FAYETTEVILLE — Five observations, with video, from Arkansas' 52-20 loss to Auburn.
New line, same result
Deep breath, everyone. Let’s get ready for the weekly look at the offensive line.
Arkansas has started a different line each of the last four weeks. The last three, the three against SEC opponents, any pairing has struggled mightily.
Senior quarterback Austin Allen was knocked out of the South Carolina game earlier this month. The last two games, redshirt freshman Cole Kelley has absorbed the beating with his 6-foot-7, 268-pound frame. The Hogs struggled to run the ball consistently the last three weeks.
The Razorbacks allowed 6 sacks and 11 hurries against Alabama with a line featuring just one starter (left guard Hjalte Frohldt) in his typical position. Saturday, the Razorbacks switched it up again, with senior Paul Ramirez’ insertion at left tackle, a move which began a chain reaction of Johnny Gibson moving back to right guard, Frank Ragnow to center and Zach Rogers out of the starting lineup.
The latest new-look group struggled in pass protection, just like its predecessors. They again gave up 6 sacks, allowed 3 hurries and Auburn stripped Kelley 3 times and recovered a pair.
He took a beating and it was hard not to feel for him, especially in the second half, when five of the sacks occurred. That coincided in part with the decision to insert Colton Jackson, benched after the South Carolina game, in place of Ramirez in the second half after Ramirez struggled and was whistled for two false starts and a hold in the second quarter. The offensive line as a whole was penalized five times for 35 yards in the first half.
Ramirez did wind up playing some in the second half, too, with the Hogs rotating and searching for answers. Regardless of lineup, teams are having their way up front in passing situations. There are obviously other examples, but for the sake of expediency, here are the 6 sacks.
On the first, the Tigers sent a nickel blitz and it didn't get picked up. Auburn didn't really tip its hand before the snap. Note that Ramirez also failed to sustain his block on this play.
On the second, it marked a rare occasion when Ragnow gets beat. He was flagged for holding and Auburn oddly accepted the penalty instead of taking the sack, so this one didn't count toward the six.
On the third, Jackson, Gibson and Wallace each get driven back, collapsing the pocket and leading to Kelley being sandwiched as he tried to step up. He was fortunate his fumble rolled harmlessly out of bounds.
On the fourth, the Tigers bring six and the Hogs have just five blockers, causing the pocket to quickly break down and Kelley to lose the ball in traffic.
On the fifth, fullback Hayden Johnson whiffs on a blitz pickup, leaving Kelley's blindside exposed for another strip and lost fumble.
On the sixth, Kelley steps up right into the pressure with Wallace struggling to lock up his man.
On the seventh, Gibson gets beaten badly on a sprint-out left.
The protection issues has played a big part in crippling the pass game. Sure, the receivers have struggled to get open and quarterbacks have missed throws, but the pass rush has been a near-constant.
Kelley has to do a better job protecting the football, but the main problem has been the pass protection. They have to do a better job protecting the quarterback.
To this point, there’s been little to indicate that will happen.
Tiger Bait
Playing Auburn means being ready to face the trickery Gus Malzahn-coached teams typically employ.
Arkansas gave up a 78-yard touchdown on a jet sweep to Eli Stove on the first play of last year’s meeting, the beginning of a 56-3 Tiger rout. Saturday, Stove broke a 45-yarder on a double reverse, fooling the Razorback defense and taking advantage of poor backside contain.
Linebacker Grant Morgan and nickel back Kevin Richardson don't have contain, allowing Stove to get the edge and bust free for a big gainer.
Auburn used that to help set up a reverse pass later on, as receiver Ryan Davis got the ball on a reverse and delivered a 62-yard touchdown strike to Darius Slayton in a third quarter Auburn won 28-7.
Freshman cornerback Chevin Calloway was lulled to sleep thinking the ball was going the other way on a sweep, which allowed Slayton to get behind him.
The Tigers’ up-tempo attack led to an easy score on their first touchdown as quarterback Jarrett Stidham waltzed into the end zone untouched on a 15-yard score.
