Gameday Extra

11.14.2020 BEST OF THE WEB The Arkansas defense leads the nation in interceptions with 12. The Hogs may have to figure out another way to gain an advantage this week because the Gators don't throw many. THE RPO It's short for the run-pass option and it's the key to what Arkansas is doing to move the ball on offense. It's gotten better every week. The RPO has helped the running game the last two weeks with 420 rushing yards in the Texas A&M and Tennessee games. Franks said running backs Trelon Smith and Rakeem Boyd have benefitted from mesh of the RPO game, but it's shown up in big plays in the passing game, too. "I think that the success they've had in our running game opens up a lot of things that we do in the RPO and passing game," Franks said. "I think those guys (Smith and Boyd) have done a great job of just running hard, doing what they're asked and getting those hard-earned extra yards when it's needed. Those yards don't come easy, so they've done a great job getting hard earned yards when they run. "They've done a really good job. Both of them have done a really good job." DEFENSIVE SCHEME It's not a secret, but the way defensive coordinators approach building a scheme revolves around the experience and ability of the quarterback. The youngsters see a steady diet of blitz. The veterans with ability to throw see zone coverage and numbers in the drop. So what does Odom do against Trask, clearly a quarterback who fits into that second category? Blitzes don't get to Trask because he delivers the ball quickly. So it's likely there will be a healthy mix of zone coverages with man-to-man under coverage. Trask likes to dump the ball to his backs and will go for the outside wheel route two to three times a game, especially if you drop safeties too deep. So the plan might be to play closer to the line of scrimmage with coverage in hopes of taking away some shorter throws. That tends to take away help coverage over the top and exposes safeties to play-action fakes. This isn't what anyone wants to be told, but the best defense against Florida's offense might be a good Arkansas offense. Are the Hogs good enough on offense to win a scoring duel? The answer for the Hogs might be the play at safety by Jalen Catalon. He seems to fix problems and make everything right. It could be in pass defense to help an inexperienced cornerback or make a key solo tackle when everything else breaks. Pittman praised Catalon this week. "We've got a lot of good players on defense," Pittman said. "Not to take anything away from guys like Grant Morgan, Bumper Pool, Jonathan Marshall and Joe Foucha, but Jalen is our leader." I'll go back to something Sheppard said: This is a dangerous Arkansas team and perhaps getting more dangerous by the game. Confidence can do that. Keys n Continued from Page 2 Selected comments from the message boards at WholeHogSports.com. FANS REACT TO THE NEWS THAT HEAD COACH SAM PITTMAN WILL HAVE TO MISS THIS WEEK'S GAME AT FLORIDA BECAUSE HE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19. thehuntinhog: Most important thing is health … I'm hoping for Sam's and his family's sake he has a speedy and healthy recovery. gentryrzbk: What a blessing to have Coach (Barry) Odom right now. ramblinrazorwreck: The entire Tennessee offensive line might need quarantine after all the post-game hugs (with Pittman). southpaw: Regarding missing Saturday's game, Pittman says the Hogs will be fine. He said we have three capable coordinators, a fine staff, etc. He said practices and the game should go smoothly. With these comments, (he) displayed humility while garnering confidence in the staff and players. jimbeau77: Pittman is genuine in all aspects of his life. Plus a dang good coach and leader. sweetchildofswine: Hope it isn't a serious case. He says he feels totally fine but things can change quick. … Have we checked to see if Treylon Burks' tears cure covid? FANS COMMENT ON ARKANSAS SHOWING UP AT NO. 5 ON VARIOUS SEC POWER RATING LISTS. SwineFusion: I saw a couple last week that had us in the fifth or sixth range. People are realizing how good we are, and recognize that (Auburn Coach) Gus (Malzahn) got a gift. ClayHenry: No, the Hogs are the ones that got a gift. It was Sam Pittman. It could have been countless others if they had wanted the job. We all know that. Be careful what you pray for because it might come true. So far, Sam has been an answered prayer. When he makes a decision on personnel, or about anything, most trust it. That's a huge change. DawgHOG: No. 5 (means) lots of respect. Love it. Just to think before the season we had a so-called expert commentator say we were worse than A-State and another one come