Sam Pittman and his staff have promised there were several history lessons – equipped with game tape – to help players understand the meaning of playing Texas to the state of Arkansas.
The current Razorbacks may not understand, along with the under-30 crowd with only three decades of SEC football for perspective. They didn’t grow up hating Texas like Louis Campbell.
“I was taught by my father to hate Texas as a young boy growing up in Hamburg in the 1950s and ‘60s,” Campbell said this week. “Then as a player and coach, you knew what it meant.”
Campbell was a member of the all-decade team for the Hogs as a defensive back from 1970-72, serving as a captain as a senior when he intercepted three passes in the Liberty Bowl.
Then as an Arkansas assistant coach under Jack Crowe, Danny Ford and Houston Nutt, Campbell recruited and coached against the Longhorns. He won and lost in both roles against the Longhorns, and all of the games are memorable.
Campbell has a message for current players facing the Longhorns for the first time: this game carries great weight “for everyone in our state over 30.” Get ready for a rocking atmosphere in Reynolds Razorback Stadium for the game at 6 p.m. Saturday against the No. 15 Longhorns.
As a former player, Campbell has attended practices in August and likes what he sees. He’s not convinced the talent level will match what Texas brings to the field, but he does like the direction.
“No question, Sam Pittman is the program headed the right direction,” Campbell said. “I do know one thing: in the practice I saw, the team was being coached with great passion. There was a lot of yelling, and even a few cuss words. I liked what I saw.”
Most would expect that to be amplified this week, but Campbell said it’s the nature of this week that it won’t be needed. Players will probably understand the situation and bring plenty of passion in the game.
“These have always been the easy games to coach, the rivalry games,” he said. “It’s likely every Arkansas player will be ready to play Texas. You worry about getting up for other weeks, but not Texas.”
The Hawgs Illustrated Sports Club introduced two speakers Wednesday who played in big games. Former Arkansas center Travis Swanson (2010-13) and Jeb Huckaba (2001-04) know it’s easy to get carried away with the big atmospheres.
Swanson was a redshirt freshman center in 2010 when the Hogs hosted No. 1 Alabama in a packed home stadium. There were nerves and too much energy early.
“Emotionally, I was so amped up in that 2010 Alabama game,” Swanson said. “So what happened to me on the first play, I almost snapped it over Ryan Mallett’s head and he’s about 6-8. He swatted it down.
“I hope Sam has some good stuff in place to harness that energy and emotion.”
Huckeba said a player who hasn’t played in the kind of environment expected Saturday cannot get carried away.
“You have to make it one play at a time,” Huckeba said. “You can’t overlook your responsibilities and assignments. Hopefully, all of that energy will help their focus.”
The Hogs haven’t had a full house in years. Safety Jalen Catalon said on Pittman’s weekly radio show that he didn’t know if had played in front of a full stadium at any point in his career.
“That’s the thing, not even the seniors know what it’s like,” Swanson said. “I did see the Rice first half and think that might do some good. It could be a wake-up call that says, ‘Hey, we had too much hype and we have a lot to work on.’”
Swanson has been surprised the Hogs have taken such a plunge from the Bobby Petrino days when there were a string of bowl games, including the BCS Sugar Bowl and the Cotton Bowl.
“When I came in, we were humming,” Swanson said. “So that’s pretty much what I knew, so what’s happened is frustrating. I felt for these guys.”
Swanson senses the Hogs are on a surge, but there still is a feeling among fans that they haven’t seen enough.
“By no means are they back yet,” Swanson said. “I do think the fans are behind them though. What I do know is that if they don’t put together a good string of games, there is danger of any good feelings being deflated. You get a bad half, or game, and fans say, ‘Here we go again.’
“You get that when there hasn’t been consistency. I experienced that in my pro career at Detroit because there had been a lot of negativity for 50 years.”
Huckeba was on Arkansas teams that split games with Texas in 2003 and 2004.
The unranked Hogs beat No. 5 Texas 38-28 in Austin in 2003, then lost 22-20 to the No. 7 Longhorns the next year when a fumble in the closing seconds ended a bid for a winning score.
“We went to Austin in ’03 with a clear purpose after Bobby Allen inspired us the night before,” Huckeba said. “Bobby gave us the history of the series, as did (Houston Nutt).
“We took it personal that we were going to prove something to the nation about the Razorbacks against a top-10 team. I think we surprised Texas and the nation.
“What we wanted to do as a team was show the state that we understood the meaning of our traditions against Texas. We wanted to show up and play our best game and that’s what we did.
“I know Coach Pittman is educating this team in the same way (Allen did) and will convey the meaning of the Texas history to our team.”
