Keys To Victory

HOGS IMPROVE, YET FACE TOUGH GAME AGAINST CRIMSON TIDE

There were two messages in my email this week from great players from the glory days of Arkansas football.

I get these sort of messages from time to time. They are always interesting and informative.

One came from Jim Williams, a Forrest City native who played defensive tackle on the 1964 national championship team. Williams and Loyd Phillips wreaked havoc with their speed to roam the offensive backfields against Southwest Conference teams in that 11-0 season.

Williams has been successful in business in the Dallas area. He loves that the Hogs come to town each season, but longs for the days that the Texas A&M game goes in the victory column. That once happened with frequency as the Hogs led the series 41-24-3 before the Aggies began their seven-game win streak.

It’s not just the A&M game that Williams attends. He’s going to be there if the Hogs play and is faithful in the way he cheers. These days, he’s cheering improvement as much as the results on the scoreboard. And, he’s gone back to the way his teammates watched film with coaches on Sundays.

“I remember the Sunday film room from the 1960s where we would watch our mistakes five or six times and our good plays once or twice,” Williams said.

“This week I went to the game hoping we would improve. I enjoyed watching the game because I decided to only look for our guys to make Good Plays and disregard their bad plays. I must have mentally handed out awards to at least 20 guys for over 40 great plays. By the end we actually could have beaten A&M.

“When I left the game I went home pumped! I saw our guys getting ready to play the best team in the country next Saturday. They are kids and they will make mistakes — but let’s look for the Good Plays - or as the Cotton Bowl calls them — the Big Plays!!

“They are trying their hearts best to do good. Let’s clap when they do something good.”

Williams was referencing the “Big Play Luncheon” that previews the Cotton Bowl each year.

I’m not sure if those remarks date back to the boos from the North Texas game, the last time the Hogs played in Reynolds Razorback Stadium. I didn’t ask Jim, but I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s a positive person, as are most who played on those great teams in the 1960s.

It’s No. 1 Alabama coming to town this week in what Nick Saban calls “a little bit of a trap game.” It’s the words of Saban in another area that the other letter addressed to emphasize his point.

This former Razorback great — wanting to remain anonymous — wants to end the annual trip to Arlington, Texas, to play Texas A&M in what is a supposed to be a neutral-site game.

“It’s in their backyard,” he said. “I don’t want to give them any advantage. We should play every other year in our stadium, in Fayetteville. Losing seven in a row should tell you something.”

Saban said playing in Fayetteville is as tough a road venue as there is in the SEC. If he says that, the former UA star insists, why not play there when you have the chance?

“I argued that point with our former AD,” the old grad said. “He told me the positives outweigh the negatives, but he never would tell me what the negatives were.”

Clearly, new Arkansas coach Chad Morris wants to keep playing in AT&T Stadium. It’s in the heart of a fertile recruiting ground that he intends to mine. He wants a big presence in the Dallas area. It’s something his predecessor either ignored or just didn’t emphasize. I can see Morris using the game much better than what’s been done in the recent past.

But, what about finding a good non-conference game to play in AT&T Stadium every few years? That’s what others have done.

What I saw last week was an Arkansas crowd that has dwindled. Stadium officials told me that there were 44,000 paid for the game, only 19,000 with Arkansas ties. Maybe that number jumps with an improved Arkansas team.

Make no mistake, the Hogs are improving. As Williams mentioned, there was reason to be “pumped” about the improvement in the last two games, mostly by the defense, but even with the offense with inspired play from quarterback Ty Storey.

It might be that improvement is tough to find this week against Alabama. No one seems to match the physicality, talent or efficiency of the Crimson Tide under Saban.

With that, here are the keys.

1. Turnovers – Alabama has feasted on gifts over the last several years. The Crimson Tide score in special teams and on defense almost as often as they do from the offense.

There are lots of differences between the two teams. Alabama’s talent level is off the charts better, but what Saban’s teams always do is much in evidence with the 2018 version. They win the turnover battle in almost every game.

Alabama has forced 10 turnovers, against just four lost turnovers. Arkansas has lost 14, gained 10. Of course, they recovered six fumbles in the opener against out-manned Eastern Illinois. The Razorbacks had been on the wrong end of the turnover battle until last week when the Hogs won it, 2-1, over the Aggies.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has not thrown an interception this season and he’s passed for 14 touchdowns. Obviously, that’s off the charts good.

2. Special Teams – This may be where Alabama has the biggest edge. It does not have a competent placekicker, but can score on any kind of return with Jaylen Waddell (punts) or Josh Jacobs (kickoffs). That’s scary because the Hogs have been victimized in both areas.

Arkansas punter Reid Bauer showed improvement last week with a 43.2-yard average. The net (43.5) was actually better because A&M had a minus return.

That’s a huge improvement from the previous week against Auburn when Bauer had one punt partially blocked and a near miss on two others. The net average on his nine punts was 23.2.

That’s not Alabama’s strength. Punter Skyler De-Long averages 35.9, but Alabama doesn’t punt much, just 15 times this season. Arkansas has punted 36 times.

The Hogs added some cover ability to special teams last week with the addition of linebackers De’Jon “Scoota” Harris and Dre Greenlaw, among others. Those are the team’s best two tacklers. They’ll need to be active on special teams this week.