on the morning show and predict we wouldn't win a single game. But I love all the things being said now. CELEBRATING ARKANSAS' 24-POINT THIRD QUARTER IN LAST WEEK'S 24-13 WIN OVER TENNESSEE … bikehog23: Has Arkansas ever scored 24 or more points in a single quarter in SEC play? … We put up 28 points in the first quarter against Kentucky in 2012. Not sure there were others, so I answered my own question. gashog: It's a great model of a solid four-quarter pace of points we should be shooting for. Not quite 100-point pace, but something we can work with. ClayHenry: The idea is to score a bunch early and then allow your reserves to play a lot in the second half. Whether or not they score a bunch is not important to me. MattJones: There have been eight SEC games that Arkansas scored 24 or more in a quarter (24, third quarter, 2020 vs. Tennessee; 28, first quarter, 2012 vs. Kentucky; 24, second quarter, 2007 vs. Mississippi State; 27, second quarter, 2005 vs. Mississippi State; 24, first quarter, 1999 vs. South Carolina; 24, third quarter, 1998 vs. South Carolina). rebuildingsince1989: That's a group Tennessee won't be happy to be associated with. ARKANSAS GETS LOVE FROM ANNOUNCERS ON SEC NETWORK. beachedhog: They continue to praise Pittman and team. One comment they made that struck me was how last year the players played like they were being punished and did not really want to be there. This year it is obvious how much fun they are having and how much they appear to get along. They do not quit, which is also drastically different from last year. From coaches to players, it seems from the outside that they are really having fun and that is making it fun for us as fans. ClayHenry: Football should be a game. I think Sam is one of the rare coaches – and Frank Ragnow told me this – who can make hard work fun. That's almost impossible to do and only the great coaches can make that happen. Ragnow said he sprinted from class to Sam's office to make sure he got a few extra minutes before practice. He said there was a pre-meeting session for centers because they have more details to learn to make the calls. He said he wanted to beat the other centers to that meeting because it was such a joy to just be around Sam. coloradohog: Another point that was made by the SEC crew was how the team did not quit against A&M and how important for them was that last TD. I made that comment on here somewhere how it showed there the character of the team. That starts with their head coach. He gets it. beachedhawg: I will admit, I was one that was disappointed that Pittman was our best option for HC. It is funny how the stars had to align to give him the opportunity. Our HC job was not an attractive one to most of the high profile coaching options. He was the only guy out there that truly wanted the job and former players had to campaign our AD to give him a look. Had the program been in better shape, I doubt he would have ever gotten a look. Passion like Sam has for this specific job is something that is difficult to overcome. I cannot think of anyone in our fan base that could root against this guy, which has not always been the case with past coaches. guyinhawaii: During SEC Network Final, when it comes time to discuss the Arkansas game, they all get pumped up because they love the extreme effort of the players and the quality of the coaching staff, most especially Roman Harper. Some of the comments made late Saturday night were to the words of the effect, "They (UA) haven't won in a zillion years" and "the fans last year acted like they didn't want to be there (the stadium). They felt like they were prisoners." SCORE PREDICTIONS FOR SATURDAY'S GAME AT FLORIDA… wizardofhogz: UF leads 17-7 at halftime, pulls away to a 44-17 win after our defense wears down in the second half. …No disgrace at all for this developing program to lose on the road to a top 10 team. jmetsrule: Florida thinks they can throw it on us like they did Georgia. We intercept Kyle Trask twice — once for six. They panic. We are up 21-10 at the half. Florida starts to realize late in the third quarter that they just need to hand the ball off to beat us, but it's too little, too late. We hang on and win, 30-28. harleyhawgidson: We get an over- confident and a bit lackadaisical Florida team and the Hogs lead 21-14 at the half. The Gators receive the wrath of Mullen at halftime. They come out and score on their first two possessions of the second half and take a touchdown lead. Hogs regroup, especially the D, and tie the game in the fourth quarter at 28-28. Hogs win 31-28 on a last-second field goal. Announcers deem this to be the upset of the year. Hog players declare this win was for