Razorbacks report

Pulley's attitude impresses

Santos Ramirez (from left), De'Jon Harris and Ryan Pulley, celebrate after Pulley made an interception in the second quarter of a game against Tulsa on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Santos Ramirez (from left), De'Jon Harris and Ryan Pulley, celebrate after Pulley made an interception in the second quarter of a game against Tulsa on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas cornerback Ryan Pulley had made 20 consecutive starts while healthy before coming off the bench due to an in-house suspension in Saturday's 23-0 victory over Tulsa.

Pulley, who entered after Montaric Brown took the first seven defensive snaps at cornerback, made the most of his playing time with an interception -- his team-high third of the year -- a pass breakup and two tackles. He was named as a first-team selection on the Pro Football Focus (PFF) national team of the week.

Pulley pulled down a grade of 90.3 from the analytics site to rank the highest among all cornerbacks in the country. Virginia's Bryce Hall (86.9) joined him on the first team.

Arkansas Coach Chad Morris imposed the loss of playing time after Pulley was ejected with 29 seconds left in the 37-33 loss to Ole Miss for jawing at the Rebels' players after he was told to stop by officials.

Morris announced Wednesday that Pulley would miss playing time. He said Pulley handled the affair well.

"For him to continue to improve says a lot about his talent, his ability," Morris said. "He's got a great future in this game."

Pulley's interception came late in the first half, when Tulsa quarterback Seth Boomer left a deep ball hanging for too long.

"I think him losing playing time speaks volumes because Coach Morris says we're going to do things a certain way, and I think [Pulley] understands that," defensive coordinator John Chavis said. "In terms of his response, when he came out, he didn't pout. He served his penalty -- and you hope you don't have those -- and he got ready to help his football team win."

Pulley was one of three SEC players on the PFF, joining Kentucky end Josh Allen (90.5) and Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (91.3), who tied Purdue linebacker Markus Bailey for the highest rating in the country last week.

Ramsey key

Defensive coordinator John Chavis said senior end Randy Ramsey's impact against Tulsa went far beyond his three tackles and fumble recovery.

"One thing, in my opinion, that gets lost in the shuffle is what Randy Ramsey did for us," Chavis said. "You look at the stats, and you aren't going to see a tremendous amount, but he was one of the more dominating players. He allowed other people to make plays because he did his job and did it as well as he has done it. I mention that because I want him to be praised for that.

"It's not about all the time who makes the tackle, but of the soundness of the defense and how hard Randy played and chased the ball down the field."

Ball control

The Razorbacks had their longest drive of the season -- in terms of plays and time consumed -- in the fourth quarter Saturday against Tulsa.

The 16-play drive featured 14 running plays -- including a 20-yard burst by quarterback Cole Kelley and a 10-yard run by Chase Hayden -- a roughing the punter penalty against Tulsa's Diamon Cannon, and Connor Limpert's 24-yard field goal.

The drive lasted 8:19.

The previous high play count had been a 14-play series at Colorado State that ended on Devwah Whaley's 3-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Arkansas' previous longest possession had been a 6:38 sequence against Ole Miss that ended with a punt in the fourth quarter.

Noland news

Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said true freshman quarterback Connor Noland did a good job reading Tulsa's defense in his first start.

"Their defense is a little bit different," said Craddock, referencing the Hurricane's 3-3 front. "It wasn't a traditional look. He had to handle three safeties back there, and I thought he did a really nice job of understanding what they were trying to do. He did a nice job of studying his work throughout the week."

Craddock said there were some plays early in the game in which Noland had the option to run or pass and chose to keep the ball.

"I felt like he could have thrown it, but the look he saw, he didn't like it and he didn't throw it," Craddock said. "Which is totally fine."

Craddock said Noland connected with tight end Cheyenne O'Grady and wide receiver La'Michael Pettway on similar run-pass options later in the game.

"I thought as the game went on, he started gaining some confidence in what he was doing and gaining confidence in what the defense was doing to try and take away certain plays," Craddock said. "I thought he did a really nice job.

"He missed a couple of things, but that's being a true freshman out there. He's going to learn from that. He's going to be nothing but better after he figures out where he needs to be better."

Same message

Coach Chad Morris said it was good to celebrate a victory over Tulsa that ended a six-game losing streak, but the Razorbacks will have the same mindset for the rest of the season.

"As I shared with the team last night, the message doesn't change," Morris said. "We won one game last Saturday, so we've got to focus on winning another one.

"We're going to focus on winning another one the same way that we've approached every week. And that's worry about ourself, getting better, taking care of business and just trying to put one foot in front of the other and improve in some areas."

TE targets

Tight ends accounted for four of Arkansas' 11 receptions against Tulsa. Cheyenne O'Grady had 2 catches for 35 yards, Austin Cantrell had 1 catch for 23 yards, and Grayson Gunter scored his first career touchdown on a 7-yard catch.

"Our tight end production continues to improve," Coach Chad Morris said.

O'Grady, a junior who missed the first two games due to a disciplinary suspension, has 15 catches for career highs of 201 yards and 3 touchdowns. Last season, he had 132 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 catches.

Cantrell, a junior, has 7 catches for 113 yards and 1 touchdown. Gunter, a redshirt sophomore, has 3 catches for 28 yards.

First matchup

Arkansas' Chad Morris and Vanderbilt's Derek Mason will face each other for the first time as head coaches or coordinators Saturday.

"I've obviously run into [Mason] several times at conventions and just in passing when all the coaches get together in our meetings," Morris said. "He's very well respected in this profession.

"I think he's just a phenomenal coach and has done a great job with his team. You can watch his players play and the passion they play with and see that."

Turnover talk

The Razorbacks tied the turnover battle 2-2 against Tulsa on Saturday to remain at minus-4 for the season.

Arkansas has won the takeaway margin twice this season, but only once since smacking Eastern Illinois 5-0 in that department in its season-opening 55-20 victory. The Hogs also beat Texas A&M 2-1 in turnover margin in a 24-17 loss to the Aggies on Sept. 29.

Sports on 10/23/2018

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