ARKANSAS VS. TEXAS A&M

Hogs seeking balance through running game

Running back Dennis Johnson (33) is one of three Arkansas running backs to have no negative-yard carries this season. Ronnie Wingo and Jonathan Williams are the others.
Running back Dennis Johnson (33) is one of three Arkansas running backs to have no negative-yard carries this season. Ronnie Wingo and Jonathan Williams are the others.

— A running game that has failed to materialize through the first month of the season is not a new phenomenon for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Arkansas has been slow to crank up its running attack each of the past five years since the installation of its brand of pro-style offense. The Razorbacks have never ranked better than 92nd nationally in rushing through their first four games of any season since the 2007 team led the country through the first month with 359 yards per game.

With All-SEC tailback Knile Davis returning to health from a broken ankle, complemented by senior backs Dennis Johnson and Ronnie Wingo and a formidable passing attack, the Razorbacks talked of being able to sustain offensive balance throughout 2012.

That hasn’t happened.

While quarterback Tyler Wilson and the passing game have produced 295 yards per game to rank 25th in the country, the running game has languished again. The Razorbacks have generated just 97.8 rushing yards per game, 112th of 120 FBS teams, entering Saturday’s road opener at Texas A&M.

“We’ve just got to keep pounding away and keep getting better at it,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said.

“Sometimes we’ll be close,” offensive guard Alvin Bailey said. “It’ll be one thing, one man, wrong step or hand placement or something like that. We’re working hard to get this together.”

The Razorbacks, who lost their top two fullbacks — Kiero Small and Kody Walker — for the season in Week Two, have managed just 3.3 yards per carry, which includes sacks and numerous other lost-yardage plays. Davis is only averaging 3.3 yards per carry.

“One thing that’s really hurt Knile is he’s had a couple of bad negative plays,” running backs coach Tim Horton said, referencing an 11-yard loss on a toss play against Jacksonville State and a 10-yard loss against Alabama.

Quarterback Tyler Wilson said Petrino is working on things this week to break tendencies.

“I think we were predictable a little bit in some of the things that we do,” Wilson said. “We’re going to change that up, so I think that will help us out in the run game and ultimately help disguise the pass a little bit more.”

Said Petrino, “It still comes down to blocking and running hard. If you don’t do those things, it doesn’t matter what formation you’re in or what scheme you’re running, you’re not going to run it good.”

The Razorbacks’ lack of explosive run plays, a staple through the second half of 2010 and through some of last season, has been glaring.

Arkansas is one of just 22 FBS teams without a 30-yard run, and one of only 12 teams with one or no carries of 20-plus yards. Backup quarterback Brandon Allen’s 27-yard scramble in the season opener against Jacksonville State remains the Hogs’ longest running play.

“We’ve got to block better, we’ve got to take better care of the ball, we’ve got to get us in the right plays, we’ve got to make the right calls,” Horton said. “We’ve got to make yards sometimes when there’s not yards.”

Jacksonville State Coach Jack Crowe, whose team allowed the Hogs a seasonbest 164 rushing yards in the opener, said Arkansas’ lost run game is a mystery.

“I don’t know the details of all that, but I know that when you don’t run the ball, you just put unbelievable pressure on your quarterback to make his plays, because he becomes more of the focus,” Crowe said. “I thought they had a running game.

“I thought, obviously, they were going to be a high-scoring team. But without a running game, it’s hard to be consistent at anything.”

The Razorbacks were pretty much a big-pass-orbust team in last week’s 35-26 loss to Rutgers, when they rushed for 73 yards on just 19 attempts, struggled in the red zone, but connected on touchdown passes of 57, 10 and 80 yards.

“That comes down to not running the ball,” Petrino said. “It’s a lot of times they’re trying to sit on our underneath stuff and take away our quick game, so a lot of times we’ve had to throw the ball down the field and stretch the defense, and then you get big plays. You’ve got to be able to run the ball and complete the pass, and then it opens up your play-action.”

Davis, who has rushed 64 times for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns this season, also started slowly in his breakout, 1,322-yard season of 2010. He had 121 yards on 20 attempts, 6.05 yards per carry, through four games that year before running 10 times for 82 yards against Texas A&M the following week.

Davis wasn’t a known commodity through the first month of 2010, but he’s running with a target now, and it’s as if defenses sense when he’s about to get the ball. Of his 64 carries, Davis has rushed for 3 yards or less on 34 of them, and 4 yards or more on 30. His longest run was a 19-yarder late in the fourth quarter against Louisiana-Monroe.

Center Travis Swanson said, like in previous years, the Razorbacks will have to continue working the run to get it in gear.

“If I could pinpoint it on one thing, then we’d be able to fix it,” Swanson said. “You’ve got to come every single week to practice with a positive attitude just to work on it.”

Texas A&M is wary of Davis’ potential to break out at any time.

“Knile Davis, going back to two years, before the injury, he’s as good a running back as there is,” Aggies Coach Kevin Sumlin said.

Arkansas Coach John L. Smith said Johnson, who is averaging a team-best 6.7 yards per carry, will probably get more looks this week. Johnson has only one zero-yard carry in 22 attempts, roughly one third of Davis’ runs.

“Dennis has played well, and I would anticipate Dennis seeing the ball more,” Horton said.

Sports, Pages 19 on 09/26/2012

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