Sam and Feleipe! holdenhogfield: I'm hoping for a hurricane and cancellation. I do not want to play this Gator team yet … Give CSP a couple years to recruit and give us two weeks to get ready for LSU. hogsrus: I went on a hunt for gators several years ago with a trapper friend and he bagged a 10-footer. I discovered two disgusting things that night: The mosquitoes were so big they could stand flat-footed and slap a turkey down; and gators are slimy and smell like swamp gas. Hogs are clean compared to them. Having this inside information leads me to conclude: Beautiful Hogs 28, Dirty Gators 27. coloradohog: I can't get over how good Florida looked last week. It is said that was not the same Georgia defense we played, but it is still full of very good players. I just do not see us having the talent to match up with this type team yet. No doubt we will get after them though. Florida 48, Arkansas 24. worldseriesofporker: The Hogs put up a good fight, but when you are playing 11 on 20 football, its hard to win. SEC once again protects the "brand" team to keep the Crocs in the playoff hunt. jhawg: My one week streak of picking the Hogs is over. Arkansas 20, Florida 38. Kyle Trask is a stud and I think his is just too good. georgiahawg: Trask may be the best QB in college football. Players will be playing hard for Pittman, but it will not be enough, unfortunately. We do keep the points lower than expected for Florida, 31-24. white25: Florida 32, Arkansas 29. Gators think 'Bama. Hogs thinking Gators. Upset special? suigeneris: Trask follows the (Kellen) Mond template and the Hogs slow but can't stop him. Florida 42, Arkansas 34. hogdr: Gators win, 38-24. Too much talent gap between the two rosters. Will Sam Pittman's missing the trip make a difference? With this team, who knows? We must create turnovers if we are going to win this game and hope Franks puts on a show for his old team. poochpunt: Would be nice to have a few possessions lasting long minutes to keep the Gator offense on the sidelines. A snap over the punter's head, a fumbled kickoff return, two critical holding penalties, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on their bench and a blocked field goal are among a few of the Gator blunders make it close. Jimbeau77: Florida is a very good team. Have a very good coach. Have a very good QB. Playing at home. Do they still think of Arkansas as a "give me" win or has Coach Mullen convinced them otherwise? Could they be looking ahead to 'Bama or still have a nasty taste in their mouths from the aTm loss as they showed later? CSP not on the sidelines, but Odom makes it very hard to keep him around next year as interim HC for this one. Hogs 30, Gators 28. lilhawg: Florida is arguably the best team we will have faced this season. We have to travel to their place and a hurricane may interfere, plus our head coach will still be in Fayetteville. Tough to realistically pick us to win, but we beat the spread. Gators 34, Hawgs 21. stillgreghog: UF 45, UA 21. Hope I am wrong. Very happy with where we are, the future looks bright. But we are not up to competing with the top SEC teams yet. Fayetteville 2558 E. Mission Blvd. Fayetteville, AR 72703 479.439.8823 3589 N. College Ave., Ste. B Fayetteville, AR 72703 479.439.8823 Fort Smith 5420 Phoenix Ave., Ste. B Fort Smith, AR 72903 479.763.0725 Rogers Downtown 214 W. Walnut St. Rogers, AR 72756 479.877.3227 809 SW 52nd St., Ste. 102B Rogers, AR 72756 479.877.3588 Gateway Mortgage, a division of Gateway First Bank. NMLS 7233. C O N T A C T O N E O F O U R L O C A L M O R T G A G E C E N T E R S T O D A Y ! Get in the game with Gateway www.GatewayLoan.com Local expertise Powerful resources Reliable solutions Looking for a different kind of mortgage experience? 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Voucher is for promotional purposes only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. Promotional Voucher(s) may not be replaced if lost or stolen. Original voucher must be present upon check-in. Voucher does not include gratuity. Rates and services may vary by location and session. For a specific list of services, check with specific franchised location or visit MassageEnvy. com. Additional taxes and fees may apply. Other rules may apply. Each location is independently owned and operated. TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE APPLIED TO VOUCHERS. ©2020 ME SPE Franchising, LLC. ME-DNLD-1922-V2-002-04X6 Jalen Catalon is one of the SEC's best defensive backs. Michael Woods/AP Visit wholehogsports.com/alerts to recieve daily and breaking newsletters with the latest updates from Whole Hog Sports.

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