Arkansas seems as far away from going to Atlanta as possible as it heads for Starkville, Miss., but it’s doable, even when you think it’s not in the cards.
One of my favorite Starkville residents reminded me this week that Arkansas didn’t seem a likely candidate for an Atlanta trip on the night of Sept. 2, 1995.
Rockey Felker was calling plays for the Razorbacks when they lost to SMU, 17-14, in the 1995 season opener. Barry Lunney was trying to execute a quarterback sneak and fumbled a snap at the 1-yard line on the last play of the game. It was Felker’s third of four seasons at Arkansas.
“I would think that most people thought we were about to have a 3-8 season that night in Dallas, maybe worse,” Felker said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Of course, the Hogs won eight of their next nine, six of them in SEC play. They would wrap up the SEC West title with wins over Ole Miss, Auburn and Mississippi State before losing the finale at LSU.
The trip to Atlanta turned bad early. Madre Hill’s knee gave out as he churned for yards in the open field. No. 2 Florida would romp, 34-3. The Razorbacks lost to North Carolina in the CarQuest Bowl to finish 8-5.
Here’s the little talked about fact of the 1995 season: The Hogs played 10 times away from Fayetteville, only three times in Razorback Stadium. Yet, they won the SEC West. No UA team has ever played so few times at its campus home and done so much.
It seems odd looking back on that fact when some complain about one trip to Little Rock in this year’s schedule. Felker chuckled about that, too, but pointed the conversation about the great Arkansas players that earned that trip to Atlanta.
Hill was very much the offensive story for the Hogs in 1995. He rushed for a then school record 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns. He ran for six scores against South Carolina, still the school record. Only Darren McFadden (twice) and Alex Collins have better single-season rushing totals at Arkansas.
It was the 14 days following that SMU debacle that alerted that those 1995 Hogs might do something special. Behind Hill’s six touchdowns, they romped past South Carolina, 51-21, then won at Alabama the next week, 20-19, behind some magical Lunney passes in the closing minutes.
Everyone remembers the winning pass, a fourth-down rollout from the Alabama 3-yard line. Lunney fired low for J. J. Meadors. The tiny Arkansas wide receiver — only 5-foot-6 – scooped the throw only inches from the turf. There was no replay in those days, so it was over as soon as the two officials with the best look both raised their arms in the touchdown signal.
The other big victory that season was over No. 11 Auburn, the last team capable of knocking the Hogs out of the title game. The Hogs rolled to a 27-0 lead then held on for a 30-28 victory. The defense stood tall in the clinching victory over Mississippi State, 26-21. Steve Conley recorded a sack for a safety, one of a school record 14 sacks for him that season.
Felker mentioned almost all of that in our interview of almost an hour. It’s one of his favorite seasons from one of my favorite coaches. I knew him first as a Tulsa play caller for Dave Rader, then for four seasons at Arkansas, the final three as Danny Ford’s offensive coordinator, although he was never officially given that title.
It was always clear that Felker was the man behind the offense those three seasons. He coached Lunney and put the Hogs in a spread, against Ford’s wishes.
“We were running the one-back spread,” Felker said. “Danny thought we were crazy. He wanted a fullback in front of the back. He wanted those fullback runs up the middle.
“We finally did it against his wishes to run the spread. We had J. J. Meadors, Anthony Lucas and Anthony Eubanks wide. We were able to spread the field and give it to Madre. And, Barry and Madre put the team on their backs and carried us to Atlanta.
“We did it with great character on that team, offense and defense. Barry Lunney was the ultimate competitor. He always had good players that tried to take his position, Mike Cherry and Robert Reed. Barry stayed with it and he proved he was an SEC quarterback and held them off. He provided great leadership for that team.”
Told Hill had been named to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame this week, Felker gave the Malvern product special praise.
“Of course, Madre had that burst of incredible speed,” Felker said. “But he came into his own that season and was so dependable. That SMU game, he was going to score and win the game, but they tackled him by the facemask and jerked him down at the 1-foot line. Of course, they called it, but the penalty was six inches. Sad. Barry fumbled the next play.
“You think quarterback sneak is about the safest play you could run. He was going to score behind Earl Scott and Verl Mitchell, our center and guard.
“That was a tough offensive line coached by Mike Bender. It was also the year when we got to see Brandon Burlsworth for the first time. He played as a backup as a redshirt freshman. Mike was the one who came to us and said we needed to start getting him on the field.
“I still remember Mike telling us that he only had to tell Brandon to do something once and he’d get it done perfectly from then on. By the middle of the next season, his sophomore year, Brandon was our best player.”
Felker called Hill’s number 45 times in the de facto title game with Auburn. Much of it was hard earned, right up the gut for 186 yards. There were no fumbles.
