let his ends pin their ears back and rush the passer.

On Saturday, undoubtedly emboldened by Auburn’s shoddy offensive line and quarterback play, Haynes was aggressive and unpredictable. The result was a dominating defensive performance for a team that had been outscored 110-10 in its first 2 SEC games.

–UA Senior linebacker Terrell Williams–a relative non-factor for most of his career–racked up a career-high 12 tackles and also had a sack. Another Arkansas senior, the often-ridiculed Ross Rasner, also had a very productive day with 10 tackles, a forced fumbled and an interception on a perfectly defended pass in the end zone.

What We Didn’t See

–The hesitancy with which Arkansas’ defense had played for much of the 2012 season was gone Saturday.

But for a blown coverage that allowed Moseley to hit wide receiver Emory Blake for a wide open, 21-yard touchdown pass for Auburn’s only score, the Hogs played solid defensive football and knew their assignments Saturday.

Auburn’s limited playbook and even more limited quarterbacks did not present the same matchup problems that more complex, skilled offenses have this season and it showed.

–Plagued by turnover problems and overall ineffectiveness since returning from an injury that cost him the entire 2011 season, Arkansas’ former All-SEC runningback, Knile Davis, didn’t get many opportunities Saturday. Knile carried the ball just 3 times for a total -4 yards.

Arkansas senior runningback Dennis Johnson has been the better back thus far in 2012 and he was rewarded for his efforts with 17 carries on Saturday. Johnson churned out 76 yards and 2 rushing TDs. DJ’s previous high this season was 7 rushing attempts and he had only 27 total carries in the Hogs’ first 5 games.

More surprising than Johnson’s increased role was the fact that UA true freshman runningback Jonathan Williams (6 carries, 34 yards, 1 fumble) was given twice as many carries as Davis.

What You May Not Have Seen

–Arkansas Offensive Coordinator Paul Petrino and the rest of the Hogs’ offensive staff did a good job of self-scouting last week. Petrino has had a tendency in short-yardage situations this season to call strong-side runs from tight, bunched formations.

Petrino adjusted Saturday and called several play action, bootleg passes that allowed Wilson to get outside the pocket and make things happen with his legs and his arm. Arkansas’ play-action passes typically come out of the shotgun (faking a draw play).

–One of those calls turned out to be a key play in the win.  After picking up a first down for the first time in more than a quarter and needing to answer Auburn’s touchdown that made the score 10-7, Petrino dialed up a play-action pass on the 2nd play of the 4th quarter on 1st and 10 from his own 38-yard line.

After taking the snap, turning his back to the line of scrimmage and faking a handoff to Johnson, Wilson deftly eluded Auburn’s 6’4, 246-lb All-SEC defensive end Corey Lemonier and side-armed a pass on target to tight end Austin Tate, who picked up 18 yards for a 1st down at the Auburn 44.

Wilson’s sleight of hand was the difference in backup quarterback-turned wide receiver Brandon Mitchell zipping a reverse-pass TD to  fellow wide receiver Jevontee Herndon two plays later and Arkansas losing a turnover or facing 2nd and 18 from its own 30-yard line with the real possibility of giving Auburn the ball back with momentum and favorable field position (and the Hogs starting to think they were again going to be snakebitten).

–Tate doesn’t have the hands or the speed of injured Arkansas starting tight end Chris Gragg, but if he can be a serviceable target for Wilson, as he was Saturday (4 catches, 44 yards) the Hogs’ offense will have more balance than it has had without Gragg.

–Morgan Linton, a 5’11, 240 lb walk-on fullback from Lonoke, Arkansas, led the way on both of Johnson’s touchdown runs and appears to be capable of putting some of the thump back into Arkansas’ Red Zone offense. Arkansas lost starting fullback Kiero Small and backup Kodi Walker to season-ending injuries early in the season and has struggled mightily when trying to run the ball in the Red Zone in their absence.

What We Hope to See Next Week

While he didn’t nab any of Arkansas’ 5 forced turnovers and he only had a few tackles, starting safety Eric Bennett returned from injury and provided some much-needed stability to the Razorbacks’ secondary on Saturday.

Hopefully starting cornerback Tevin Mitchel (no typo) can play next Saturday for the the first time since suffering a frightening injury versus Louisiana-Monroe in the 2nd game of the season. Mitchel practiced on a limited basis last week.

If he and senior cornerback Kaelon Kelleybrew (concussion) are able to return this week, the Razorbacks’ secondary figures to continue to improve against another generally punchless offense (Kentucky).

