Razorbacks Report

3 to man opening at safety

Arkansas defender Josh Liddell attempts to tackle Northern Illinois wide receiver Christian Blake during the second quarter of the game against Northern Illinois in Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014.
Arkansas defender Josh Liddell attempts to tackle Northern Illinois wide receiver Christian Blake during the second quarter of the game against Northern Illinois in Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas will use Josh Liddell, Davyon McKinney and Kevin Richardson at Rohan Gaines' safety spot in the first half of Saturday's game against Ole Miss.

Gaines has been suspended for the first half of Saturday's game after being ejected for targeting in last week's 17-0 victory against LSU.

"We've got three guys over there that I think hopefully can hold them down for about 30 minutes," Arkansas defensive backs coach Clay Jennings said.

Liddell played most of the second half against LSU after Gaines was ejected.

"We got him settled down and he played like a starter," Jennings said. "The big thing was, there weren't any big plays once the game started and once he got into the rhythm. The more the game went on, the more confidence he began to play with."

Spaight invite

Bret Bielema said linebacker Martrell Spaight has received an invitation to the East-West Shrine game and that he's still hoping Spaight has a shot to be asked to play in the Senior Bowl.

Bielema said Spaight has "completely changed the value of his name" in one year.

"He took the out of season and he took great coaching from the defensive coaches and probably gained as much mentally as he has physically and is truly reaping the rewards because of it and will play in the NFL as well," Bielema said.

Hands full

Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze said on Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference that Arkansas is playing with great confidence and with a very physical brand of football.

"Bret's done a tremendous job there of getting those kids to compete in every single game, and they're only a few points away from that win total being a lot more," Freeze said. "We know we've got our hands full."

East tests

Arkansas will face the top two contenders from the SEC East -- Georgia and Missouri -- who are the only East teams to have dealt a loss to the more powerful SEC West this year.

Georgia beat Arkansas 45-32 in Little Rock om Oct. 18 and thumped Auburn 34-7 last week in Athens, Ga. Georgia's victory at Arkansas was the only loss for an SEC West team outside the division all year until last week, when Missouri won 34-27 at Texas A&M and Georgia beat Auburn.

Forecast

After playing in sub-freezing temperatures last week, the Razorbacks look to get a break from the unseasonable cold yet still might have weather issues Saturday against Ole Miss.

The long-range forecast for Saturday is calling for a high of 56 degrees with an 80 percent chance for rain and winds blowing between 10 and 20 mph.

Two to 1,000?

Arkansas running backs coach Joel Thomas said he's never coached or played on a team that had two 1,000-yard rushers, which Arkansas is on pace to do.

"Going into the season it's not necessarily a goal," Thomas said. "It's one of those things that as the season goes on and you're having productivity, you know it can be attainable."

Jonathan Williams has 932 rushing yards and Alex Collins has 886 yards with two games remaining. If the Razorbacks earn a bowl invitation, their postseason statistics would be included on season totals.

"I think each one of those runners, as we went into the season, 1,000 was their goal," Thomas said. "We just happen to be at a good point now where we can accomplish that. If we accomplish that, it means we're running the ball well right now. If we're doing that, hopefully that equates to wins. But if we win these two games, that's all that matters right now."

Sports on 11/20/2014

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