The Hogs made 300 yards on their first 53 plays. Bender said afterward, “We knocked them on their butts.” The end was tenuous as the Hogs sat on the lead with Auburn clawing back.
Felker looks back on that offense with pride. It was the spread without the run-pass option that both Arkansas and Mississippi State will run today.
“We had the quarterback under center,” Felker said. “It wasn’t hurry up because the SEC officials wouldn’t let you do that then. They didn’t spot the ball for 10 seconds. So you had to huddle. No one huddles now.”
Right, there are no huddles, offense or defense. That actually brought up the subject of the cowbells that will ring in Davis-Wade Stadium.
“Football is all done with sideline signals now,” Felker said. “It’s not a factor. There is no verbal communication.
“The offenses do not use snap count now. Every player looks at the ball. The receivers are in a two-point stance. The tackles are in a two-point stance and the guards are inches from the center and the ball.”
It is interesting that Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis mentioned that road communication is easy. No one makes any noise when the home team has its offense on the field.
Felker said that’s always been the case. It’s like that at Starkville, too.
“I think all the signals, offense and defense, are communicated without the players going to the huddle,” he said. “It’s not an issue any more.”
The issue is accounting for the slick RPO reads. Felker was a great triple option quarterback at State, the SEC’s player of the year in 1974.
“I ran the triple option,” Felker said, but it was more of a horizontal system, not what it is today when the field is stretched in all directions.
“I had the read to leave the ball with the fullback. Then, I could pull it and keep, or pitch it to the trailing back. That was my three options.”
There is only one option in the SEC West. That’s to earn a trip to Atlanta against the nation’s best.
“Yes, it starts in Tuscaloosa,” Felker said of the Alabama dominance. “You want to go to Atlanta, you have to beat those guys.
“I will say it’s going to take a great team to catch them. They are really good right now.”
Felker knows plenty about the Crimson Tide. I’m reminded from my friend Louis Campbell about their time together as an Alabama assistant coach, before they would later coach together at both Arkansas and Mississippi State.
Campbell is always mentioned fondly by Felker, now in a support position with the Bulldog Club at MSU.
“Louis and I talk about that ‘95 team at Arkansas,” Felker said. “That ought to be a team that is remembered for accomplishing quite a lot. I know Houston (Nutt) went to Atlanta a couple of times at Arkansas. But our team was first and it should be something people are proud about.
“It’s not easy to do it. I know Mississippi State has been just once. Ole Miss hasn’t been at all.
“It’s a feat to go. There are just so many good teams in the SEC West. But it can be done.”
You have to be lucky in recruiting. Evaluations are critical. Felker pointed out that no one wanted the last two MSU quarterbacks, Dak Prescott and Nick Fitzgerald.
“LSU might have talked to Dak a little at the end,” Felker said. “But no one else wanted Nick. You need to hit on a few like that.”
Felker was involved in both of those processes, but doesn’t have an on-field assignment now. He’s worked in the recruiting front, in football operations and as both a head coach and assistant in three different stints on staff with the Bulldogs.
“My job now is pretty easy,” he said. “I work about 20 hours a week. I’m called an ambassador for the Bulldog Club. I go to games, club meetings and a few other events.
“When they approached me about it, I said what do I do? I was told, ‘It’s simple, just be Rockey Felker.’ So that’s what I do.”
Of course, that’s plenty. He’s legendary in Starkville and anywhere Bulldogs are loved.
Felker loved his time at Arkansas. He even tried to make it his home after his days ended on Ford’s staff, replaced by Kay Stephenson and Joe Ferguson in a move urged by Frank Broyles. After his second stint as Tulsa play caller, Felker set up shop selling insurance in east Fayetteville, but ultimately got back into coaching on Sylvester Croom’s staff at MSU.
Enough of looking back, here are today’s keys. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. ESPN has the broadcast.
Defensive Line Play I — Mississippi State has the best defensive line in the SEC. Defensive end Montez Sweat and nose tackle Jeffery Simmons maybe the best pair in the league.
State held Alabama to a season-low of 305 yards last week. Simmons is considered the nation’s top interior line prospect by Pro Football Focus. Sweat has 18.5 tackles for losses in his last 13 games and 9.5 sacks this season, fourth best in the nation this season. Both will make All-America teams.
It’s likely the Hogs will have to give sophomore center Ty Clary plenty of help against Simmons, but that’s doable with double-team concepts. There aren’t as many options on the outside against Sweat where he’s likely to frustrate both Brian Wallace and Colton Jackson.
Defensive Line Play II — Can the Hogs handle Nick Fitzgerald’s runs? Some of them are quarterback draws and counters. Some are RPO reads.
Either way, the Hogs had few answers last year when State rallied for two scores in the fourth quarter for the victory. A lot of it was in powerful, fast dashes by Fitzgerald.