Arkansas rue freshman cornerback Will Hines has taken some major lumps, but showed well Saturday with a very nice play on a Frazier overthrow for an interception, as well as the recovery of Arkansas’ first forced turnover (a fumble caused by Rasner) in a month.

Hines has the skill set to be a good player in time, but he will be better served by being allowed to progress slowly. Injuries and underperformance forced him into the fire too soon and he was exposed earlier in the season.

–Arkansas needs to get an early lead and take the opportunity to try to jump start Knile Davis. Davis is one of the team’s core players and is a very talented back who deserves to go out on a better note than he is at this point.

Yes, I know that Davis could come back for the 2013 season if he chose to, but with a long list of injuries and a resume’ and measurables that will draw plenty of interest from NFL teams, this is likely Davis’ last season as a Hog.

He has overcome plenty of obstacles and has been a great Razorback and role model. It would be nice to see Davis and his team turn things around and finish the season on a high note. For now, though, it’s just fun to enjoy a convincing, somewhat unexpected SEC road win.

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BlogHawgs Stat Geek Weekly Newsletter–9/25/12

Posted by Adam Butler on September 25, 2012

By BlogHawgs.com Stat Front Man Brian Rogers

On Saturday Cobi Hamilton dropped a few records, while Arkansas’ record dropped to 1-3.

It is a shame that Hamilton’s dominating performance was all for naught and will be swept up in the (well-deserved, I might add) ever-growing swell of anger and disappointment over the Hogs’ 2012 campaign.

After a few extremely brutal weeks of reviewing the games, the Stat Geek is finally glad to have some feel-good stats to recap (Hey, we are at a point in the season of taking whatever moral victories we can get.).

Just 357 days after Jarius Wright set Arkansas records with the top individual game performance by a Wide Receiver, Cobi put a performance that stands up to Jarius’ 13 catch, 281 yard game.

Given his history, the most surprising fact about the performance has to be that the game was not played at the corner of Markham and Fair Park, but on Razorback Road. Here are a few highlights from his 303-yard night:

· Most receiving yards in Arkansas history in a single game (303);

· Most receiving yards in SEC history in a single game, surpassing Josh Reed’s 293 yards;

· Most yards per catch (minimum 10) in SEC history in a single game at 30.3 – previous best was 23.3;

· It would top any record book of the other 5 BCS conferences in single-game, individual receiving yards (Big10 – 301, Big12 – 300, Pac12 – 293, ACC – 283, Big East – 279);

· Cobi’s 303 yards is 14th all-time in NCAA single-game history.

Hamilton now has 1,948 receiving yards for his career, placing him 8th for career yards in UA history. He is the 3rd different Razorback receiver (Anthony Lucas 1999 and Alton Baldwin 1944 & 1945) to catch 3 touchdowns in a game and is now in 4th place in UA history with 17 career TDs.

One of the few other Hogs that seems to have not checked out–Tyler Wilson–had 419 yards passing Saturday. That total is 2nd all-time in UA history, behind his 510 passing yards in last year’s Texas A&M game. Considering he has played in 10 quarters of game action, Tyler’s 982 yards passing this season averages out to 393 yards per game.

Finally, while Arkansas still may be considered a red-headed step child by the blue-blood football programs of the SEC , it now has players atop the conference single-game rushing and receiving record books with Cobi’s 303 receiving yards and Darren McFadden’s 321 yards rushing against Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks in 2007.

Wilson holds the 5th best SEC single-game passing mark in history while Wright has the third most receiving yards in a game.

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BlogHawgs Razorback Rewind–Free Fallin’ Edition

Posted by Adam Butler on September 24, 2012

In hopes of making a fresh start, the reeling Arkansas Razorbacks eagerly welcomed the return of injured All-SEC quarterback Tyler Wilson and turned back the clock by donning white helmets Saturday night at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

But, thanks in large part to a green secondary and a continuing pattern of committing costly mental errors the Hogs were again left red-faced after falling 35-26 to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights of the Big East Conference in front of a near sellout crowd.

Arkansas (1-3, 0-1) became the first preseason Top 10 Team to lose 3 September games since Alabama did so in 2000.

With road trips to College Station and Auburn on the horizon, the Razorbacks are staring at a 1-5 start and, given the preseason expectations and coaching staff uncertainty are in the midst of a Season of Discontent unlike any in program history.

What We Saw:

–Once again, Arkansas couldn’t get out of its own way.

