Racehorse out of gate for Hogs

FAYETTEVILLE — There’s a new offensive package for Arkansas this year, and it’s not the WildHog or any other new name for an old formation.

But it does involve ace tailback Darren McFadden taking snaps out of the Shotgun, as he did on eight snaps in Arkansas’ 46-26 win over Troy on Saturday.

The new formation looks a little like the WildHog, but the difference is both Peyton Hillis and Felix Jones flank McFadden in the backfield, whereas the WildHog features Jones lining up in the slot. Arkansas used both against the Trojans.

“The new one was this one,” Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said at his Sunday press conference while standing up in his suit and tie to diagram the look on a dry erase board.

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“It’s [called ] Racehorse.”

Nutt acknowledged some of the ball-handling difficulties that McFadden had in his meshes with the runners while trying to make reads, but sounded confident those issues would be resolved.

“A Wishbone team takes 30 minutes a day and goes ride to side,” Nutt said. “We don’t do that. We go 5 minutes a day. But we have a lot of confidence in him and he’ll get that corrected.”

The Racehorse was not terribly efficient in its first few tries, but Nutt pointed out that a couple of plays out of it resulted in Hillis “gashing” the Trojans for 8 or 9 yards. Hillis had a carry of 14 yards on Arkansas’ first snap of the third quarter, his longest run of the game. Going for 12

Arkansas was not lacking its characteristic explosive plays on offense, particularly in the running game.

The Razorbacks racked up 14 plays of 12 or more yards on the evening, including two each on its first three possessions.

Felix Jones got the evening off to a roaring start with his 40-yard sweep of left end on the first snap of the game. The junior also had a 44-yard touchdown burst around right end in the third quarter and a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown, which was not counted among the 14 explosive plays.

Quarterback Casey Dick accounted for four of the big plays, with throws of 16, 12, 16 and 18 yards. Three of those plays went to running backs, with the lone exception a 16-yard completion to freshman tight end D. J. Williams. Fumble fingers

One of the few negatives for the Razorbacks was their inability to hang onto the ball. Arkansas was charged with six fumbles, three by Michael Smith, and lost two of them.

Coach Houston Nutt applied different values to some of the fumbles. For instance, the bobbles by Darren McFadden while taking snaps at quarterback were not as troubling to him as the two mishandled punts by Smith.

“You can’t just drop balls,” Nutt said. “You can’t put it on the ground. When we’re in ‘safe’ [return ] you just have to fair catch the ball.”

Troy recovered one of Smith’s fumbled punts, and the Trojans also pounced on a fumble from fullback Peyton Hillis at the Troy 31. Closing the airways

Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook got the Trojans’ Spread offense rolling in the second quarter with a pair of touchdown drives. That quarter pointed out some flaws in the Razorbacks’ pass defense, such as playing the receiver and not the ball, pass interference calls, sloppy alignment in zone coverages and allowing some big plays.

But Haugabook, who completed 11 of 23 passes for 173 yards and a score in the first half, was not nearly as effective after halftime. The senior completed 4 of 20 passes for 31 yards in the second half as the Hogs pressured and covered more effectively.

“We got some pressure from the ends, some end-tackle twists,” Coach Houston Nutt said. Injury report

The Razorbacks escaped their opener with no major injuries and only a handful of minor scrapes or strains.

Senior safety Kevin Woods aggravated a hamstring, but had it wrapped and played limited snaps. Woods rode a stationary bike on the sideline to keep the hamstring loose in the second half.

Linebacker Weston Dacus suffered a bruised left hand, but the injury is not expected to prevent him from playing in the Hogs’ next game, against Alabama on Sept. 15.

Kickoff man Brian Vavra and cornerback Jerell Norton each suffered cramps, and Norton received fluids intravenously. Looking ahead

UP NEXT An open date faces the Razorbacks this week, but it doesn’t mean Arkansas takes a big break. The Hogs will work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, as Coach Houston Nutt put it, “in the flow... very hard,” with the game plan for Alabama trickling in along the way. Arkansas opens its road slate and its SEC season on Sept. 15 against the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Players of the game: OFFENSE How do you pick between the exploits of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones ? Each accounted for two touchdowns, each rushed for at least 129 yards and each caught passes. McFadden helped spring Jones’ 90-yard kickoff return touchdown with a knockdown block, and he fired a perfect strike on his 42-yard touchdown pass to Crosby Tuck from the WildHog formation, so he’s the choice in a tight ballot. DEFENSE Weston Dacus racked up eight tackles and helped handle “spy” duties on elusive Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook, whose scrambling was a major concern. Dacus also notched a high-impact sack on third-and-4 in the first quarter to keep the Trojans’ offense from warming up. Tejada talk

Coach Houston Nutt has thrown out some superlatives the past couple of days to describe freshman kicker Alex Tejada.

The former Springdale High School star debuted Saturday by making all four of his field-goal attempts and connecting on 4 of 5 extra-point kicks.

“[It is the ] first time for me in 10 years that I’m thinking, just get to the 35-yard line and let’s kick it,” Nutt said of Tejada’s range and steadiness.

“I think he’s mature beyond his age and we believe in him. I just don’t want many 3 s the next time. I want to be able to finish it and get 7 s.”