The Hogs will get defensive end Michael Taylor back after Taylor was ejected from the LSU game for targeting. Dorian Gerald, the other backup end, missed practice time this week with a toothache, but should be fine by game time.
This has been an improved area of play for the Hogs this season with inspired play at defensive tackle from Armon Watts. The key is not to get in a chase mode with Fitzgerald. He is not a quick starter, but he’s proven he can outrun about everyone in the SEC when he gets full speed.
Protection — This goes with the first two. When the Hogs give quarterback Ty Storey has time, he’s been good. But there hasn’t been time against the best defenses.
The Bulldogs are a little like Alabama in that they are quick at linebacker and in the back end. They pursue with incredible speed. The Hogs used that speed against Alabama when they scored 31 points in Fayetteville. They had the Tide off balance with counters, screens and misdirection plays.
“We called some of those plays against LSU, but we didn’t get them blocked,” Arkansas coach Chad Morris said. “You have got to get a hat on a hat on the perimeter.”
Those screens and draws might work against the Bulldogs and if they do, it will slow down the rush and provide more time in play-action passing, critical for Storey to have enough time to go down the field.
The Deep Pass — Both teams will go for it. Fitzgerald is a streaky passer, but he’s hit big plays throughout his career on vertical passing. He gets shots because safeties have to worry about him in the running game.
“What they do with their quarterback run game is create another gap you have to cover,” Morris said.
The only way to do that is to add a safety in the box. When Fitzgerald figures out which one that’s going to be, he attacks that position vertically.
Conversely, Morris said his philosophy is to try at least two deep passes per quarter. Some might think he’s gone away from that strategy. Hardly, it’s just that they haven’t had time when the vertical routes are developing.
“What they do is lots of wheel routes,” said Joe Moorhead, the first-year MSU coach.
Yes, that’s what is left open when all the safeties and corners are covering the vertical routes. The tight end and backs are the targets on the wheel routes. They are great plays when there is protection.
The Road — This is the first true road game for the Hogs since going to Auburn on Sept. 22. Are they mature enough to handle the atmosphere in Davis Wade Stadium? It’s terrific.
The Hogs have practiced all week with noise blaring on the loud speakers in their indoor facility. Morris said his ears were ringing after practice Wednesday.
The Hogs made lots of mistakes in the kicking game in their last road trip. That’s where they were playing the most inexperienced players. Some of those rookies and second-year players are no longer on special teams units. That should mean for a better performance.
Tight Ends – Everyone knows the Hogs like to throw to tight end Cheyenne O’Grady. Not a factor in the first two games when he was in the dog house, O’Grady now has 27 catches for 359 yards. He’s caught six touchdown passes.
O’Grady is now the team leader in catches, sailing past La’Michael Pettway (23 catches, 387) and Rakeem Boyd (22 catches, 157 yards).
It’s a big game for sophomore tight end Grayson Gunter. He is a native of Madison, Miss. His dad Bubba played at Ole Miss, but the recruiting decision came down to Arkansas and Mississippi State. He’s got several friends on the MSU roster.
Turnovers — For the second straight week, the Hogs are facing a team that takes care of the football. That’s something the Hogs have done poorly.
Arkansas ranks last in the SEC with 21 turnovers. That’s 114th in the nation. State has lost just nine, first in the SEC and ninth nationally.
Here’s the thing to remember: State leads the SEC and is second in the nation in pass efficiency defense. That’s a combination of pressure and coverage. That’s something the Hogs have improved with the arrival of John Chavis, but it’s still not a strength.
The Series — The Razorbacks lead the series with the Bulldogs, 16-11-1. However, Arkansas has won only one of the last six, a 58-42 shootout in Starkville in 2016.
However, most of the games have been tight. The last four MSU victories were by seven points or less. The Hogs lead the series in Starkville, 7-6.
The Bells — Everyone knows that the SEC ignores the noisemaker rule when it comes to Mississippi State. One thing is for sure, the bells will ring in Starkville.
They may not be as loud for a morning start. Typically, they are the loudest for night games.
But it’s not so much the bells that make it loud in Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State utilizes piped-in noise from its two scoreboards in either end zone to make it one of the loudest venues in the SEC.
The combination of the bells and the music does give the Bulldogs a solid home-field atmosphere.
Transition — It’s probably the one thing that has held back the two teams the most. State is 6-4 under Moorhead, the former Penn State offensive coordinator. But there has been much transition in the offense as Moorhead has force fed his passing game concepts to his veteran quarterback.
There have been lots of games in which State just hasn’t produced points. The Bulldogs averaged 4.0 points against Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Alabama.
That’s a bit of a surprise because the Bulldogs returned 20 seniors, including key players in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Conversely, the Hogs have newcomers in many of the skilled positions. That makes for a difficult transition in the new spread offense run by Morris.