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Location: WholeHogSports > Story     |     TAGGED:

UA passing game doesn’t do much

Published: Sunday, September 02, 2007 PRINT E-MAIL

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas debuted a revamped passing attack that looked a lot like its predecessor.

Little changed in terms of production despite new offensive coordinator David Lee’s off-season attempts to inject life into the passing game. Arkansas finished Saturday’s 46-26 victory against Troy with 157 yards passing, a slight improvement from the numbers the Razorbacks put up in ranking 108 th out of 119 Division I-A programs the past two seasons.

Arkansas won 10 games last season while producing 149. 5 passing yards per game, but a lack of production became an issue for the Razorbacks during a three-game losing streak that closed the season.

Lee was brought in to change that, installing new pass protections for the offensive line and giving quarterback Casey Dick more freedom to audible. Those adjustments were lost in the overall lack of passing success against the Trojans.

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“We’ve got to get some things corrected,” said Dick, who completed 11 of 20 passes for 108 yards.

No wide receiver caught a pass in the first half, and fullback Peyton Hillis was the Razorbacks’ top pass-catching option with six receptions for 39 yards.

Running back Darren McFadden completed Arkansas’ only touchdown pass of the day, a 42-yard strike to freshman receiver Crosby Tuck with 5: 32 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Downfield passing — with the exception of McFadden’s touchdown throw — was an afterthought much of the night. On the rare occasions Dick looked downfield, receivers had drops or Trojans defensive backs just missed interceptions.

“I’m not going to say anything negative about our passing game with the exception [Dick ] had a rocky first half,” Lee said. “He just had nerves. He was a little nervous early, but I thought he was much calmer, more relaxed and more confident in the second half.”

Arkansas was playing without All-SEC receiver Marcus Monk, who underwent two knee surgeries in August. Monk was injured during Arkansas’ first day in pads Aug. 9, then had his first knee surgery on Aug. 13.

The Razorbacks have an unproven group of receivers without Monk in the lineup, and no reliable options emerged Saturday night.

Until they do, Arkansas seems content to rely on its running game for the bulk of its yards. Running back is the deepest position on the team, something McFadden, Felix Jones and Michael Smith proved Saturday as they combined for 339 yards on 44 rushes.

Flanker Reggie Fish said he understood the lack of involvement among the receivers. Fish had one reception for 9 yards and was the first wide receiver to catch a pass, hauling it in at the 7: 30 mark of the third quarter.

“We didn’t put it in the air a lot, but we didn’t need to,” Fish said. “ The way Darren McFadden and Felix Jones were running today, that pretty much took over the passing game. We were controlling the clock and moving the sticks on the ground.

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Baseball America Poll

Updated May 20

1. UC Irvine 40-12

2. LSU 41-14

3. Arizona St 41-11

4. CS Fullerton 38-14

5. Texas 38-12

6. North Carolina 41-14

7. Ole Miss 40-15

8. Oklahoma 40-16

9. Florida 38-18

10. TCU 35-15

11. Rice 35-15

12. Florida St 40-14

13. Clemson 39-17

14. Georgia Tech 34-15

15. East Carolina 41-15

16. Virginia 39-12

17. Kansas St 39-15

18. Alabama 37-17

19. Cal Poly 35-17

20. Louisville 40-14

21. Minnesota 35-15

22. Elon 37-14

23. Miami Fl 35-18

24. Missouri 32-23

25. South Carolina 37-19

Who is the best defensive lineman in Arkansas' history?


Dave "Hawg" Hanner

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Jimmy Walker

Dan Hampton

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Arkansas Razorbacks' 2009 Baseball Schedule

Feb. 20

Washington St. (DH)

W 7-5

Feb. 20

Washington St. (DH)

W 4-2

Feb. 22

Washington St.

W 4-3

Feb. 24

Kansas

L 3-9

Feb. 25

Kansas

W 9-8

Feb. 27

Western Illinois

W 8-7

Feb. 28

Western Illinois

     6:00 pm

Mar. 1

Western Illinois

     6:00 pm

Mar. 3

Valparaiso

W 7-3

Mar. 4

Valparaiso

W 9-6

Mar. 6

California

W 5-4

Mar. 7

California

L 6-12

Mar. 8

California

W 13-3

Mar. 10

@ Centenary

L 3-8

Mar. 11

@ Centenary

     6:00 pm

Mar. 13

Florida

W 11-4

Mar. 14

Florida

W 8-4

Mar. 15

Florida

W 4-2

Mar. 17

Nebraska

W 7-3

Mar. 18

Nebraska

L 4-7

Mar. 20

@ Auburn

W 3-2

Mar. 21

@ Auburn

W 10-6

Mar. 22

@ Auburn

W 12-6

Mar. 25

Missouri St.

W 10-0

Mar. 27

Mississippi St.

W 20-9

Mar. 28

Mississippi St.

W 5-1

Mar. 29

Mississippi St.

L 4-12

Mar. 31

@ Missouri St.

W 2-0

Apr. 3

@ South Carolina

W 6-4

Apr. 4

@ South Carolina

L 1-9

Apr. 5

@ South Carolina

W 7-4

Apr. 7

Arizona St.

W 7-3

Apr. 8

Arizona St.

W 8-7

Apr. 10

Vanderbilt

L 0-9

Apr. 11

Vanderbilt

L 6-13

Apr. 12

Vanderbilt

     1:05 pm

Apr. 14

La.-Monroe

L 2-3

Apr. 15

La.-Monroe

W 10-9

Apr. 17

@ Georgia

L 3-4

Apr. 18

@ Georgia

L 3-4

Apr. 19

@ Georgia

W 2-0

Apr. 21

@ Oral Roberts

W 9-6

Apr. 24

@ Tennessee

W 9-3

Apr. 25

@ Tennessee

L 4-5

Apr. 26

@ Tennessee

W 15-8

Apr. 28

Oklahoma

W 8-7

May. 1

LSU

W 11-4

May. 2

LSU

L 0-5

May. 3

LSU

L 3-4

May. 8

@ Alabama

L 1-2

May. 9

@ Alabama

L 6-8

May. 10

@ Alabama

L 5-6

May. 12

Oral Roberts

W 3-2

May. 14

Ole Miss

L 5-7

May. 15

Ole Miss

L 3-9

May. 16

Ole Miss

L 3-16