FAYETTEVILLE - Defenses have crept closer to the line of scrimmage and sent blitzers to disrupt Arkansas’ run-blocking schemes the past two weeks with quarterback AJ Derby taking snaps for the injured Brandon Allen.
So what is Arkansas’ solution for those crowded boxes?
“Keep pounding the rock,” running backs coach Joel Thomas said.
The Razorbacks (3-1) don’t expect to stray far from their bread-and-butter ground game when they open SEC play Saturday against Texas A&M (3-1, 0-1 SEC), but Derby and the receiving corps will have to come up with ways to make the Aggies respect the pass to loosen up run lanes for Arkansas’23rd-ranked running game.
Facing one of the nation’s most prolific offenses, triggered by quarterback Johnny Manziel, puts an even higher premium on ball control, offensive execution and possession time for the Razorbacks.
“I think offensively we’re wired in a way that the more we can hang onto the football and advance the chains and be efficient in the red zone with touchdowns, not field goals, that’s a key part,” Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said.
“I think if we have the ball that benefits us a lot,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said. “Our offense is all about execution, and we’ve got to be able to go out and do that from the beginning of the game to the end of the game.
“We cannot have valleys. We’ve got to stay in front of the chains.”
Arkansas’ offense will play a leading role in keeping Manziel off the field, junior guard Brey Cook said.
“The offense needs to go out there and maintain the clock,” Cook said. “The first three games you could see that we really did that, and we look forward to coming out and really just doing that again.”
Arkansas ran for 101 yards, 193 yards below its average, in last week’s 28-24 loss at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights stuffed the tackle box with personnel, fired off run blitzes and dared Derby to make them pay through the air.
Derby did marginal damage, passing for 137 yards and one touchdown, but he was helped by halfback Jonathan Williams’ 21-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the third quarter and a 24-yard first-quarter pass from punter Sam Irwin-Hill to deep snapper Alan D’Appollonio to set up a Zach Hocker field goal.
Arkansas fullback Kiero Small said Texas A&M coaches are smart, and they will likely stack the box against the Razorbacks.
“One thing about it,” Small said, “every run play is scripted to be successful. Every defense is scripted to be successful. It’s all about what guys are going to make plays and which guys are going to do their jobs.”
Arkansas ranks No. 10 nationally in time of possession, but Rutgers put a crimp in that statistic in the fourth quarter last week. The Scarlet Knights won the clock battle in that decisive quarter, holding Arkansas to three first downs and 0 of 3 on third down conversions and outgaining the Razorbacks 167-35 in total offense in the final period to rally from a 24-14 deficit.
“It was tough last week,” Williams said. “We didn’t rush for what we wanted to and we had the loss, but you can either go in a slump or you can learn from it.”
Alex Collins, the first SEC freshman to rush for 100 yards in his first three games, had 63 rushing yards at Rutgers.He said Arkansas’ confidence in its run game hasn’t slipped.
“We just have to stick to our game plan, keep doing what we’ve been doing,” he said. “Stick to the ground and pound.”
The Aggies rank 105th nationally in rushing defense, yielding 218 rushing yards per game. And they are 110th in total defense, allowing 475 yards per game.
But Chaney said there are circumstances to consider: A&M yielded 234 rushing yards to Alabama, the two time defending national champion with T.J. Yeldon leading the way. The Aggies were missing some of their starters in the season-opener against Rice, and the Owls rushed for 304 yards. The Aggies yielded 240 rushing yards Sam Houston State, which Chaney described as one of the better triple-option teams around.
“So, sometimes the statistics can skew things a little bit,” Chaney said.
Bielema said ball control is only one component to upsetting the Aggies.
“It’s got to be a complete game, not just an offensive or defensive or special teams game plan,” Bielema said. “It’s about how all three work together to beat a common opponent.”SATURDAY’S GAMES All times Central South Carolina at Cent. Florida, 11 a.m.
South Alabama at Tennessee, 11:21 a.m. LSU at Georgia, 2:30 p.m.
Mississippi at Alabama, 5:30 p.m.
Texas A&M at Arkansas, 6 p.m.
Florida at Kentucky, 6 p.m.
Ala.-Birmingham at Vanderbilt, 6:30 p.m. Arkansas State at Missouri, 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, OCT. 5 Georgia State at Alabama, 11:21 a.m.
LSU at Mississippi State, 6 p.m.
Missouri at Vanderbilt, 6:30 p.m.
Kentucky at South Carolina, 6:30 p.m.
Arkansas at Florida, TBA Georgia at Tennessee, TBA Mississippi at Auburn, TBA
Up next ARKANSAS VS.
NO. 10 TEXAS A&M WHEN 6 p.m. Saturday WHERE Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville RECORDS Arkansas 3-1, 0-0 SEC; Texas A&M 3-1, 0-1 TV ESPN2 RADIO Razorback Sports Network
Sports, Pages 17 on 09/27/2013