Off to a promising start fueled by the first TD catch in a record-setting night from wide receiver Cobi Hamilton (who had  3 touchdowns and a SEC single-game record 303 yards receiving) Arkansas led 10-0 early in the 2nd quarter and held Rutgers to a field goal after the Scarlet Knights had driven to the Arkansas 11-yard line.

The rare defensive stop was a jolt to a beleaguered Arkansas defense, particularly since it came after Rutgers extended the drive by converting a 4th-and-2 at their own 33-yard line with a trick play in a punting situation.

Unfortunately, as has been the case all season, prosperity was fleeting for the Hogs. UA defensive tackle DeDe Jones was ruled offsides on Kyle Federico’s 32-yard field goal attempt.

First-year Rutgers coach Kyle Flood tempted fate by taking points off of the board and was rewarded when the floodgates opened and Arkansas’ porous defense succumbed to the Scarlet Knights and quarterback Gary Nova, who was nearly flawless from that point forward going 25-35 and posting an eye-popping 397 yards passing and 5 TDs.

–Rutgers targeted freshman cornerback Will Hines and senior linebacker/safety Ross Rasner and had its way with them. I understand that senior cornerback Darius Winston has been a major disappointment during his Razorback career, but to continue to leave Hines in the game Saturday night well after it was clear he was a complete liability was a major coaching error.

Unless Winston was injured or in the doghouse for disciplinary reasons, he should have been given a shot in the 2nd half Saturday night. Hines was an easy mark and Rutgers abused him repeatedly.

–Arkansas’ offensive line was impotent again. The Razorbacks’ first play from scrimmage spoke volumes about the problems the unit has had this season and would again have Saturday night. When attacked by two Rutgers defenders on the edge of the line of scrimmage, Arkansas tackle David Hurd, a former walkon, took on neither defender, and instead blocked down. The result was a sack and another avoidable bump for Wilson (Hurd was also penalized twice on the night).

Later, with Arkansas down 11 points late in the 4th quarter and desperately needing a touchdown, Rutgers blitzed a safety from 20 yards off of the line of scrimmage. Arkansas center Travis Swanson spotted the blitz and received help from a running back to pick it up, but the blitzer still managed to bull rush Swanson and company and disrupt Wilson, resulting in a key incompletion.

–Arkansas freshman wide receiver Mekale McKay had a night to forget. First, he dropped a touchdown pass in middle of the 3rd quarter that would have drawn the Razorbacks to within 4 points of Rutgers (instead they had to settle for a FG and a 21-13 deficit).

Then, with Arkansas down 28-13 with 20 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, McKay ran a lazy route, failed to finish it, and rewarded Wilson’s confidence in him (Wilson gave him a 1-on-1 shot for a touchdown minutes after his huge TD drop) by failing to compete for a risky Red Zone pass and gift-wrapping an interception for Rutgers’ Logan Ryan.

What We Didn’t See:

–A supposed team strength, Arkansas’ defensive ends were terrible Saturday night. Chris Smith put up a goose egg–zero tackles–and Trey Flowers wasn’t much better. Flowers had just 2 tackles–including the sack he was credited for on a Rutgers intentional grounding penalty. Rutgers ran 74 offensive plays and threw the ball 35 times.

–Arkansas’ commitment to the running game seems to last only as long as its first unsuccessful drive.

The Razorback brain trust is failing the team by not getting Dennis Johnson more touches. He only had 6 carries Saturday, but averaged 7.8 yards per carry for a team that again struggled mightily to run the ball. For the season, Johnson is averaging 6.7 yards per carry but has only been given the ball 22 times.

What You May Not Have Seen:

Even when things seem to go right for Arkansas interim head coach John L. Smith, they eventually go horribly wrong. With his team down 9 points and facing a 4th-and-10 from its own 48-yard line with just over 6 minutes left in the game, Smith made the head-scratching decision to punt and place his confidence in a Hog defense that was hemorrhaging points.

Dylan Breeding’s ensuing punt was downed at the Rutgers 1-yard line by Arkansas special teamer, former backup placekicker and 2012 team MVP Cameron Bryan (I am sort of kidding, but the season has been so bad that I could make the argument).

A play later, Arkansas looked to be in business when it hemmed Rutgers’ Jawan Jamison into his own endzone and looked poised to record a safety that would have cut the deficit to 7 points and given Arkansas the ball back with good field position and plenty of time on the clock to drive for a game-tying TD.

