Gameday Extra

10.16.2021 Here are some selected comments from the message boards at wholehogsports.com. WAS ARKANSAS COACH SAM PITTMAN RIGHT TO GO FOR A 2-POINT CONVERSION AND THE WIN AT THE END OF SATURDAY'S 52-51 LOSS TO OLE MISS? bluegrassrazorback: Coach Sam made a decision that is decisive — it's in his nature — he believed he could win. He is a coach that came in and carried a dead Hog on his back to respectability with the decisions he has made. I'm not going to question a leader like him whose performance gives him the credibility to do it his way … We could of had Lane Kiffin who was pooping his pants on the sideline. wizardofhogz: I was 100% fine with the decision and I'm OK with living with the consequences (just as I was when Brandon Allen's 2-pointer was successful). thenotoriouspig: I'm not sure. But I had no problem with it. It gave us a good chance of winning. I would have like to have seen KJ Jefferson keep it. … Although I'm not sure it was the right call, I do think it was gutsy. … I just also think there (are) two sides to it. A one-play scenario also gives a bad defense a chance to cure some ills with one big down. Unfortunately Ole Miss did that. coloradohog: Agree with the call. In OT, they score each and every time. Our defense had no clue. Theirs was not much better, but they did make us earn our scores. … It was our best chance to win. SwineFusion: The call was just fine. KJ had three options. Unfortunately we failed to block people and as a result none of the three was available. I think option 1, the shovel pass, was excellent but OM blew that up. Should he have put his head down and tried to bull his way in after that? Possibly. As always, doesn't matter what you call if you don't block people. cody: Going for 2 was the right call. I didn't like the play call either. With KJ's length and leaping ability maybe we should just run straight ahead and leap over the pile … citgeauxhog: I would have done it 1,000 times over… But I would have called that QB run option … 3agle09: Totally agree with going for 2. They had not stopped us most of the second half. Why put their offense back on the field? However, I totally disagree with the play call, I would have liked to seen KJ or Rocket Sanders use their legs. MattJones: I like RPO on 2-point plays, personally. It makes the defense account for more. I thought it was the right call to go for two. Arkansas' defense was exhausted. FANS DISCUSS ARKANSAS' INABILITY TO STOP THE REBELS' OFFENSE … HogDoctor: Lack of defensive stops lost us this game obviously, so why could we not stop them? You score 50+ points on the road you should win. adgebg: Believe when they look back on this our coaches will come to the conclusion that KJ was our best option to get into the end zone for the win. He would have willed his way to the end zone. Rely on his heart and determination. His coming home party would have been of monstrous size and loudness. Bad call to try the pass. Hindsight is on my side. lovemyhawgsforever: For almost all the game, we got no pass rush. (Ole Miss QB Matt) Corral could just sit back in the pocket and do as he pleased. Blown coverages, missed tackles, bad angles and slow responses from our linebackers and secondary didn't help. Neither did giving up 3rd and 10 and not stopping them on 4th down. razorwill: Offense played plenty well enough to rout that team. If we're multiple on defense then I can leap tall buildings. You score over 50 points on a team without getting turnovers, big special team plays, etc. and lose, some questions need to be asked of defensive coaches. tuschawg: I think scheme-wise, we placed more priority on stopping Corral's passing than their running game, thinking we could bend on the running game and minimize their yards. Did not happen. And that is scary for good teams with good QBs in coming games. armyhog: It's hard to understand but injuries are catching up to our defense. Depth, or the lack of, in a few positions. Recruiting is the only way to improve. We are experiencing another year where the walking wounded are fighting and doing their best. It's hard to get a stop when you can't wrap up to tackle. ClayHenry: I think it was explained in my story. Hayden Henry said the stretch play was a situation where the safeties are asked to take one of the gaps. They were not getting there, or getting there late. Same issue against Georgia. The soft spot where you invite the run is played by a back end player. Most teams … ask a safety to be part of the run fit. The danger of the pass slowed them down on some of the run fits by the safeties. The pass hit them when they did read run on a fit and didn't cover. When you play zone, you are also playing run. That's a problem with an offense (like Ole Miss or like Arkansas) that offers the run-pass option with the quarterback. When these