HOG CALLS

Stingy offense may be Hogs’ best defense

Arkansas running back Alex Collins tries to find a hole in the Rutgers defense during the Razorbacks game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.
Arkansas running back Alex Collins tries to find a hole in the Rutgers defense during the Razorbacks game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.

FAYETTEVILLE - To combat Texas A&M Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel, Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema knows his offense could be as vital or even more vital than his defense.

The 10th-ranked Aggies (3-1, 0-1 SEC) and Arkansas (3-1, 0-0) face off at 6 p.m. Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Manziel has followed his unfathomable 2013 season with an unbelievable 2014 start. Johnny Football has logged 39 carries for 255 yards with 3 touchdowns and has completed 77 of 110 passes for 1,228 yards with 12 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions.

None of Manziel’s feats, Bielema said, occurred with A&M’s defense on the field.

“One of the things that I think an offense such as ours can bring to the table when it’s functioning well is it takes an [opposing] offense that wants to be on the field on the sideline watching,” Bielema said. “That can get frustrating. It’s happened in the past.” Anyone who remembers Arkansas’ teams from the 1980s knows that it’s happened here.

Ken Hatfield sure does. His 1988 and 1989 Razorback teams defeated the high-scoring Houston Cougars and quarterback Andre Ware - who set 26 NCAA records as a junior in 1988 and won the 1989 Heisman Trophy - twice (26-21 in Houston and 45-39 in Little Rock).

With his 1989 defense “brand new” and not ready for prime time, despite Arkansas winning its second consecutive Southwest Conference title, Hatfield said that game hinged on the Hogs hogging the ball.

“It was a frightening experience with Andre Ware because we had two great games with him,” Hatfield said Tuesday. “About the only way you slow one of those guys down is keep him on the bench, because if they get a lot of snaps, their odds go up for making something happen.” Merely controlling the ball for long periods against the Aggies and Manziel won’t cut it, Hatfield said.

“You’ve got to score,” Hatfield said. “The ’89 game in Little Rock had three scores the first minute and a half. From there on, nobody dared go to the bathroom.” A couple of differences: Ware, though mobile to buy time, was strictly a passer. Manziel, A&M’s second-leading rusher, is deadly scrambling on broken plays, sometimes keeping for big gains and sometimes launching a pass from angles no geometry professor has seen.

“He can get rid of the ball falling backwards, falling forward, running sideways,” Bielema said. “He’s a special quarterback.” Those 1988 and 1989 Hogs also had a special quarterback, Quinn Grovey, who was elected to Arkansas’ Hall of Honor.

Because of starter Brandon Allen’s shoulder injury, junior walk-on AJ Derby will likely be Arkansas’ starter again Saturday.

The Hogs still can surprise A&M and win, Hatfield said. His Hogs (1984-1989) won big games behind backup quarterbacks Danny Nutt, Mark Calcagni and John Bland.

Sports, Pages 14 on 09/25/2013

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