Hogs work on line of communication

Arkansas linemen Denver Kirkland and Travis Swanson look to block Florida defender Darious Cummings during Saturday night's game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.

Arkansas linemen Denver Kirkland and Travis Swanson look to block Florida defender Darious Cummings during Saturday night's game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas tackle David Hurd looked behind him at the Florida linebacker he let loose last week and ached for crumpled quarterback Brandon Allen.

“I realized it after the play that, ‘Gosh, I should have gone off on that linebacker. What did I just do?’ ” Hurd said Wednesday. “He got up kind of slow and I was like, ‘And I just ruined our quarterback probably on that one.’ ”

Hurd’s blocking error was one of several committed by Arkansas in last week’s 30-10 loss to the No. 18 Gators. The Hogs hope to tighten up those issues before Saturday,when South Carolina, another top pass-rushing team, visits Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Line coach Sam Pittman said the Razorbacks had four missed assignments and four plays where a blocker was physically beaten by a Florida rusher in his study of the eight hits Allen endured in that game.

Allen was sacked only twice, but he got up gingerly after several hits, had his hand stomped on once, took two roughing-the-passer shots from the Gators and was generally mistreated by a rush that might rival any in the nation.

“You know our kids don’t want Brandon to get hit,” Pittman said. “If we can cut down just assignment errors, we cut it in half, and then we’ve got to get a little bit better physically to cut it all the way down.

“We’ve got to do a better job.”

The Razorbacks, who added a much stronger run element to their offense this season, had not struggled in pass protection, allowing just three sacks in five games before last week. Even with the pair of sacks allowed at Florida, Arkansas ranks 16th in the country in allowing just 0.83 sacks per game. Against Texas A&M the week before, Allen stayed clean the entire game while throwing 36 passes.

Against the Gators, a combination of factors conspired to put Allen in the cross hairs, starting with a loud, hostile crowd that stunted communications and a complex array of blitzes and line games executed by outstanding athletes.

“It was pure lack of communication on our part,” tight end Austin Tate said. “Then once we do communicate, we’ve got to execute and finish our blocks.”

The Razorbacks also were playing their first road game with a pair of true freshmen - Denver Kirkland and Dan Skipper - at guard, and 44-game starting center Travis Swanson was injured in the third quarter, changing the communication tone with the entry of Luke Charpentier.

All of those factors combined to make communication more difficult.

“Once we all know where we’re going and what we’re doing, we’re fine,” tackle Brey Cook said. “But that was our biggest issue Saturday.”

After being gashed by the Arkansas run game early, Florida put more defenders in the box and invited the Hogs to throw. Arkansas also fell behind to the point it had to rely more on the passing game.

“I thought we put our guys in some situations that were very difficult to win from, but we put ourselves there when we got down by that last score,” Coach Bret Bielema said. “I think when we were within that two score game we could have stuck with our run game and play-action pass game a little bit longer.”

Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney agreed.

“Pass protection is something that we didn’t do real well,” he said Sunday. “Throwing and catching is something we’re not getting enough practice at. So we hate that we had to get one-dimensional there in the fourth when we’re down by two [touchdowns].”

A first-quarter sack and lost fumble on a corner blitz and the interception Allen threw in the second quarter, which was returned for a touchdown by Loucheiz Purifoy, also blunted the passing game’s effectiveness.

“I think that [interception return] shook him up a little bit,” Chaney said of Allen. “I think after that, when you throw a pick-six, you start hesitating on cutting the ball loose, and it happened for him.

“Brandon is still a young kid. It’s so easy to say clean the slate, go to the next play, but as human beings it’s tough to forget things that scarred you.”

Up next SOUTH CAROLINA AT ARKANSAS

WHEN 11:21 a.m. Saturday WHERE Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville RECORDS Arkansas 3-3, 0-2 SEC;

South Carolina 4-1, 2-1 TV KATV, channel 7, in Little Rock;

KHBS/KHOG, channels 40/29, in Northwest Arkansas; KAIT, channel 8, in Jonesboro RADIO Razorback Sports Network

Sports, Pages 19 on 10/10/2013