If you are reading this you already know that Jamison bounced to the outside for 24 yards and effectively ended the game. What you may not have noticed were the reasons Jamison was able to do so.

First (and foremost) Arkansas defensive tackle Robert Thomas, who had blown the play up by bolting into the backfield, was blatantly held. He was unable to make the tackle because both of his arms were wrapped up by a Rutgers lineman.

A few feet away, UA defensive end Trey Flowers was held, too, as he attempted to pursue from the backside. Additionally, Hines overpursued and was blocked in the back, setting the edge for Jamison.

I am well aware that the preceding paragraph reads like sour grapes. It isn’t. Arkansas’ defense was awful all night. Period.

But, the non-calls on this particular play were equally brutal. Chris Smith and Hines compounded the officiating errors with poor technique as both bit inside rather than maintaining containment.

If Smith had done his job, he would have tallied a key safety in spite of the non-calls. Instead, he took a selfish false step and missed a chance to step up big for his team and help it overcome poor officiating on a key play in the game.

What We Hope To See Next Week:

Arkansas desperately needs to find a way to pull an upset at Texas A&M. To do so, the Hogs will have to come up with an answer for freshman phenom and dual threat Johnny Manziel, who is more talented than the quarterbacks that the Hogs have turned into seemingly Heisman-caliber signal callers so far this season.

The Razorbacks defined 2011 with their effort against TAMU and they could begin to redefine their imploding 2012 season with a rousing, completely unexpected win in hostile territory Saturday morning at Kyle Field.

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Razorback Rewind–Comfortably Numb Edition

Posted by Adam Butler on September 16, 2012

Hello, Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me Is there anyone home?
Come on Now I hear you’re feeling down I can ease your pain Get you on your feet again
Relax I’ll need some information first Just the basic facts Can you show me where it hurts?…..Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb”

So this is what a historic collapse feels like.

Faced with a daunting task–taking on the #1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide with backup quarterbacks just one week after a humbling 34-31 overtime loss to Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana-Monroe, the Arkansas Razorbacks had a chance to prove all their naysayers wrong merely by being competitive for 4 quarters Saturday in Fayetteville.

Instead, they laid down like dogs.

That’s hard for me to say. I spent all last week in this space defending them. I simply expected more fight from a team that, even without injured All-SEC quarterback Tyler Wilson, has a roster full of players who have played major parts in a 21-5 two-year run in 2010 and 2011 that seems like a distant memory.

I firmly believed that they would, when backed into a corner, show some resolve. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

The Hogs showed a little life early, but at the first sign of trouble, backed down from the challenge and put forth an embarrassing effort for the state and the program. The Razorbacks had 8 more fumbles than points and were shutout in Fayetteville for the first time in 44 years.

Last week, I chastised Arkansas’ fair weather fans and said the players deserved more. This week, the fans clearly deserved more from the players and coaches, who failed miserably in every aspect of the game.

What We Saw:

–In a game with no margin for error, the Arkansas coaching staff inexplicably used a new deep snapper, junior Will Coleman, to supplant sophomore Will D’Appollonio, who had performed the duties in 2011 and for the first 2 games of this season, without incident.

The move almost immediately backfired for Arkansas. After the Razorbacks and Crimson Tide traded punts, Coleman’s 2nd snap of the day (his first one was pretty shabby, too, but at least wasn’t disastrous) sailed over Arkansas punter Dylan Breeding’s head, setting Alabama up with first and goal from the 6-yard line after Breeding kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone, earning a penalty for illegal touching.

Then, after Arkansas responded with the its only offensive life of the day, a 41-yard field goal attempt by Zack Hocker banged off of the goal post and was no good after another high snap from Coleman.

After the game, interim Arkansas Coach John L. Smith took the blame for the decision and explained that he made it for punt coverage purposes after Arkansas was gutted last year by Bama on special teams.

That is the kind of mind-numbingly bad decision many Hog fans feared from Smith when he was hired. When you consider the rain, opponent, and potential for major problems, it’s hard to imagine even an average junior high head coach would make such a move, much less a veteran head coach fighting for his job and legacy.

–Arkansas’ linebackers and secondary again looked slow and soft. The offseason move of veteran defensive end Tenarius Wright (I officially refuse to call a guy who has become a complete liability “Tank” any longer) to linebacker has been a complete and utter failure and needs to be reversed, immediately.

More importantly though, the linebackers and safeties as a whole were nowhere to be found in the second half. They didn’t fill holes or take on blocks. Instead, they played the role of Scout Team defense, and didn’t even do that very well.