3. The Trap – When Saban called this week’s trip to Fayetteville a “little bit of a trap game,” it was his way of trying to draw attention to a lowly opponent for his players. But is it a real trap for the Tide?

Maybe he’s thinking back to the 2014 season when the Hogs lost, 14-13, in Fayetteville to the then-No. 7 Tide. Or maybe he was thinking about the 2015 game when the No. 8 Tide won at home by an un-Saban like margin, 27-14.

There has been only one other near miss for the Hogs of late, the 2010 season when a Ryan Mallett-led team broke to a 20-7 lead, but lost, 24-20, to the No. 1 Crimson Tide. Arkansas was ranked No. 10 at the time.

Personally, it doesn’t look like a trap game. No one has picked it to be close.

4. Third Downs – Both teams are good with third down defense. It’s the best thing the Razorbacks do on either side of the ball. They get off the field on third down at 28.2 percent, sixth in the SEC and an impressive 12th nationally.

Alabama’s defense is good, too, although not up to Saban’s recent units. Still, Alabama has a 26 percent third down defense, fourth in the SEC and seventh in the nation.

Where things get ugly is with the two offenses. Arkansas is at 29.3 percent in third down offense. That’s last in the SEC, 124th in the nation. Alabama is at 59.7 percent, first in the SEC and second in the nation.

Arkansas offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said he met with Morris deep into the night Sunday trying to look for keys to fixing the third down offense. Ultimately, the answer lies with better play on first down when there were lots of issues.

“There were some penalties, there were times when we didn’t sustain blocks and there were times where the running backs didn’t hit the right place,” Craddock said.

Specifically on first downs, Craddock said there times when double teams weren’t held long enough before a blocker slid off to chase someone at the next level. So it was a timing issue up front.

5. Protection – That goes both ways. Can the Hogs improve with a patched together offensive line? They’ve at least started the same combination for every SEC game and should again this week.

This is not a great pressure team for Saban, but he has a way of dialing up exotic blitzes. No one is as good with safety pressures as Alabama.

Interestingly, Arkansas and Alabama are dead even in tackles for losses, with seven per game. That ranks sixth in the SEC, 32nd nationally. But, Alabama allows only 4.4 per game, while Arkansas is at 7.0. That’s a big key in this game. Can the Hogs avoid lost-yardage plays, especially on first down?

6. The Top Matchup – It has to be the Alabama wide receivers against the Arkansas cornerbacks. Alabama has one of the most dynamic set of receivers in the league. It’s one of the reasons Tagovailoa has been so good. His wide-outs are always open.

Jerry Jeudy is the best with 19 catches and six touchdowns, but Henry Ruggs has 16 and five touchdowns. There are several others that can rest them with little drop off.

The Hogs have one great cover man in Ryan Pulley. He’s been solid most of the season.

But Alabama will put pressure on both sides. Redshirt freshman Jarques McClellion has made big strides of late, but hasn’t been tested like what he’ll see this week.

7. The Dan Enos Factor – Formerly the offensive coordinator at Arkansas, Dan Enos is now the quarterbacks coach for the Tide. What does he think about playing his old team?

That’s a question that many asked last week when John Chavis went up against Texas A&M. It’s as much a question this week.

There are no thoughts from Alabama on the subject. Saban does not allow his assistant coaches to handle interview requests.

Enos seemed to be well liked during his time at Arkansas, but was a taskmaster of sorts. I wonder if his old players are up for playing against their old coach.

8. The Snap – The most basic play in the game has been the toughest for the Razorbacks. They have not been consistent with the snap. Both Hjalte Froholdt and Ty Clary have had issues with the snap. Some have rolled to the quarterback, others have been wide or high.

Clary appears to be the best option at center because Froholdt seems to be better at left guard, his position the last two seasons.

Alabama plays an odd front, meaning the Tide usually cover the center with a nose tackle. That could make for another long day for Clary.

Craddock said there was special attention to the center snap before practice Sunday, including heavy stress applied by the coach with a blocking pad as Clary snapped.

“I took a shield and a blocking dummy and was coming over the top on every snap,” Craddock said of the pre-practice Sunday.

9. The Running Game – It’s clear the Hogs don’t have a solid running game. Alabama’s defense is not rock solid in that area, like in past years. The Hogs made just 27 yards (subtracting five sacks) on 29 rushes last year in Tuscaloosa.

But the Hogs must at least try to establish the run. There must be some semblance of balance and that requires continued effort on the ground.

Morris explained it well Monday: When there is no running game, it puts stress on every other area of the offense.

10. The Tight End – The Hogs seem to have lost one tight end, while gaining one. Out is Jeremy Patton, injured against Texas A&M. But back from the doghouse is C.J. O’Grady. He made two big plays against Texas A&M after Patton was injured.

The Hogs hope to utilize O’Grady, along with Austin Cantrell. Those two will help in pass protection for the tackles, but both are capable of making plays in the passing game.

Alabama doesn’t use its tight ends much, but most teams apply so much attention to the standout wideouts that the tight end is there anytime Tagovailoa wants him. Irv Smith has 14 catches and two touchdowns. Hale Hentges scored two touchdowns against Texas A&M.

Alabama’s offense is dependent on the perimeter blocking of the tight end. Linebackers and tight ends spend so much time working through them that they have trouble with coverage on run fakes. The Hogs have improved a lot with their run defense, but they will be tested by a good tight end offense this week.

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