The Razorbacks had nine players on the field. One of them, defensive end Sosa Agim, was laying on the ground when the ball was snapped. Arkansas was trying to substitute and had two players leave the field, but communication broke down and their replacements didn’t get in the game.
Arkansas didn’t handle the extra Auburn stuff very well. The Hogs also struggled against the Tigers’ regular, straightforward attack, too.
Run redux
Auburn didn’t run for 550-plus yards and set the record for rushing yards in an SEC game for a second year in a row, but the Tigers again asserted themselves up front, running for 345 yards and averaging 7.3 yards a pop.
Arkansas held Kerryon Johnson, arguably the best running back in the SEC, to 63 yards on 21 carries, but Kamryn Pettway ran for 90 yards and three scores on 11 attempts, including this 38-yard jaunt to paydirt.
The Tigers double-teamed Sosa Agim to take him out of the play. Safety Josh Liddell, nickel back Kevin Richardson and linebacker Dre Greenlaw all had shots at him for what would have been about a 5-yard gain and instead collided as he sprinted unimpeded to the end zone.
That was one example of Arkansas' struggles against the zone read. The Hogs also had issues when Auburn’s quarterbacks kept it. Stidham and backup Malik Willis combined for 111 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Stidham’s score was the result of the Razorbacks’ inability to substitute and he had an 18-yard scramble, but the read plays were an issue when he and the freshman decided to keep it.
On the first, outside linebacker Dwayne Eugene crashes as Stidham pulls it and takes off for 13 yards. You can see Eugene's frustration when he realizes he's been duped.
On the second, outside backer Karl Roesler gets sucked inside, leaving plenty of daylight on the edge for Willis to break free for 48.
On the third, Richardson bites inside and an Auburn receiver delivers a nice kick-out block on safety Santos Ramirez to spring Willis for 14.
Arkansas is now allowing 5.4 yards per rush this season. That number is better than the 5.9 figure that led to the Hogs ranking 126th in the nation last year, but is still tied for 119th.
The home stretch of the season doesn’t include as many heavy hitters now that Alabama and Auburn are off the schedule, but stopping the run has continued to be a big issue even in a new scheme.
Early down efficiency
Auburn converted 9 of 15 third downs. Its average yardage to go was 5.1. The Tigers needed 4 or less yards on two-thirds of their attempts and converted 8 of 10 in those instances.
Arkansas converted 5 of 16. It’s average was 7.8. The Hogs converted 4 of 6 third downs when they needed 4 or less yards, but just 1 of 10 when they had to pick up 5-plus.
The Tigers largely stayed in good down-and-distance situations, which made for manageable third downs when they arose.
Arkansas, because of penalties, sacks and other issues, got behind the sticks and behind schedule, which made it difficult to sustain drives. Offensive coordinator Dan Enos regularly talks about early down efficiency.
That was lacking for the Hogs, while Auburn generally set itself up well.
Hayden hurt
Losing Chase Hayden to a lower-leg injury for what Bret Bielema said is likely “a significant period of time” is a substantial blow.
He looked like a star in the making in fall camp. In the first half of the season, he didn’t get the chance to operate in open space often. Saturday, he did twice. Twice, he produced explosive plays.
First, he turned this screen pass into a 23-yard gain that was Arkansas’ longest pass play until Brandon Martin caught a 25-yarder on the game’s final snap.
Then, he broke a 40-yarder, the longest run of his young career, to set up Connor Limpert’s second field goal of the first half.
His cut at the line, along with his burst into the second level, turned that from a 3-yard gain to a chunk run.
Unfortunately, he came up limping after that run after apparently suffering the injury on that play. His 326 rushing yards this season are tied for a team-high with David Williams and his 5.3 yards per carry are tops among the Hogs’ three top backs.
Hayden is part of an athletic freshman class. Receiver De’Vion Warren may be the best of the bunch and provided one of the only second-half highlights with this electric 100-yard kick return for a touchdown.
Nice vision, great cut and impressive speed.
Hayden, assuming he makes a full recovery, will be a big part of Arkansas’ future plans, but the Razorbacks lost one of their bright spots Saturday.