FAYETTEVILLE -- Remember the big deal Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema made about linebacker Martrell Spaight studying film at the Fred Smith Center on the Saturday evening of their open date two weeks ago?
There was a simple reason for that. All that film study paid off Saturday night in Arkansas' 17-0 victory over LSU.
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NO. 8 OLE MISS AT ARKANSAS
WHEN 2:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville
RECORDS Ole Miss 8-2, 4-2 SEC Arkansas 5-5, 1-5
TV CBS
Numerous times Spaight used what he learned during his film study to come up with big plays and help the Razorbacks end their 17-game SEC losing streak.
It paid off early when Spaight saw heavy offensive flow to one side on a first-and-10 play in the first quarter, recognized a tendency, charged right into a bootleg pass set up for Anthony Jennings and sacked the quarterback for a 5-yard loss that helped stall a drive.
"Their offense gave a lot of tips out from watching film," Spaight said. "When we went out to the game they came out with the same type of tips we watched on film, and it just showed where the ball was going."
Spaight and Bielema broke down the Razorbacks' victory earlier this week with David Greene, the former Georgia quarterback who now serves as an analyst for the SEC Network, for an installment of SEC Film Room.
On LSU's first possession of the second half, Jennings dropped back on a third-and-9 snap, then bolted up the middle. Spaight had the quarterback one-on-one in space, zeroed in and wrangled Jennings to the turf after a 5-yard gain to force a punt.
" It was really just him and Spaight one-on-one with a good bit of field," Greene said. "I thought [Spaight] made a great play there.
"One of the things [Spaight] mentioned in the film room that I thought was a nice little nugget, he said it's important as a defensive player ... to not look at the guy's feet. Sometimes when you're in the heat of the moment, you're almost watching a guy's feet. He said the key is to watch the guy's jersey, because wherever that jersey goes, they can't fake you out that way."
Greene also noted the tipoff Spaight recognized that led to the big sack in the first quarter.
"He made the observation that they had showed a tendency in film study, I think nine out of 10 times, whenever they showed a heavy flow one way, it was a bootleg," Greene said. "He didn't bite on the fake. He knew there was a good chance that was going to be a bootleg."
LSU Coach Les Miles was asked Wednesday if Arkansas had picked up their signals. Spaight laughed when he heard that.
"I guess all the film study pays off," he said.
Arkansas linebackers coach Randy Shannon said Spaight's sharp eye has made a big difference.
"If you can steal a couple of plays in the game, you steal a couple of plays," Shannon said. "If you steal five or six plays that can be tackles for losses or big plays in the game, you're happy and excited. He's done a great job of finding little things that make us better."
Greene said he also was impressed by Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen's composure on third downs, his accuracy on sprint-out throws and his rate of improvement.
"The kid's got a lot of ability," Greene said. "I watched him play a good bit against Georgia as well. ... I thought he did a pretty good job of picking apart that Georgia defense in the second half, and I was extremely impressed with the way he threw the ball the other night.
"I'm telling you, as a former quarterback, it's not easy to throw in the cold weather. Some of the comebacks he would throw rolling to his left, those are big-league throws. Not an easy pass to complete, like one of those crossing routes to [Hunter] Henry.
"I think his fundamentals have come a long way. He's playing with really good balance."
Greene also noted the way Bielema has thrown himself into building his plan at Arkansas.
"It's my first time I've ever met him, and I could tell he's a sharp coach and he loves Arkansas football," Greene said. "I can tell he's really pleased with the direction the program is headed in.
"One of the things I was really curious about in going to meet him is when I watch his team play, even though they've faced as much adversity as they have, I was really impressed with how much confidence and determination they've played with. I think they get a lot of their confidence from coach.
"You can tell he's a guy who 100 percent believes what they're doing is the right way to go. You can tell that trickles down to the players."
Sports on 11/20/2014