Arkansas could use fast start
FAYETTEVILLE — The fast start that has eluded Arkansas for the first three games would come in handy Saturday for the Razorbacks, a major underdog at traditional rival and No. 7-ranked Texas, Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said.
“We need to make it happen,” he said after the Hogs’ 70-minute workout Thursday. “We have to go play smart, play fast and really put everything out on the field.”
The Razorbacks focused this week on having all 11 players working in unison on each play, swarming to the ball on defense and firing off harder on offense.
“The emphasis of sprinting full speed to the ball really showed up defensively,” Petrino said. “Offensively, our focus on the run game and coming off the ball, I think we took some strides.”
One of the biggest issues for the Razorbacks is where team confidence stands after last week’s 49-14 drubbing by Alabama.
“Their focus and their energy was good coming back from last week’s game,” Petrino said. “I wouldn’t say that we necessarily practiced harder, but I was proud of how hard they focused and how they concentrated.”
Arkansas gave up two scores on offense against the Crimson Tide, was gouged by three long touchdown runs of 87, 31 and 62 yards and allowed a 25-yard passing touchdown.
Quarterback Casey Dick will have to shake off the aftereffects of his three-interception game, which included touchdown returns of 63 and 74 yards. “He responded well,” Petrino said. “He’s focused. There’s not a quarterback around that hasn’t had a game like that. “ The key is how you come back from it. He’s focused well. He’s practiced hard. He’s gotten in extra time in the video room. He’s gone back to progression and footwork. He has to go through his progressions and make sure his footwork is just right.”
Injury update Arkansas receiver Lucas Miller (concussion ) and linebacker Jelani Smith (hand ) have been ruled out for Saturday. The Longhorns will be without starting tight end Blaine Irby, who is lost for the season with a dislocated kneecap. It’s where you start
Arkansas has the most lopsided differential in the SEC when it comes to average drive starting position compared to its opponents’.
The Razorbacks’ average starting field position is their 27, the worst in the conference, and 14 yards behind Kentucky’s conference-best average start at its 41. Arkansas’ opponents have an average starting position of their 36, also worst in the SEC.
Arkansas’ differential is minus-9 yards. Only Ole Miss (-6 yards ), Mississippi State (-4 ), Tennessee (-2 ) and Georgia (- 1 ) join Arkansas with negative differentials. Kentucky is the league leader at plus-19 yards, followed by South Carolina (+ 9 ) and Vanderbilt (+ 9 ), LSU (+ 8 ), Florida (+ 7 ), Alabama (+ 4 ) and Auburn (even ).
Red zone facts Arkansas players and coaches came away from Saturday’s loss to Alabama frustrated by the Razorbacks’ inability to score after reaching first-and-goal at the Alabama 1 late in the second quarter. And they would have every right to be frustrated, based on the percentages of any team scoring on first-and-goal from that spot. However, with Alabama’s goal-line stand included, Arkansas still leads the SEC with an 80 percent touchdown ratio in the red zone. The Razorbacks have scored touchdowns on 8 of 10 trips inside their opponents’ 20-yard line, the only failures being the goal-line stop and a missed 25-yard field goal by Alex Tejada against Louisiana-Monroe. The Razorbacks rank last in the SEC in red zone defense, allowing touchdowns on 6 of 8 penetrations.
Worth noting Texas has been ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 for 129 consecutive weeks, the longest current streak in the country and a Texas record. The next-longest active streak is Southern California’s 103 consecutive weeks.
Texas has won 26 of its past 29 games in September under Mack Brown. Arkansas dealt one of the three losses with its 38-28 victory in Austin in 2003.
In the past 10 seasons, Texas ranks fourth in the nation with 59 nonoffensive touchdowns. The Longhorns have two this season. The national leaders, according to UT research, since the start of the 1999 season: Virginia Tech (68 ), Kansas State (64 ), Miami (62 ) and the Longhorns. No SEC teams rank in the top 12.
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