Stopping run is key for Hogs

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas expects to be a lot tougher against the run on Saturday at Mississippi State than it was in a 34-21 loss to South Carolina in its last outing.

The Razorbacks allowed 132 rushing yards to a Gamecocks offense that previously averaged less than 100 rushing yards per game. They’ll need to stiffen up against a Mississippi State club that likes to grind it on the ground.

“We’ve talked about courage and toughness, and we’ve got to display that,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said.

Arkansas should be helped by the return of defensive ends Adrian Davis and Damario Ambrose, who have been out with knee injuries. Davis missed the past two games and Ambrose did not play against South Carolina.

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“Our D-line, when they’re healthy, you can tell against Tulsa and Auburn, they are a dominant defensive line when they’re healthy,” safety Matt Harris said. “Getting those guys back is a big improvement for us.” Political football

President-elect Barack Obama’s statements on ESPN and 60 Minutes in support of a playoff system for college football have drawn a favorable response from most coaches.

But not Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino.

“I think he ought to call us so the head coaches can figure out how to get the price of gas down,” Petrino said Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference when asked about Obama’s stance. “I’m just kidding when I say that.”

But Petrino is serious about not wanting a playoff system for college football.

“I’ve never been for the playoff,” he said. “I think it’s a long season. They’re studentathletes.

“ Although the [Bowl Championship Series ] has always been controversial, it’s added a lot to the excitement of college football throughout the season. I think it’s at an alltime high as far as fan support, and as far as everybody being competitive. “ I think it’s a good system now.”

Big boards Traveling Razorbacks fans will have seen college football’s two biggest video boards in the country by the end of the weekend. Arkansas has already played at Texas’ Darrel K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, which boasts the biggest screen in the nation. The new video board at Mississippi State’s Scott Field is the second-largest at 5, 217 square feet. The $ 6. 1 million board, which went online on Halloween, the night before Mississippi State hosted Kentucky, is 111 feet wide by 47 feet tall and it’s housed in a complex of four screens that

1 total 152 feet by 135 / 2 feet. The Razorbacks will be the second visiting team to see the board in action, and the first to experience it in full-display mode. The sound system had not been installed for the Kentucky game. It consists of 23 speakers and four subwoofers, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. Of course, Arkansas fans experience their own supersized screen at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, the 30-by-107-foot marvel that was the world’s largest when it was installed in 2000. Birthday boys Freshman receiver Joe Adams of Little Rock will turn 19 on Saturday, while fellow freshman Jarius Wright of Warren will have his 19 th birthday next Tuesday.

Worth noting The Razorbacks are one of just 15 Football Bowl Subdivision schools that do not have a blocked kick this season.

Mississippi State’s Blake McAdams has 276 career punts, one shy of the all-time SEC record held by Vanderbilt’s Jim Arnold (1979-1982 ). McAdams has 10, 907 career punting yards, fifth on the SEC’s all-time list, but more than a half-mile behind Arnold’s 12, 171 yards in first place.