Gameday Extra

9.17.2022 BEST OF THE WEB yards out. INTIMIDATION FACTOR Many FCS teams that go into SEC stadiums lose the game before they get off the bus, intimidated by the size differential in the crowd and the players that line up across from them. That might not be the case for Missouri State. The Bears opened the previous two seasons with games at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, and have 13 players who previously played at Power 5 programs. Three Bears previously played in the SEC — receiver Jordan Jones (Arkansas), safety Kyriq McDonald (Alabama) and defensive lineman Allen Love (Mississippi State). Pittman said there is some truth to the thought that smaller schools are able to compete better when they have several transfers. "If they hit in the portal it could make a significant difference in their team," Pittman said. "Missouri State is a great example of that because they have transfers all over the place. I'm sure they go there because of the reputation Coach Petrino has." The Petrino angle, coupled with the enthusiasm for this year's Arkansas team, means Missouri State is likely to face a more hostile environment than most FCS teams encounter. At Oklahoma two years ago, attendance was limited in the first game after the covid-19 outbreak, and the attendance at Boone Pickens Stadium was well below capacity last season when the Bears lost their opener 23-16 at Oklahoma State. That Cowboys team finished 12-2 with a win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Oklahoma State was never in danger of losing to Missouri State, but couldn't quite put the Bears away either. OSU led 20-0 in the second quarter. Missouri State is better than most FCS teams that have come to Arkansas, ranked fifth nationally in that subdivision. The last team to play the Razorbacks while ranked in the FCS poll was Jack Crowe's Jacksonville (Ala.) State Gamecocks in 2012. SHELLEY Missouri State has one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in FCS. Jason Shelley began his career at Utah and started five games for the Utes in 2018. He was moved to defense in 2019 and transferred to Utah State the following year. He has flourished running Petrino's offense since his transfer to Missouri State. He accounted for 3,789 yards and 32 touchdowns in 12 games last season. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference offensive player of the year and finished 10th in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the best offensive player in FCS. "I like their quarterback," Pittman said. "He's very agile." Shelley played one of his most efficient games for Missouri State last week in its 35-30 victory over Tennessee-Martin, the team that eliminated the Bears from the FCS Playoffs a year ago. Shelley completed 19 of 24 passes for 297 yards and 5 touchdowns, and had a 14-yard run. Against Central Arkansas, Shelley was more of a willing runner. Excluding sacks, he rushed 9 times for 76 yards and 1 touchdown in the season opener. The Bears have not protected Shelley well this season, which is an area the Razorbacks might be able to exploit with better defensive linemen than Missouri State's offensive linemen have played against. He has been sacked nine times through two games. MCGLOTHERN VS. SCOTT Something to keep an eye on when Missouri State's offense first takes the field is who Arkansas assigns to cover Bears wideout Ty Scott. Scott is a Central Michigan transfer and a big body on the perimeter at 6-3 and 202 pounds. He is also one of the top playmakers in FCS through two weeks. Scott has 16 receptions for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, and the Razorbacks should place a target on his back. The junior had 160 yards in Week 1, then caught three touchdowns last week against Tennessee-Martin. Given how LSU transfer Dwight McGlothern has performed for Arkansas, it might be in the Razorbacks' best interest to pair him with Scott in an attempt to tie one of Missouri State's arms behind its back. McGlothern leads the SEC with two interceptions. Against quality competition, McGlothern holds the No. 5 overall defense grade among SEC cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus, at 75.3. His coverage mark of 79.2 is No. 3 for corners in the league. Scott has a PFF grade of 83.5, which is the best of his career and No. 20 among FCS receivers. Seventy-five of his offensive snaps have come on the perimeter, 31 in the slot and three in the backfield. Scott will also returns punts at times for the Bears. RETURN GAME Arkansas has had few opportunities early to make anything happen in the kickoff return game. Green got one shot in Week 1 and did not reach the 20. Linebacker Bumper Pool leads the Razorbacks in kick returns yards with 34 after cleanly fielding a Sunday hop on a South Carolina onside kick last Saturday. His place atop the leaderboard may be short lived. Arkansas has a chance against