Petrino, Hogs play catch-up with Tide
Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — Not that Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino is going to bust out an “I Like Ike” button or anything, but he and his Razorbacks are trying to spin the postponement of Saturday’s game at Texas because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Ike into something positive.
“We tried to make an immediate switch to Alabama, and the coaches did a nice job of getting all the scouting reports done,” Petrino said after the Razorbacks’ 90-minute workout Thursday. “We had everything in the computer, so we got all that done and started game planning this morning.”
Instead of a much-anticipated showdown at No. 8-ranked traditional rival Texas, the Razorbacks have an open weekend in advance of their conference opener at home against No. 11-ranked SEC West rival Alabama.
“It’s just as big, it’s just not Texas,” junior defensive tackle Malcolm Sheppard said. “We were all geared up, all pumped up, to go down there. [Texas is ] ranked in the nation, and it’s an unbelievable opportunity for our team, our program, Arkansas, the whole state. It’s a big rivalry.”
After the Alabama game Sept. 20, the Razorbacks will make the trip to Texas on Sept. 27, which would have been an open date before their home game against Florida.
The Razorbacks have a sizable share of native Texans on their roster, many of whom wanted a shot at the Longhorns this weekend.
“It’s a disappointment because we really did want this game,” said Rashaad Johnson, a senior safety from Waco, Texas. “But a bye week is always good. It gives you more time to prepare. Everybody’s getting healthy and could be 100 percent for our first SEC game.”
Tight end D. J. Williams was celebrating his birthday at a favorite Fayetteville restaurant when a friend got a text message saying the game had been postponed.
“I was at Shogun, thank you,” Williams said. “Yep, I was eating my filet mignon. It was medium rare.... Yes, it was a disappointment, but you try to look optimistic about everything. We’ve got more time to prepare for the next opponent.”
Petrino said the postponement call was “probably the right decision” and described the schedule change as the Hogs losing their bye week.
“We were hoping to play, and then have the bye scheduled when we had it,” he said. “You just adjust and keep going. Hopefully we’ll get a couple of extra days of preparation and go on.”
Petrino was anxious over the impending decision about the game Tuesday and Wednesday. School officials at Texas, in conjunction with their Arkansas counterparts and State of Texas officials, determined late Wednesday that a postponement was the best course of action, with Hurricane Ike continuing to bear down on the Texas coast with an expected landfall early Saturday.
“The thing I tried to push was, ‘Give us an answer,’” Petrino said. “If you’re going to postpone it, postpone it so we can move on to Alabama.”
Arkansas coaches already made relatively quick work Wednesday night of drawing together part of the game plan.
“We just had to get all our cards drawn up and statistics and percentages,” Petrino said. “We started the game plan this morning, and then [today ] will be a big day for the coaches.
“ We’ll get here early and then send seven guys out recruiting. We are going to lose two days recruiting from our planned bye.”
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