After a 70-0 victory over the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions, the Arkansas Razorbacks, led by new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, gave Razorback Nation some hope for a much brighter season. Razorback fans didn’t have much to cheer about last season, as the Hogs finished 4-8.
While the 4-8 record doesn’t tell the true story about how well the team performed last season, given that the Hogs lost several close games, including razor-thin losses to BYU (38-31), LSU (13-10), Alabama (24-21), Ole Miss (27-20), and Mississippi State (7-3), Razorback fans aren’t satisfied with moral victories; they desire wins on the scoreboard.
Although the Golden Lions pale in comparison to the competition the Hogs will face throughout the season, Petrino’s offense merits significant praise. His offense possessed the ball ten times and scored touchdowns on all ten possessions. If you’re willing to overlook Oregon’s underachieving performance against Idaho, winning the game 24-14, Arkansas deserves at least some credit for scoring a touchdown on all ten of its possessions and not surrendering a single point on defense.
As the Hogs prepare for a challenging road game in Stillwater, Oklahoma, against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, currently ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press poll, understanding why Petrino’s offense inspires confidence against the Cowboys and other opponents is vital to explore.
Bobby Petrino and the Offense
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Under former offensive coordinator Dan Enos, fired before last season ended, the Arkansas Razorbacks’ offense underperformed in most of its games, including games the team won. Defensive coordinator Travis Williams has done a quality job. However, under Enos’s leadership and the growing pains experienced after his termination, one may find it difficult to comprehend how well Williams has performed, given the mediocre at best offensive production last season.
Such inadequate offensive production often left the defense on the field for large percentages of games. The offense, therefore, did not permit Williams’ defense to show its full capabilities. However, with Bobby Petrino, an authentic offensive genius, one can reasonably expect the offense to be one of the team’s consistent strengths, allowing the defense a fair chance to shine.
Even though Petrino employed a vanilla offense against the Golden Lions, not granting the Cowboys anything substantive to anticipate when they square off against one another on Saturday, Petrino’s version of a vanilla offense still has sophistication and is difficult to stop. Therefore, Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s defense did the Cowboys’ head coach Mike Gundy no favors by not forcing the Razorbacks to abandon the vanilla offense, which the Cowboys will certainly not see on Saturday. The Cowboys have no idea what to expect from the Hogs’ offense.
The Offensive Line
Last season, the Hogs’ offensive line was so horrendous that many Arkansas fans called for head coach Sam Pittman to be fired. Former Arkansas offensive line coach Cody Kennedy was arguably the most unpopular coach on the team’s staff. K.J. Jefferson, the team’s former starting quarterback, often had to run for his life because the offensive line did a poor job blocking under Kennedy’s leadership.
Pittman hired Eric Mateos to ameliorate the offensive line’s performance. Although the sample size is small and against a much inferior opponent, the Arkansas offensive line performed well and made limited mistakes. The offensive line even played with a certain physicality that it must deliver against the Cowboys and its SEC opponents. For at least one game, therefore, Mateos merits praise, including for the discipline the Razorbacks’ offensive line exhibited.
While Mateos deserves credit for how the offensive line performed, Petrino’s role in an improved offensive line must be underscored. Petrino is known for how much time he devotes to quarterbacks, given that the quarterback position is crucial to his offense’s success. However, he’s also intimately involved with the offensive line, especially coming to Arkansas recognizing the offensive line as the most glaring problem the team faced. A better, more disciplined Hog offensive line bears Petrino’s imprimatur, too.
Arkansas Can Run the Football
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Of the 687 total yards the Razorbacks amassed, they gained 279 yards on the ground on 33 rushing attempts at 8.5 yards per carry, leading to a truly impressive eight rushing touchdowns. While Arkansas has never lacked talented running backs, and this season is no exception, Ja’Quinden Jackson is an authentic SEC running back Petrino will be able to lean on as a significant part of his challenging offense to defend.
On eight attempts at 12.6 yards per carry, Jackson rushed for 101 yards and two rushing touchdowns against the Golden Lions. Even more important than those numbers is the physicality in which he runs. In the SEC, running backs must be strong enough to break tackles and remain durable throughout the season.
Taylen Green, who ran for 88 yards on six carries, resulting in two rushing touchdowns, offers Petrino a potent dual threat at quarterback. Green completed 16 of 23 passes for 229 yards, resulting in two passing touchdowns. The Oklahoma State Cowboys’ defense must ready itself for a heavy dose of the run-pass option.
Parting Thoughts
While teams like the Tennessee Volunteers and Ole Miss Rebels are receiving much credit for embarrassing far inferior competition, the same praise has not been showered on the Arkansas Razorbacks. Given that the Hogs are coming off a 4-8 season, perhaps people are justifiably hesitant. To move closer toward equity in reactions, though, the Hogs’ dominant victory over the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff shouldn’t be overlooked. Arkansas has a great opportunity on the road against Oklahoma State to put the SEC and nation on notice.
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