ARKANSAS VS. NO. 3 ALABAMA

UA looks for remedy to A&M hangover

Arkansas offensive lineman Denver Kirkland sits on the field following a game against Texas A&M on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Bret Bielema acknowledged Tuesday that some of the Razorbacks football players were still hurting this week after losing 35-28 in overtime to Texas A&M after carrying a two-touchdown lead into the fourth quarter Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

But this version of the Razorbacks, Bielema said, has a will to succeed that he thinks will serve them well.

"To be quite honest ... I don't know if a year ago, even though we would get them back and they would play hard, I don't know if they expected to win those things," Bielema said. "Now there is that expectation."

The Razorbacks have an extra week to stew on the lost opportunity against the Aggies and prepare for the next mission in the SEC West -- an Oct. 11 date with unbeaten Alabama, which has won three of the past five national championships.

Arkansas will take a 14-game conference losing streak into the game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

"I know how our guys are thinking," Bielema said. "I'm hoping and praying they're going to keep that faith because we will obviously need everything for Alabama next week."

Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen was asked Saturday if there is a "hump" the Razorbacks have to get over.

"It's really all about playing clean and staying within ourselves and not doing anything to hurt ourselves," Allen said. "We're going to watch film on this and we're going to put it behind us. It's a very tough loss."

The Razorbacks had been averaging 4.25 penalties per game before being flagged eight times for 76 yards against Texas A&M. That included infractions by left tackle Dan Skipper that brought back a touchdown pass to Hunter Henry and a 55-yard run to the Texas A&M 2 by Jonathan Williams, and a defensive offsides call against Trey Flowers that kept alive what turned into an Aggies touchdown drive.

"You hear me talk all the time about playing clean," Bielema said. "A couple of those [penalties] were very, very critical."

Bielema said he spoke to the team Sunday evening about mental toughness with most of his coaching staff out recruiting.

"I went back and I hit the five edges with our guys on Sunday," he said. "I just kind of wanted to take a deep breath.

"Our first edge is mental and physical toughness. I don't worry about the physical side anymore. I mean, we are a physical football team. I think if you talked to the teams that play us, especially the week after they're done playing us, they feel the effect of playing Arkansas, and I think that's something we hang our hat on.

"But I think the mental fortitude for four quarters has obviously been an issue. ... We've just got to continue to stress to them how much of a mental challenge it is to concentrate for three-plus hours in a high-intensity environment to get where we need to be."

Bielema said when he turned his phone on late Saturday that he had been flooded with texts, e-mails and voice messages from coaches, recruits, parents and other supporters.

"Just an overwhelmingly positive reaction," he said.

Bielema said strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert provided a further status report on the players, who executed what had been a solid Arkansas game plan through three quarters of the game, after their Sunday recovery sessions.

"I asked Ben Herbert ... how they were," Bielema said. "He said, 'Kind of what you'd think.'

"Some of them were really ready to move on. Some of them you could tell it was still lingering, and some of them just didn't know what to do."

Bielema said Tuesday loomed as a critical day in the Razorbacks' recovery.

"We've got to go back and watch that film and take it as a learning experience," Bielema said. "I'm really excited to see how they hit the practice field today."

The Razorbacks will follow Tuesday's practice with their hardest work day of the week today, Bielema said, followed by a Thursday practice geared more toward preparation for Alabama.

Sports on 10/01/2014