FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas attempted to replicate the play that was the talk of college football's opening weekend.
Just a few hours after Houston's Brandon Wilson returned a missed field goal 100 yards in the Cougars' win over Oklahoma, the Razorbacks lined up in their own "kick six" formation at the end of the first half of last Saturday's game against Louisiana Tech.
Arkansas cornerback Henre' Toliver stood in the back of the end zone on the 54-yard field goal attempt by Bulldogs kicker Jonathan Barnes. The attempt was wide right, but long enough that Toliver didn't have a chance to field the ball.
"I would say probably three yards less hit on that ball and it would have been in Henre''s hands and would have been a nice way for us to end the half, because they didn't cover," Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said. "It would have been a super streak down the sidelines."
Teams have been able to return missed field goals for years, but doing so has received extra attention since 2013. That year, LSU's Odell Beckham returned a missed field goal for a touchdown against UAB and Auburn's Chris Davis scored the game-winning touchdown as time expired against Alabama. The Davis play became known as "kick six."
"When you're on the field defensively and you have a turnover, even just an interception or a fumble, or in particular when you're going PAT block...you have all your athletes on the field," Bielema said.
On the flip side, field goal protection teams typically have less athletic players. Bielema said Arkansas' field goal unit includes seven offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, a kicker and a holder.
"As much as I love those guys, they're not great athletes," Bielema said. "They're there to catch the ball, hold the back and kick the ball."
Toliver said Arkansas practices the play once or twice each week. He said DJ Dean was the return man last season and the Razorbacks attempted to field a missed field goal in at least one game.
"It has a high success rate," Toliver said. "Being on defense, we have way more athleticism and we have an advantage over the field goal team.
"They aren't used to tackling or pursuing the ball. It's an easy score."