FAYETTEVILLE -- John Chavis took the opportunity after a 23-0 shutout victory over Tulsa to spend a brief spot in what was otherwise a glowing review of his defense.
It was about a "softness" during a couple of drives in the second quarter.
"We got that fixed," said Chavis, the Arkansas defensive coordinator, on Monday.
Chavis said the Hogs followed with their best third quarter of defense against Tulsa.
Perhaps that should have been emphasized a little more during the preview of this week's game against Vanderbilt. The Hogs lost 45-31 and were soft more often than they were good, and that doesn't just go for the offense.
The Commodores were the most physical team in Reynolds Razorback Stadium, pulling away with dominating line play on both sides of the ball.
In a battle of 0-4 SEC teams, Vandy made the Razorbacks look like they are headed for the league basement, as many predicted in the summer. The Commodores amassed 250 yards on 49 runs. They would have eclipsed their season best of 256 against Tennessee State except for 39 yards in losses.
It was tough to swallow for new Arkansas coach Chad Morris. He said it was "surprising" because he'd spent the week telling the Hogs that they had to win the game in the trenches. That was clear near the end of his time with the media after the game when asked about the lack of physicality from his team.
"I told our guys all week that they had to be the most physical team in the stadium," Morris said. "That was our message. I don't think we were."
Morris pointed at the passing numbers to make his point. Quarterback Ty Storey attempted 36 passes, completing 23. There were two interceptions, one of them when he was hit while passing and the ball popped loose to be caught by a defensive lineman.
Those two turnovers led to Vandy touchdown drives of 42 yards in the second quarter and 29 yards for the final points for the visitors.
Morris noted that some of those passes came in the final drive when the Hogs had abandoned the run, down three touchdowns.
"Obviously, some of those came at the end, but we are not a very good football team when we have to throw 36 times," Morris said.
One of those throws was a big miss. Storey had Jordan Jones open on a go route for the only deep try late in the third quarter with Vandy up, 24-17. Jones couldn't catch up to Storey's 40-yard throw on what would have been a 75-yard touchdown.
"Ty did some good things," Morris said. "You wish he would have hit Jordan. That would have tied it.
"You've got to hang on to the ball. We turned it over twice on our end of the field, and that led to 14 points."
Vandy's Kyle Shurmur, starting for the fourth year, led a turnover-free offense that rolled to 442 total yards. There was one chance for a turnover, but Ryan Pulley dropped it. That came with just more than three minutes left in the first quarter, Pulley's second play after starting the game on the bench.
It was perhaps a sign that even the Hogs' best players were not going to be on their game against the Commodores. Even worse, the Hogs had linebacker Dre Greenlaw for only part of Vandy's first possession.
Greenlaw was not on the field for Vandy's first play. Morris said the senior didn't start because he broke "a team rule." He left with an injured ankle five plays later after making a play near the Vandy sideline with his typical burst.
It didn't take long to see that void. Vandy running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn dashed for a 63-yard touchdown. Vaughn took advantage of a bad angle from cornerback Montaric Brown, in for Pulley.
Again, that was typical of the day. The Hogs seemed out of position as the Commodores shifted their tight end or motioned their wide receivers. Vaughn, out last week against Kentucky, made 172 yards on 26 carries. He scored on runs of 63, 11 and 3 yards.
"They wanted to run the ball (with Vaughn), and he's a dynamic back," Morris said. "But we didn't play well enough."
Perhaps Morris was talking about the defense at that point, but later there was a reference about the offense "not playing well enough to win."
In summary, Morris said, "That's on me. We have to go back to work."
The Hogs (2-7, 0-5 SEC) know they won't be bowling. Asked about that record, Morris was on point.
"At some point we've got to make some steps," he said. "We've got to get out of that rut. We talk about playing our best football, up to our standards. We didn't play up to them."
Offensively, Morris thought the Hogs would be "able to run the football. We thought we'd get to the edge."
There was some running room early and late. Rakeem Boyd made 113 yards on 19 carries, with a long of 27. Backup Chase Hayden hit a 38-yard touchdown run and finished with 70. But there were too many times when Vandy defensive linemen whipped blocks and were waiting for backs in the hole.
Case in point: The Hogs never got to use their Gravedigger plays with reserve quarterback Cole Kelley. Morris was asked why, but the answer was obvious. They never got to a third-and-short in the entire game.
"It's disappointing," Morris said. "We got what we deserved. We have to go out there and play our tails off."
Later, Morris said, "No excuses, we just didn't play very well."
No question, everyone was frustrated. The players who came to the interview room said the same thing as their coach, just in slightly different phrases. Storey said he didn't blame anyone for being frustrated.
"At some point, we've just got to win games," Storey said.
That's in stark contrast to some other games this season, even some losses, when there was a feeling that there had been plenty of fight in the Hogs -- and improvement.
The talk of hope and improvement was no where to be found on this day. That's what happens when you lose to Vanderbilt, even a veteran bunch. You don't get a good feeling when there are no fans in the section reserved for visitors.
There were more on the Vandy sideline, counting support personnel with the players, than Vandy fans in the stands. Just after the kickoff, someone in the press box counted 85 Vandy fans in the first four rows of section E120.
It will make for a long two weeks before LSU comes to town. The Hogs will need an open date to find their stinger again for the final home game. There are trips to Mississippi State and Missouri to conclude the season.
No one had to tell players there will be no bowl game. Storey addressed the situation.
"Yeah, I mean we still have to get better," he said. "We have to get some wins, get some positive things rolling. This sucks; losing sucks, and we have to get over that and try to get some wins."
It will start with effort in the trenches. Morris was asked about the plan for the open week, although it's been clear that recruiting will be a big part of the focus. Players will get a day off, meet on Monday and then practice three days. They'll get the weekend off when Morris said all 10 assistants will go on the road to recruit.
"We know that our goals of getting to a bowl game are not attainable," Morris said. "As I shared with our players, our culture is not going to change. I'm not changing. Our coaching staff's not going to change. We're going to continue to show up every day and coach hard. We're going to find out who's on board."
Sports on 10/28/2018