Missouri State to potentially get Green — and maybe others — on the run in space in special teams. The Bears in two games this season have kicked off 12 times and recorded one touchback. At the same time, Petrino might elect to have his kicker keep the ball away from Green and sky the ball to a player one level in front of the speedy tailback. "This week you're thinking there's more of a chance that we might be able to return depending on what they do," Pittman said. "I think we're a good kickoff return team as long as we stay away from the penalties. That's what has hurt us in live special teams reps. "We've made a big deal out of it. It'll help us Saturday. I think this will be a good week." The Razorbacks have not recorded more than 50 yards in kick returns since Week 6 at Ole Miss in 2021. And Arkansas in 2020 and 2021 averaged less than 17.5 yards per return. On the flip side, Missouri State cornerback Montrae Braswell has returned 3 kicks for 165 yards, an average of 55 yards per return, which leads FCS. He scored on a 98-yard return in Week 1 at Central Arkansas. DEPTH FBS teams have built-in advantages against FCS teams. Not only are programs like Arkansas able to attract better recruits out of high school due to exposure, they have 85 scholarships to field a team. Compare that to a team like Missouri State, which can only offer 63 full scholarships. That kind of depth discrepancy can play a factor in these games. The teams with more scholarship players are more likely to rotate quality players on defense and are more likely to have a quality replacement if a starter is injured. MOTIVATION The talk all week has been about Petrino's return to Arkansas a decade after he was fired. But inside the Razorbacks' football office, the motivation has been a 3-0 start and to avoid the same fate as top-10 teams a week ago. Pittman can thank the Sun Belt Conference for providing material. Early in the week, Pittman's video team mashed together a recording of plays from Appalachian State's win at Texas A&M and Marshall's win at Notre Dame. "We just emphasized it to our kids that it's not about wait until Saturday," Pittman said. "It's about Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and we have to practice well. I think we've got maturity, so I think we're ready for the game." Keys n Continued from Page 2 NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo Linebacker Drew Sanders is the reigning national defensive player of the week after he recorded 11 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles against South Carolina. Here are some selected comments from the message boards at wholehogsports.com. CAN ARKANSAS GET MOTIVATED TO PLAY AN FCS TEAM THIS WEEK? hogmaestro: Motivation for (this) week? Four names: Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Marshall, Bobby Petrino. 'Nuff said. SwineFusion: You talking about fans or players? Our freshman were in second grade when BP hit the ditch. That's ancient history to them. Even Bumper Pool was in sixth grade. I'm sure Sam Pittman will mention it to them but they're not going to grasp it like the grasped Texas week last year. hogmaestro: I am talking about some fans that I have talked to that just assume we are gonna win by five to six TD's. Not the players, nor the staff. Trying to be lighthearted mainly. votan: All I have to do is just remember sitting in the stands for the Citadel game. That's it. Motivation aplenty. SwineFusion: I keep remembering the past Misery State game where we had a long run or return and a Bad Uni Bear was trying to make the tackle without his helmet on. He failed. So will BP. Baumbastic_Hawg: I still call them Southwest Missouri State U. But I grew up in southwest Missouri and I know that they were at one time Southwest Missouri State Teacher's College. By the way, I was in favor of the name change, but it really irritates their fans/alums when I call them SMS. ARE THE RAZORBACKS FINALLY GETTING RESPECT? KrazorbackHog: People were complaining that the Hogs were not getting any recognition. Well, the target is now on our back. Jumped up in a lot of polls. Keep rolling along. wizardofhogz Interestingly, the next three weeks look suddenly more "doable" than they did a few days ago. We can't take the Petrinos lightly, but if Sam can get the team to not look ahead, we should handle them by two or three TD's. Then we get the wounded Aggies at JerryWorld, and come home to host 'Bama. I think that our win over A&M last year and their obvious issues at QB makes this a very winnable game. … As for 'Bama, there are a number of factors in play. For one, no matter if you are … you're going to lose to a team every now and then. When we lost to them in 2007, I never dreamed it would be … 15 years … and we'd not have beaten them once. … But we're now on the rise and 'Bama has shown it is capable of playing less than a dominant game on the road. … If Texas