For reasons beyond incomprehensible to me, freshmen linebackers Otha Peters and A.J. Turner were not given reps at linebacker Saturday, even as Bama repeatedly had its way with Arkansas’ physically and mentally fatigued starters.

Peters and Turner are inexperienced (and Turner is undersized) but they are the future, and they can’t be any worse than what Arkansas has fielded at the position thus far.

They should be given some game reps early next week in the hopes of sparking something with this hapless defense, whether that be renewed effort from the starters or finding that the newcomers’ have the ability to defend the flats in pass coverage.

–Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen struggled, again. That is to be expected against Bama, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about some of the body language I am seeing from Allen, particularly given that he is the heir apparent to Wilson. The interception Allen threw in the 2nd quarter was a complete misread and was a (redshirt) freshman mistake.

Allen was again betrayed by his offensive line, receivers and runningbacks who all performed poorly, as well. Cobi Hamilton, Knile Davis and Dennis Johnson all needed to be effective for Allen to have a chance, and instead they repeatedly put the ball on the ground or let it slip through their hands and into those of Bama’s opportunistic defense.

What We Didn’t See:

–We didn’t see Arkansas resemble a big-time football program in any facet of the game. But, the biggest thing this Arkansas team has lacked the first 3 weeks has been leadership. We didn’t see any, Saturday, either. The closest Razorback fans got to seeing it was when Wilson pulled a Tim Tebow in the postgame press conference–a first for a player at Arkansas who didn’t play in the game.

Wilson was livid, saying he felt like some of his teammates quit on Saturday. I agree.

What You May Not Have Seen:

Smith and Wilson shared a pre-game handshake and Smith grinned like a Cheshire Cat, seemingly impressed with himself for his “Will He or Won’t He”  injury related “trickeration” involving Wilson. Wilson was never close to playing, and hiding it did nothing to faze Bama. It did help keep game attendance up, though.

–The Razorbacks were so bad Saturday that Arkansas’ MVP was probably backup placekicker turned kick coverer Cameron Bryan, who downed a punt inside the 10-yard line and also was right in the middle of another scrum that briefly resulted in him recovering a muffed punt by Bama.

–Down 7-0 at the time, Arkansas was putting up a decent fight late in the 1st quarter when Bama punt returner Christian Jones fumbled a punt that Bryan recovered.

Alabama retained possession, though, when officials ruled Jones’ forward progress had been stopped and that the play had been blown dead prior to the fumble.

The problem with ruling was that Jones never moved forward. He caught the punt and immediately retreated backward in an attempt to elude defenders when he was hit and fumbled. If anything should have led to reversal of the initial fumble call it was that Jones’ elbow was down. That was not the reason given for the call.

What We Hope to See Next Week:

Arkansas looks like a sinking ship, but the hope, if there is any, is that it is just a rudderless one without Wilson. He clearly covers up a lot of this team’s warts and this team needs him, and a win dearly as they take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Reynolds Razorback Stadium Saturday night at 6 p.m.

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Arkansas v. Alabama – BlogHawgs Prediction

Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 14, 2012

GAME SKETCH

  • Line – Alabama (-20.5)
  • Kickoff – 2:30pm at Reynolds Razorback Stadium (Fayetteville)
  • Weather – Mostly cloudy skies with an expected game time temp of 70 degrees, holding steady all afternoon. Expect rain to fall off-and-on throughout the game.
  • Streaks – After what was a very competitive series from 1995-2006 where Arkansas won 7 of 12 games, Alabama has been rolling. The Tide has won the past 5 in the series by an average score of 31-16.

 

Welcome to Arkansas, Bama fan. Enjoy the electricity and running water while you can.

This week has been very difficult for everyone associated with the Razorbacks football program. Players, coaches, administrators, fans…everyone has struggled. It’s difficult to find a silver lining when your starting all-SEC quarterback suffers a concussion (c’mon…let’s call it what it is, UA), your starting CB – a freshman all-American last season – gets strapped to a board with a head/neck injury, and your backup-to-the-backup fullback suffers a broken leg without even being hit. By the time everyone began to process all the negative things that had piled up on Saturday we saw Kolton Browning scamper into the endzone to complete a virtuoso personal performance and historic team victory over a Top Ten football team.