It should be a fun day for players.
“It’s just so exciting when you get a sold-out stadium,” Huckeba said. “It’s new for our team and I think it will be motivational. It’s unique and exhilarating.
“I know it’s going to be like that 2003 Texas game when we went to Austin, which was one of our biggest games of the season.”
The excitement will start early and build.
“What I’ve noticed about these type games, every aspect of your day is different,” Swanson said. “From the moment you wake up, it’s all different.
“Everyone at the hotel will be different. There will be a buzz that’s so different.
“You get on the bus, it will be different. The Hog Walk will be different. Even down in the locker room as you get your ankles taped, it’s a different experience. Then, you go out, the place will be rocking.
“That’s why I say it might be interesting to see how the players handle it. You can get too emotional and not realize it until it’s too late.
“You wake up in the third quarter and realize you are exhausted. You just got too amped up.”
That’s a perfect lead in for this week’s top 10 keys to victory.
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Turnovers
Some of the highlights in the storied Arkansas-Texas series include turnovers and big plays that have keyed victories and losses.
Few will forget the intercepted pass in the fourth quarter when Arkansas led Texas, 14-8, in 1969 and a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle some call “The Game of the Century.” Bill Montgomery’s pass was short for Chuck Dicus and Texas used the interception to mount a rally for a 15-14 victory and, ultimately, the national championship.
Both teams avoided serious turnover problems last week. Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson threw one interception. The Hogs didn’t lose a fumble while coming up with three interceptions, including two by Catalon.
Texas took care of the ball in its opener. The Longhorns didn’t lose a fumble or an interception in a 38-18 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Hogs put the ball on the ground twice, but recovered both fumbles.
The team that can manage that kind of performance with such high emotions will probably have a huge advantage.
Texas freshman quarterback Hudson Card did not throw into coverage in the opener. He was 14 of 21 for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Running Game
Pittman’s offseason was spent with a special eye on improving all aspects of the running game with his second team. He wanted more physicality in both lines.
The Hogs rushed for 245 yards and held Rice to 81 in the opener. Much of it came on Jefferson’s 89 yards on quarterback keepers, two of them on draws when he looked the safety away. That has to be a big part of the game plan this week.
Texas has a lethal ground game with running back Bijan Robinson. He’s dynamic in the open field with breakaway speed and elusive cuts. He carried 20 times for 103 yards, but also caught 4 passes for 73 yards last week.
The Longhorns out-rushed Louisiana-Lafayette 170-76. So it’s easy to understand that the game might be decided in this area.
Key Matchup
If the Hogs are going to run the ball effectively, it likely will start in the middle. Center Ricky Stromberg draws a tough matchup in Texas nose tackle Keondre Coburn, a redshirt junior with 22 career starts. Coburn is a massive 6-2, 348 pounds.
Stromberg (6-4, 310) will be tested after sustaining a knee injury early in fall camp. He graded well in the opener against Rice, but Coburn is a much tougher assignment. He was picked third-team All-Big 12 in the preseason.
Flip that around and the Hogs will try to confuse one of the top young Texas players, center Jake Majors, a redshirt freshman who started the final game of the 2020 regular season against Kansas State. He was considered the No. 1 offensive guard in the state of Texas as a highly decorated prep star from Prosper.
The Hogs will likely rotate three players opposite Majors, including senior transfer John Ridgeway (6-6, 320). Ridgeway missed last week after surgery for an appendectomy. Isaiah Nichols and Taurean Carter will also play some at nose tackle in what might be a position of strength this season.
The Quarterbacks
The emotions of Jefferson could be the biggest key for the Hogs. He seemed out of kilter in a sluggish start against Rice, although his teammates didn’t help him much with dropped passes and missed assignments.
There is a belief that the Hogs will try to get him started on the right foot with some called quarterback runs. Pittman said Jefferson seems to hit his stride in the passing game after he’s been in the open field a few times. That seemed to be the case against Rice.
Jefferson (6-6, 245) is a load to tackle in the open field. He outran the Rice secondary a couple of times. Texas has better speed at safety and cornerback. It will be interesting to see if Jefferson can have his way with that secondary.
Card played sparingly as one of Sam Ehlinger’s backups last season. He is considered a dual threat and was a two-time All-State performer at Lake Travis, one of the premier high school programs in the state of Texas.
The Play Callers
This is always a game within the game. Pittman praised Texas coach Steve Sarkisian as a master play caller this week. Sarkisian will match wits with Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom.
Both Sarkisian and Odom seemed to take vanilla approaches in their respective openers. Sarkisian, the 2020 Broyles Award winner, was outstanding in finding the right matchups while leading Alabama to the national title last season.
