Question: Arkansas Strengths/Weaknesses?

Arkansas is built to run the ball. Big offensive line and good backs. But they are missing Jonathan Williams big time. Collins is still really good, but the other Williams is not nearly as good as Jonathan.

Allen looks to be a little improved over last year, but the level of competition thus far hasn't been stellar (save for aTm perhaps). I'm not convinced he could beat us.

I think the game plan will be similar to that of UGA. Take away Collins and the run game and force Allen to beat us.

rgw said:

Arkansas hasn't had a kind friend in the scheduler the last few years. The Toledo loss was kinda inexcusable but the other two losses are in that "quality loss" territory. WPS brings up a good point though, this Arkansas team has been rather competent in the passing game so it isn't just "stop the run and get the win" with them. I do believe that if our DL can negate the run game that it will be pretty dang hard for them to win without a game-of-his-career from Brandon Allen though. Can't just completely ignore that Allen has shown the ability to make passes against man coverage consistently this year whereas he was more of a crapshoot in 2014.

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I think it was notable during our game that GD stated his belief that a QB needs to have a "career game" in order to beat us. Only problem with that is that we have a penchant from time to time for making QB`s into Heisman candidates it seems.

I wish we`d stop doing that.

They remind me a great deal of Wisconsin. Good runnig game, Senior QB with lots of experience. Can hurt you a lot of ways but can't dominate you in any particular area.

Our offense still concerns me because we sputter so much. If we don't turn the ball over more than once and can elimate the mental error penalties (12 men on the field, delay of game, etc...) I don't see Arkansas keeping this game very close. Of course energy level is always a concern after a big win. We know BB will throw the kitchen sink at us in an attempt to save his job.

Arkansas will come into this game a lot more confident than they would have two weeks ago. I don't think they are a national (or SEC) championship caliber team but they are still more than capable of beating Alabama. If Alabama comes in flat footed and turns the ball over like they did against Ole Miss along with some dumb penalties then Arkansas' chances of an upset will skyrocket. If Alabama comes in mistake (or mostly) free and plays like last week, it won't even be close. Brandon Allen is average at best but can make enough good throws with that TE they have to give Alabama fits. Their O-Line is big and nasty but Alabama's D-Line will be by far the best they will face along with the fact that Alabama's defense is built for Arky's type of offense. Alex Collins is a great RB who could probably start for Alabama but I don't expect him to have the numbers Chubb did. Hopefully Alabama will have lived by CNS's 24 hour rule and be prepared and no get caught looking ahead to A&M. RTR!!!

Tideflyer said:

I think it was notable during our game that GD stated his belief that a QB needs to have a "career game" in order to beat us. Only problem with that is that we have a penchant from time to time for making QB`s into Heisman candidates it seems.

I wish we`d stop doing that.

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When you play man-across, single-high safety...you are going to do that if you aren't locked down in the secondary. We seem to be improving on what we've seen the last few years at corner though.

bamaslammer said:

They remind me a great deal of Wisconsin. Good runnig game, Senior QB with lots of experience. Can hurt you a lot of ways but can't dominate you in any particular area.

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Hmm.......I wonder why that might be.....

I've watched all of the Hog games this year and the 2 glaring flaws that jump out at me are:
1) inconsistent OL play - they're still learning their roles.
2) poor tackling technique - a good downfield runner will gain extra yards every time

Allen is a pretty good QB, but he'd have to be "lights out" to beat this Bama team.
WPS is right, they're not a bad team - but they need to keep improving in order to go bowling.

GCtidefan said:

Allen is a pretty good QB, but he'd have to be "lights out" to beat this Bama team.

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Why do I hear a certain color analyst saying, "To beat Alabama, ya gotta have a hawt quarterback?"

selmaborntidefan said:

Why do I hear a certain color analyst saying, "To beat Alabama, ya gotta have a hawt quarterback?"

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LOL!! That's true Selma!
After the Whisky game I thought the only teams that could beat us would be ones that could stretch the field vertically. I still believe that. Iwas worried about Ole Miss, but I still belive we beat ourselves. I was never worried about the GA game because I've seen Lambert struggle with those throws downfield. LSU doesn't worry me either. aTm on the otherhand.....

AGainst Arkansas the basics will matter. We must be able to run, stop the run, and win the turnover battle. It's as simple as that. Do those things and we win going away.

NationalTitles15 said:

AGainst Arkansas the basics will matter. We must be able to run, stop the run, and win the turnover battle. It's as simple as that. Do those things and we win going away.

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I think you are spot on

Watching arkansas - Tennessee game.. both were horrible... too many turnovers in 3rd quarter. Both Qbs are easily affected by pressure....by the opposing defense. I feel bad for them, because our defense is so nasty, I don't think they have a chance.

Being a Razorback fan, I'll answer this question.

Strengths: Brutish offensive line. A tight end who gets open like a wideout. A running back who makes something out of little. An experienced quarterback. A defense designed to stop the run, with varying ability to get after the passer.

Weaknesses: Modest talent at wide receiver. Quarterback loses accuracy in the red zone. Kicker is limited. Inattention to special teams. Secondary over-bulked in the offseason and isn't fast enough now. Young linebackers are clueless in pass coverage; anyone who lets a running back or tight end drift under the safeties will find a big pass play.

Arkansas's chances of success are inversely related to the quality of the opposing quarterback. The defense works great if the QB makes mistakes and misses chances to burn the coverage.

Why Arkansas lost to Toledo: Couldn't run the football, stalled in the red zone over and over. New coordinator worked so hard on the passing game, the running game was ineffective until Bielema demanded reemphasis. Also was called for tons of penalties, at home (er, Little Rock) against Toledo.

Why Arkansas lost to Texas Tech: Pat Mahomes completed almost everything and ran for first downs when people were covered. Hogs entered the red zone twice in the second half, came away with a field goal and a missed field goal.

Why Arkansas lost to Texas A&M: Eleven penalties for 93 yards. Had the ball with a 21-13 lead, called 11 consecutive runs. Third and 9 at TAM 41, QB scrambled for 6. Fourth and 3, left tackle was called for a false start when he was drawn off by the defensive end. Punt, defense gave up a 63-yard bomb when the DE was tackled by the Aggies' left tackle, right behind the QB. It just wasn't gonna happen.

This is Arkansas Razorback football: Brandon Allen was 20-25 for 225 yards against the Texas Aggies, and on the game's critical possession, the Hogs ran the football 11 times in a row. Risk-aversion to defeat. Toledo, T-Tech and TAM took the chances necessary to get ahead and stay ahead. Bielema thinks he can pound opponents into submission, ends up punting and asking the defense to save the game.

Tennessee had every chance to do the same thing. Arkansas took the lead, then 1) drove 70 yards, stalled and had a field goal blocked; 2) drove 58 yards, stalled and failed on a fake field goal; 3) ran three times into an 11-man front and punted. Anyone with a functional passing game would have feasted on those opportunities, but Josh Dobbs was awful.