Now everyone – players, coaches, administrators, fans – must pull together and understand one simple truth: there are 10 more weeks of football on the schedule, and the biggest bully in the neighborhood is coming to our house this weekend. Last week in this space I wrote, “Arkansas hosts Alabama next week in Fayetteville. There is no doubt that these kids are looking ahead to that game. But it won’t matter much if the Hogs are 1-1 Saturday night instead of unbeaten.” It turns out that’s exactly what happened, and the Hogs have got to find a way to overcome it. While it’s a bit much to suggest the entire season is on the line this weekend, a blow-out loss could seal the fate for the 2012 Razorbacks. Let’s hope the team has responded better than large sections of the fan base.

Why Arkansas Should Win

Without even considering the intangibles, let’s attempt to look at this game objectively. We already know the bad news, so let’s look at the good things. While Arkansas will very likely start redshirt freshman QB Brandon Allen, he will also have some pretty good experience with him. Knile Davis will still line up at tailback, Dennis Johnson will still line up in the backfield, and Chris Gragg will still start at tight end. Cobi Hamilton turned in another strong performance in Little Rock last weekend and was one of the lone offensive bright spots in Tuscaloosa last year. What does this mean? It means the Razorbacks still have a very talented crop of skill players on offense. If the coaching staff – notably, offensive coordinator Paul Petrino – remembers that Davis and Johnson still play for the team, Arkansas can move the ball and score on Alabama.

Most eyes will be on the defense, and rightfully so. After a mediocre (at best) showing against Jacksonville State and an embarrassing display against Louisiana-Monroe, Paul Haynes crew has a lot to prove. As has been identified on this website a few times, though, the Razorbacks defense got absolutely zero help from the offense in the final 20:00 of play last week. A more-rested defense operating with better field position may have turned in a better performance.

As important as anything this week, though, is something I have not seen anywhere: the Hogs finally get to play a conventional offense. Alabama is Alabama, which means they want to lineup and cram the ball down their opponents’ throats. But last week the Tide only mustered 103 yards rushing against Western Kentucky – padded by an 18-yard run from Cody Mandell on a fake punt. The loss of Jalston Fowler – the Bama version of Kiero Small – is significant, but it’s worth mentioning that Fowler played most of the game before being injured in the 4th quarter. And while A.J. McCarron turned in a strong performance last week, he enjoyed operating on a short field thanks to four Hilltopper turnovers. Western Kentucky also got in its licks, avoiding that vaunted Bama offensive line en route to six sacks on the day.

The key to beating Alabama remains the same as it always has: run the football, stop them from running the football, and win the turnover battle. Given Arkansas’s strength up front on the defensive line and Alabama’s more conventional attack, the Razorbacks defense finally matches up strength v. strength against an opponent. By stopping the run on Saturday, Arkansas will have a chance to win this football game.

One last thing: The last time Alabama lost to an unranked team was November 17, 2007 against…Louisiana-Monroe.

Why Alabama Should Win

It’s simple: they have the better football team. After watching two weeks of games, it’s clear that Bama had the better football team when Arkansas was firing on all cylinders. A.J. McCarron is off to a white hot start with more than 400 yards and 6 TDs through the air already this season. Freshman T.J. Yeldon appears to be the next in the line of great Alabama running backs. He has averaged 8 yards per carry this season and looks like the real deal.

As usual, though, the story of Alabama is their remarkably strong defense. They have surrendered only 493 yards of total offense this season. Nick Saban replaced 3 first round NFL draft picks with 3 future first round NFL draft picks, and the “inexperienced” Tide defensive unit has not shown any real weakness this year. Saban, Kirby Smart, and the rest of the Alabama coaches and players have to be licking their chops when considering the prospect of facing a redshirt freshman quarterback in his first ever start.

 

And the winner is…

Alabama. The Crimson Tide is just too talented and has too much at stake to overlook a talented yet ultimately inferior opponent in Arkansas. I do expect Arkansas to battle, though, and show that they are not ready to fold up the season. Bama has struggled against teams that run the ball effectively, and Arkansas coaches will definitely look at ways to get the ball in the hands of guy like Davis, Johnson, and Ronnie Wingo, Jr. Don’t be surprised, either, to see Brandon Mitchell take 10+ snaps at quarterback. We have seen him operate out the pistol formation in goal line situations in the past, and I expect coaches to build some of those plays into the game plan this week.

In the end, though, the ULM hangover and personnel issues will be too much to overcome. I believe Arkansas could do it against a lesser opponent, but expecting the Razorbacks to improve as much as they need to improve in six days without all of their key components strains credibility. They will fight and give all of us hope for a winning season, but David will not beat Goliath this weekend in the Ozarks. Alabama 34, Arkansas 23

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