two QBs are rolling with their reads, the defense is going to be wrong a lot. Saw that all day on both sides. Remember, someone has to account for the QB at all times in these two offenses. … So you subtract one defender to account for the QB. Makes you wrong sometimes. …When Corral handed off and moved away, often times, there was a second line player moving his direction. If he's leaving a gap, that's where the back goes … hogbacker: I'm very concerned about upcoming game if we don't start tackling better soon. Hoping Odom can out scheme them come Saturday! FANS PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF SATURDAY'S GAME AGAINST AUBURN … neastarkie: I listened to Clint Stoerner on the radio. He thinks Bo Nix is nowhere near the QB Corral is although he thinks the AU defense is better than OM's. Overall, he thinks we'll win. Even though he's one of us, I think he's a pretty straightforward analyst. I'll go with it and my own heart and say: Hogs 34, AU 21. jmetsrule: I think we end up in another game of offense, but we win this one outright in the back end of the 4th quarter. Arkansas 42, Auburn 38. stillgreghog: Even after the Texas game, I had this down as a loss. Not any more. Hogs 37, Plainsmen 17. By the way, major discussion last week as to if the Ole Miss game was a "must win" game. I said no. I am not saying this week's game is a "must win" but it is much, much closer to being a "must win" game. We need this one, real bad! harleyhawgidson: Our defense comes out spitting fire and puts last week's defensive debacle in their rear view mirror. Hogs 38, Aub 17. Rpalm: I think this is a win, especially at home with our fans trying to help our team. bluegrassrazorback: Hoping for the Ark offense that was at Ole Miss and the Ark defense that throttled Texas (spit). The crowd confuses the Auburn offense and Auburn's protecting angels in the SEC refs. Ark 37, Cash bag guys 24 BEST OF THE WEB season, so the Hogs better be ready to tackle. The Tigers will rely on the ground game. Pittman bemoaned the lack of support from the secondary in tackling against Ole Miss. He also said edge support was poor. Overall, he said the defensive performance was "the glaring deal" against the Rebels. The Hogs have played mostly in a three-man front this season with three safeties and a nickel in a secondary set with six backs. Pittman promised changes this week, but didn't note what they could be. Perhaps a safety comes off the field and the Hogs add an extra defensive lineman. CONTAINMENT Jefferson and Auburn's Bo Nix are both good runners, although Nix is more dangerous on scrambles out of the pocket. Jefferson does damage that way, but more in the run-pass option, or on called quarterback draws against a defense spread thin in man-to-man coverage. The key to stopping Auburn might be to contain Nix in the pocket. He is not the best pocket passer. He's better when he breaks containment and looks to throw on the move. In comparing the two quarterbacks, Jefferson is probably the stronger runner and a definite option on the goal line. Nix is more elusive. He wants to buy time to throw more than to run. Both are dynamic quarterbacks. Pittman said the Hogs would prepare for Nix with "scramble drills," and said the Auburn quarterback extends plays as well as anyone in the country. The plan this week is to keep the pocket from breaking down to let Nix loose. That's easier said than done. SECONDARY Arkansas must eliminate busts in coverage in the secondary. They have been there for most of the season, but it wasn't until last week against Ole Miss that it became a serious problem. Few teams were hitting the open man on the deep ball. Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral changed that. With the three-man front, Arkansas uses its safeties and nickel position in run support. Ole Miss took advantage by showing pass sets and running to the weak side where there were open gaps. It worked for big plays. Can Auburn scheme such an advantage? Or will the Tigers just pound away inside like Georgia did two weeks ago? Either way, the Hogs have to fix some things in the secondary. It may be a case of asking players to do too much. Perhaps defensive coordinator Barry Odom will simplify things and add a defensive lineman. No one is saying what changes are coming, but the Hogs must eliminate big plays. TURNOVERS The Arkansas defense has suddenly lost its knack for forcing turnovers. Ole Miss and Georgia did not commit a turnover the last two weeks. The last forced turnover by the Razorbacks came when Montaric Brown intercepted a pass against Texas A&M. Auburn has lost three fumbles and Nix has thrown just one interception, so don't expect one this week. The key is to continue to play turnover free. The Hogs have for the most part. There were two last week, although one was a Hail Mary