FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas has drawn an average of five penalties per game, which is tied for 32nd-best in the NCAA, but the Razorbacks have erred heavily on the major penalty side with their 52.5 yards per game ranking 70th in the country.
Defensive penalties have been costly, with multiple face-mask penalties called against cornerback Tevin Mitchel, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called against Brandon Lewis after Mitchel’s interception return for a touchdown against Rutgers last Saturday, and linebacker Jarrett Lake’s costly personal foul on quarterback Gary Nova that led to a Rutgers touchdown just before halftime.
“It’s ridiculous,” defensive coordinator Chris Ash said.
“They’re foolish penalties, and good football teams, winning football teams, don’t do that.”
Ash pointed out that Wisconsin - he, Coach Bret Bielema and others on the Arkansas staff previously coached - was consistently a low-penalty team and that the Razorbacks have to work to get there.
“They’re unacceptable, and if we want to get to where we need to, it’s got to stop,” he said.
Bielema called Saturday’s penalties critical and uncharacteristic.
“You can directly relate that to how we win or lose games,” he said. “That’s the teaching point I had to maximize and let them be known … you will make an effort to change and if you don’t, we’ll move on withoutyou. I think that message was something they needed to learn.”
Lake said he didn’t realize where he and Nova were on the field when he committed his penalty.
“It was really frustrating,” Lake said. “Once I did realize, I feel like it was too late.
Coach B did a great job of getting my mind off of it and pulling me aside at halftime and telling me we’re going to have to put that behind us and go out and have a great second half. That’s all I tried to do.”
Mitchel has drawn three face-mask penalties and a personal foul, one in each game, to lead the Razorbacks with four penalties for 60 yards.
“That’s one thing that we cannot have, especially coming from me,” Mitchel said. “I’ve had plenty. … we just have to eliminate that.”
Cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson was asked if there was a technique he could get across to cut out Mitchel’s face-mask penalties.
“Probably just start grabbing his and see how that feels,” he said, jokingly.
“No, we have to practice tackling better, and he knows it. The problem is, we’re not bringing our feet when we go to tackle. … You can’t reach, that’s for sure.”
Injury report
Coach Bret Bielema said on his radio show that he thinks quarterback Brandon Allen, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, will definitely be ready by next week’s game at Florida if he isn’t cleared for Saturday’s game against Texas A&M.
Allen, who hurt his right shoulder Sept. 14, has not thrown passes, according to Bielema, although he has started taking snaps. Junior AJ Derby seems likely to make his second consecutive start against Texas A&M.
“I don’t know, percentage wise, [but] I would still say it’s about the same as last week of him being able to roll Saturday,” Bielema said Wednesday on the SEC coaches call. “Yesterday, AJ and Austin Allen took all the reps during practice, but Brandon, there’s a chance that he could be there Saturday.
“But for us to get to where we need to be, AJ will continue to take the reps.”
Force of Philon
Defensive tackle Darius Philon sacked Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova on back-to-back series in the first half of Saturday’s 28-24 loss to the Scarlet Knights.
“It all starts with practice during that week,” said Philon, a redshirt freshman.
“I had some great practices.
It all led from practice to the game. It’s really fun getting sacks, but at the same time, you’ve got to keep working.”
End Chris Smith said he wasn’t surprised by Philon’s production.
“He works hard every day,” Smith said. “That was just a game that he broke out.”
Defensive line coach Charlie Partridge has been praising Philon since fall camp.
“Honestly, I expect him to make some plays,” Partridge said. “There are still some things to clean up … but we’re excited about how he’s progressed.”
Up 17 is bad?
Bret Bielema said the Razorbacks’ 24-7 lead in the third quarter at Rutgers might have backfired.
Arkansas went up 17 on Jonathan Williams’ 21-yard halfback pass touchdown to Hunter Henry with 8:38 left in the third quarter. Up to that point, the Arkansas defense and special teams had not only played well, but they had contributed directly to 17 Arkansas points.
“To find ourselves up by 17, it surprised not only some of the people watching, but the guys on our sideline were really, really excited,” Bielema said. “That probably came to be our biggest downfall.
I remember when that touchdown pass from J-Will [Williams], the halfback pass, was completed, our guys lost their minds on the sidelines.
“As coaches we’ve just got to do a better job of making sure everybody understands it’s a four-quarter game.”
17 freshmen
Texas A&M has played 17 true freshmen, one shy of the school record of 18 in 2009.
“That’s where we’re at,” Aggies Coach Kevin Sumlin said. “You don’t turn over one-third of your roster in one year without having to play a bunch of these young guys.”
The Aggies list 16 freshmen on their depth chart, although the only starter is middle linebacker Darian Claiborne.
“They’ve made some mistakes, but they’re playing hard,” Sumlin said. “Those guys are doing a great job, but obviously they’re learning on the job.”
Road rage
Texas A&M was 7-0 away from home last season, including a 41-13 victory over Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. The Aggies were the only team to beat Alabama, taking down the Crimson Tide 29-24 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
So it would seem that the Aggies should have some positive carryover when they play their first road game Saturday at Arkansas.
Not so, Coach Kevin Sumlin said.
“It doesn’t play into it at all,” Sumlin said. “That was last year.”
Sports, Pages 20 on 09/26/2013