The Arkansas play caller is offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, with some experience playing Texas from his time as an offensive assistant at Baylor. He began his playing career with the Longhorns in 2001-02 before transferring to play for his father at Houston.
He’ll go against Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, who was the architect of Chris Petersen’s defenses at Washington and Boise State. He coached 16 seasons at Boise State before following Petersen to Washington in 2014.
In the middle of two stints at Boise State, he served as defensive coordinator at Montana State for six seasons. He has coached the secondary, linebackers and defensive line in a sterling career.
That Sarkisian could hire Kwiatkowski was a major accomplishment. It’s the first time he’d ventured out of the West where he has had much success against passing teams, especially Mike Leach at Washington State. Texas is paying Kwiatkowski $1.7 million and gave him a three-year deal.
The Stars
The best players for Arkansas have to play their best. That wasn’t always the case last week against Rice.
Wide receiver Treylon Burks, held out of most practices in August camp with a heel injury, dropped two passes against the Owls and rarely seemed in rhythm in one of his worst games since his freshman season.
Pittman said Burks has looked solid in practice this week, although the junior from Warren is in a no-contact green jersey.
The Hogs didn’t get anything from their returning All-America linebacker, either, but for a far different reason. Grant Morgan was ejected in the first quarter for a targeting call. He’ll return for the Texas game.
Catalon starred against Rice, making 11 tackles and intercepting two passes. Catalon chose the Hogs in an intense recruiting battle with Texas. The Mansfield, Texas, product grew up following the Longhorns.
The Hogs need a big game from pass rush specialist Tre Williams, the defensive end who arrived this summer after leaving Missouri via the transfer portal. Williams made five tackles against Rice, but did not have a sack and had only one quarterback hurry.
Most of the hype this week is about the Texas running back Robinson, but the Hogs have a good one in Trelon Smith. He made 102 yards on 22 carries against Rice.
Smith was not recruited by Texas as a prep star in Houston. He signed with Arizona State, then transferred to Arkansas. It’s a big game for Smith.
Clean and Mean
The Hogs have been plagued by the targeting call over the last two seasons. Linebacker Hayden Henry sat the first half of the Rice game because of a targeting penalty in the second half of the Alabama game to end last season.
Morgan has served his time after the first-half penalty against Rice, but linebacker Bumper Pool will sit the first half against Texas after a targeting call in the fourth quarter last week. Pool made 14 tackles before the ejection.
The Hogs must play cleaner against the Longhorns. They committed 13 penalties against Rice. Texas was flagged just seven times in its opener.
Can the Hogs play clean while still maintaining an aggressive hitting style advocated by Pittman and Odom? It may be the key to the game.
Special Teams
Texas has lots of weapons in the kicking game, including kicker/punter Cameron Dicker. He averaged 51.5 yards on his only two punts last week.
Xavier Worthy had one punt return for 18 yards and is a threat. D’Shawn Jamison is also dangerous as a kickoff return man.
The Hogs didn’t do badly in special teams in the first week, but one glaring mistake overshadows all the solid steps for coordinator Scott Fountain’s units. Punter Reid Bauer had a punt blocked because of a missed block on the outside.
Texas probably has an advantage here because of superior team speed.
Third Down
This has been a problem in most games with Briles calling the plays. The Hogs just don’t do well on third down. They converted only three last week against Rice, which puts the Hogs at 27.3%, 103rd best in the nation.
Texas converted 66.7% of its third downs last week, second best in the nation. That’s an incredible statistic with a redshirt freshman at quarterback.
Pittman praised the poise of Card, noting there were some nice scrambles and QB runs early in the game that helped the Longhorns move the chains.
Physicality
It’s the single element that Pittman prides himself on as a coach. Will his team battle in a physical manner?
It’s clear the Hogs have that attribute, almost to a fault. Freshman wide receiver Ketron Jackson got a holding penalty last week that negated a 68-yard touchdown run by Jefferson.
However, no one seems to be faulting Jackson, not even the head coach. Pittman almost suggested that it was just unlucky timing because the tape showed Jackson “had his hands inside.”
Fellow wide receiver Tyson Morris praised his young teammate.
“Ketron is going to be great,” Morris said. “He’s going to be a great player. He got in and he played physical, man. He was one of the most physical guys we had out on the edge on Saturday.
“I want to give a big shoutout to Ketron for being as physical and as confident as he was.”
So can Jackson, a product of Royce City, Texas, and the Hogs hold up in a physical slugfest with the Longhorns? That might be the single biggest key in the game.