FAYETTEVILLE — Teams in November wish they had played Arkansas in September before the Hogs get off and running.
Because, like his 10-3 Razorbacks of 2010, Bobby Petrino’s BCS sixth ranked 9-1 Razorbacks run into November like they never ran in September.
On Nov. 5 they ran past then-No. 9 South Carolina 44-28, then last Saturday ran over Tennessee49-7 on 254 yards rushing for 30 carries and 245 yards passing off 27 attempts.
So the Razorbacks run into Mississippi State on Saturday in Little Rock with more confidence than they ever had in a shaky September that included just 102 rushing yards against Missouri State, 17 yards on 19 carries while losing 38-14 at Alabama and just 71 yards on 30 carries escaping Texas A&M on Oct. 1.
Even with less passes thrown it’s more fun for receivers, too.
It enhances chances for victory, d but also for throwing those long bombs that wideouts crave to catch.
“It’s great as a receiver to see the running game going,” senior Jarius Wright said. “Because we get to throw a lot more play-action and a lot more deep balls.”
Petrino’s Razorbacks did more of everything establishing pick-your poison play-action with All-SEC running back Knile Davis running wild last November.
They start this November doing more again with running back Dennis Johnson running wild and finally replacing Davis, who has been out since fracturing his ankle in August.
Johnson logged 15 carries for 86 yards and had a 98-yard kick return touchdown against South Carolina. Against Tennessee he logged 11 carries for 97 yards, including 71- and 15-yard touchdowns.
Neither Davis last year, nor Johnson this year - ailing with hamstring issues at this season’s outset while Davis has been shelved since fracturing an ankle on Aug. 11 - were the main-man running backs when the Hogs’ infantry opened campaigns as if running in mud.
“I wish it wouldn’t take that long,” Petrino said. “It would be nice to come out the first part of the season and get it going. But this year we had a lot of new O-linemen.”
And with Davis out, Johnson slowed and senior Broderick Green recovering from a torn ACL, junior Ronnie Wingo was the lone experienced, healthy back available in September.
“Dennis was hurt and Broderick wasn’t playing,” Petrino said. “There are a lot of different things that are involved in it.”
Now Petrino confidently calls on all involved. And all involved means Petrino dealing from a balance of power capable of springing Johnson or Wingo on the run and big-play receivers like Wright and Joe Adams in the air.
“I felt the other night like we could call runs,” Petrino said. “And we broke big plays. Whenever you get chunk plays running the ball, it helps.”
Sports, Pages 18 on 11/16/2011