throw at the end of the first half that can't be faulted. Arkansas is eighth in the SEC in turnover margin; Auburn 10th. Turnovers have rarely been a problem for either team, but they aren't producing many on defense. That's a credit to both Jefferson and Nix. When your quarterback takes care of the football, good things happen. PRESSURE This is a delicate balance. Do you go after a quarterback capable of making a big play with his feet? Both Jefferson and Nix can do that. You show them man-to-man coverage with an empty backfield, a quarterback draw is the likely result. It might be a big play. Both team are short on sacks, although Auburn has done slightly better with 2.7 per game. The Hogs, with Tre Williams leading the way, have just 1.7 per game, 13th in the SEC. Williams has been streaky in his sack attack. He leads the Hogs with four this season, but most of that came against Texas A&M. He will be matched with a top line left tackle, senior Austin Troxel. The man the Hogs have to contain is not in the Auburn two deep. Third-team defensive end Eku Leota has four sacks and six tackles for losses. He's a transfer with speed and ability. He plays a lot in special rush situations. SPECIAL TEAMS/ PENALTIES Don't let it come down to a field goal try. Auburn has one of the nation's best. Senior Anders Carlson has made 16 straight field goals to start 2021 and has made 35 of his last 38 field goal tries. He's headed for an All-America season. The Tigers don't return many punts, but have a dangerous man in wide receiver Demetrius Robertson. He averages 13.5 on four returns. But punt return is not so much the worry this week as punt protection. The Tigers blocked a punt for a touchdown last year, probably the key play in the 30-28 loss (not counting an officiating error). Auburn has blocked three kicks this season and the Hogs have had multiple punts blocked. Auburn punter Oscar Chapman averages 44.3. The Auburn net is actually better than that at 43.5. If it is a field position game, that could prove key since the Hogs net just 36.8 punting. It's the biggest statistical difference in the game. The Hogs cleaned up a big penalty problem last week at Ole Miss, although it seemed the crew ignored pass interference throughout the game. Auburn has played cleaner than the Hogs for the season, averaging just 5.8 penalties per game. The Hogs are 13th in the SEC at 8.8. PHYSICALITY This is an area that seems to be an Arkansas strength, but it wasn't a clear advantage last week. It seems some of the battles the Arkansas defensive line had won early in the year were not as clear-cut wins. John Ridgeway didn't have his way against the Ole Miss center. He'd been playing against freshmen for most of the year. Auburn has experience at center with senior Nick Brahms. Auburn coach Bryan Harsin harped on improving the physicality and the run game this week in his Monday visit with the media. He said it's been the focus before, too, but falling behind early in several games has forced more passing. "We're just going to have to keep working on it and keep getting better at it," he said. "It doesn't change who we want to be. It doesn't change the fact that that's a goal of ours in the identity of what this offense should look like. "At the end of the day, we've got to do it. … Now, that being said, it's not all run. There's got to be some balance, and that balance in the pass game has got to show up." That flips things back to the top key, mental toughness. It holds a close kinship to physicality. Keys n Continued from Page 1 Thanks for voting us the Best of the Best! $ 65 NOW HIRING QUALIFIED THERAPISTS & ESTHETICIANS FAYETTEVILLE 3557 North Shiloh Drive 479-571-3689 ROGERS 2603 W Pleasant Grove Rd 479-633-8340 Mon-Fri 8 am-9 pm | Sat 8 am-9 pm | Sun 10 am-8 pm *Offer valid for first-time guests only. All session times include a total of 10 minutes of time for consultation and dressing, which occurs pre and post-service. Additional taxes and fees may apply. Each location is independently owned and operated. ©2021 ME SPE Franchising, LLC. All rights reserved. ME-DNLD-1969-00-002-8.5X3.625 www.statefarm.com Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.® Being a good neighbor is about more than just being there when things go completely wrong. It's also about being there for all of life's moments when things go perfectly right. Tim Pruitt Insurance Agency Inc. 3880 Willowood Ave. Suite A Springdale, AR 72762 479-751-6227 www.timpruitt.org Brad Scott Insurance Agency Inc. 2020 E Joyce Blvd, Suite 3 Fayetteville, AR 72703 479-443-0052 www.bradscottinsurance.com www.innisfreeseniorliving.com "Treating you like family" NOBODY'S PRICES OR CARE CAN COMPARE IN NWA! Innisfree Senior Living We are cheering on our College Team this season! GO TEAM! 300 Innisfree Circle • Rogers, AR • 479-636-7363

• Cover