FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Bret Bielema knows to expect Texas State's offense to snap it quicker than TCU. A question on his weekly radio show Thursday dealt with how they'll handle it.
“I think you are Captain Obvious,” Bielema deadpanned after the caller suggested the Hogs were slow at least on a few plays. “We did a good job in the first half (against TCU) and were up 13-0. But we relaxed in the second half a little bit.
“We'll have to get lined up five seconds faster this week. We have worked on that.”
Bielema said the 41-38 double-overtime victory over TCU probably “gave everyone cardio.” He said it had that effect on him, too.
“We went into a very hostile atmosphere, one that was really cool,” Bielema said.
The coach said the Hogs do have to turn the page with a 6:40 p.m. home game with Texas State on Saturday.
“We didn't go on the (practice) field on Sunday after all we had done,” he said. “We did let them celebrate the big win, but I told them I didn't want to hear anything more about that game. Our players weren't allowed to talk to the media about that game.”
Senior linebacker Brooks Ellis said the Hogs must turn the page.
"There was a lot of excitement with the (TCU) game and even now," Ellis said. "We had to move past it on Monday. We've done that. If we didn't turn the (page), it was going to come back to bite us. We are preparing for Texas State like anyone else."
Bielema made a point about what he thinks of Ellis, a premed student. Ellis has six hours this semester, then will be ready for med school if he isn't drafted.
"We had a little bit of rain," Bielema said. "We have a parking dock where a delivery can be made in the rain. Some of our players decided to park in the loading dock, a total of 16 scooters.
"I talked to a freshman who asked what right he had to park there. I told them that 16 scooters got towed, $350 each. They thought they did get towed. I let them think for a few minutes that they had gotten towed. No one did. But I guarantee Brooks didn't leave a scooter there because he does everything right."
Bielema was asked by a fan if there had been a reaction from recruits on the BEING Bret Bielema show.
“It gives me something to talk to them about,” Bielema said. “I texted 15 players the last three days and it was something that was a conversation piece. We emailed all of them a link. I texted with six last night and five had seen it.”
Bielema said he's “learned a lot” about his team the first two weeks in two nail-biters. The Razorbacks beat Louisiana Tech and TCU by a combined four points.
“We knew this team better than our first three, but we learned a lot in these two games,” he said. “I showed our team clips of six seniors making big plays in the TCU game. There was Keon Hatcher making a big catch and making a throw. There was Jeremy Sprinkle with a great catch for a score. There was our punter, Toby Baker, flipping the field three times. There was Taiwan Johnson flushing the quarterback and Brooks Ellis making a pick-six.”
Bielema said the sideline was fairly confident a block was coming on TCU's attempt at a field goal at the close of regulation. Dan Skipper blocked the kick to force overtime.
“We were confident enough we talked about a scoop and score,” Bielema said. “That was a good kicker, but he had been driving it low. I thought we might get it.”
Bielema said his job is "the humbler" after the big victory. But he did brag a little about his team.
"I got an email that said our projected APR (Academic Progress Rate) is 980 (out of 1,000)," he said. "It was 918 when I got here. It's an amazing stat. It shows what they are doing (in the classroom). If you aren't doing things right in our program, you stick out like a sore thumb.
"I worked for Coach (Hayden) Fry and he said if you earn it, you aren't bragging. They've earned that.
"By the same token, we are working as hard this week for Texas State as we would for Texas A&M."