can play them like that in Austin, there's no reason we can't give them all they want in a rocking Razorback Stadium. mdw: While I'm excited about our team, experience has told me not to take one week's results and try to stretch them too far. The Aggies lost and 'Bama struggled against Texas. Both teams are still very talented. I don't expect the Aggies to look that pathetic every week. Breaking in a new QB can cause a lot of struggles, but I fully expect our game with them in two weeks to be an absolute war. Alabama is Alabama. … It will be a very tall order to beat them in Fayetteville on Oct. 1. The stretch that starts next week with the Aggies will be quite a four-game gauntlet: Texas A&M, Alabama, at Mississippi State, at BYU. We will definitely find out what we're made of. I'm not sure what our record will be after we return from Utah. I don't expect to be undefeated, but I'm at least glad to enter that stretch feeling like we belong on the field with those teams. poochpunt: The Alabama offensive line is bad. Bryce Young will be called on for a lot of miracles this year. 10schog4life: How could that be? Aren't they two deep in five stars? dogen: Hogs are the fifth most popular pick to make the playoffs. Interestingly all the experts who picked the Hogs in their playoff predictions had three SEC teams in their playoffs selections. That's crazy. keithguthrie: While very flattering to get this recognition, premature praise can be like what Saban calls "rat poison." I know this is prime conversation for talking heads and message boards, but hopefully our team's focus remains this week's game. Sam is a smart guy, so hopefully he is letting this kind of talk influence only the fans and the recruits. thehuntinhog: I don't think it's rat poison until it's said year after year just because. For now I'll call it recognition. THE RETURN OF BOBBY PETRINO… hawgcotton: He has mellowed since his time at Arkansas but he still has a sharp football mind. His team will be ready to go and so will Sam's. youdaman: Yeah, we have to be prepared for every trick play in the book because they have absolutely nothing to lose. We will have to be on our toes the entire time. adgebg: Very impressed with BP's demeanor and he seemed relaxed, engaging even. The man knows football and has coached at a high level, we better be focused because he will have them pumped after their play last year against a good Okie State team … ScottieBordelon: Casey Dick spoke at the Hawgs Illustrated Sports Club meeting (Tuesday) and he said Petrino placed a lot of emphasis on the first drive of a game because it can set a tone. He also put a lot of though into the first three plays. I'd be on the lookout for some imaginative things on Missouri State's opening drive that maybe get the Razorbacks on their heels in a sense. WHAT WILL THE SCORE BE SATURDAY? docestes2: Hags 42, Peter Fonda 24. eaglehog5: Hogs 45, Bobby Bears 17. Armyhog: I hope there are more neck braces being worn in the student section than points scored and the Hogs get a blowout win. Hornsby takes all the reps in the second half. sweetchildofswine: 48-14, Hogs. In addition to the talent gap, defensive coordinator Barry Odom can go toe to toe with Bobby on game planning. holdenhogfield: Fighting KJs 42, B - - P 31. Dude can coach. You know he'll have solid QB and WR play. And we've had a tough couple weeks. Should be a fun game. I expect lots of neck braces and volleyballs. The 6 p.m. start should really help the festivities. scottieBordelon: 49-17, Arkansas. I think the Razorbacks will run for as many yards as they want. Andrew ricemab54: Hogs 45, Missouri St 21. It's a damn good thing that none of the "3 Stooges" are coaching us or we would have a hugely ugly loss. Snout: I think it will be close for the first five minutes of the game. UA 56, MSU 10. bobghawg: I worry about Bobby's offense. I guarantee you it will good. Our depth should be the difference, but I suspect it will be fairly close. All I want is a win. sdhog: Running game will run win, setting up some long passes. UA 42, MS 21. adgebg: We need to dominate time of possession. We should be able to dominate with our offensive line and running game. Keep a BP team's offense on the sideline. dbhog: Hogs win 56-24. We need to win time of possession unless we score quickly and often. georgiahawg: Hogs, 52-24, Running game continues to run over and through the opposing defense. razorbacker79: We get a couple of defensive TD's. Sanderstown Studs 60, Mule State 20. eruohog: Still concerned about the defensive secondary. Arkansas 45, Miserable St 27. NOW HIRING QUALIFIED THERAPISTS & ESTHETICIANS Thanks for voting us the Best of the Best! FAYETTEVILLE 3557 North Shiloh Drive 479-571-3689 ROGERS 2603 W Pleasant Grove Rd 479-633-8340 Monday-Saturday 8 am-8 pm | Sunday 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. 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