Even with the secrecy of this closed-door, closed-floor Razorback football regime, some things are just too obvious to stay secret.

Like what Arkansas should expect from Texas’ game plan Saturday in Austin. Or the game plan of any team on the Razorbacks’ schedule after they see film of Alabama running by Arkansas, 49-14, in last Saturday’s SEC opener for both teams at Frank Broyles Field at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Alabama needed just 35 totes to net 328 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

So, yeah, Razorback redshirt freshman middle linebacker Jerry Franklin of Marion replied in response to a question, he does anticipate Texas planning to run it down the Razorbacks’ throats in Saturday’s 2: 30 p. m. ABC televised game at Darrell K Royal / Texas Memorial Stadium.

“ I believe they will try to do that, ” Franklin said right after Alabama ran rings around Arkansas. “ If I was a coach on another team, I would try to do the same thing. But we will get it together and stop the run. ”

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That’s one openly avowed aspect of the closed practices firstyear coach Bobby Petrino conducts this week.

It’s an aspect we’ve been told these Hogs worked on before.

After their 28-24 escape of underdog Western Illinois in Fayetteville when WIU running back Herb Donaldson’s pounding 157 yards on 35 carries kept the Hog defense on the field and the Hog offense mostly on the bench, defensive coordinator Willy Robinson so stressed run defense the following week he said it left the Hogs vulnerable to the pass when they escaped underdog Louisiana-Monroe, 28-27 in Little Rock.

Other than getting pierced for a 25-yard TD pass from Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson and Wilson’s 26-yard pass to Earl Alexander, the Hogs didn’t flunk pass defense against Alabama.

They were seldom tested. Alabama only threw 15 times. The Tide scored so fast on the ground plus two touchdown returns of intercepted passes thrown by Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick.

Turnovers dug Arkansas’ defense one crater of a hole. Fourteen direct points off two interceptions plus a 2-play 34-yard scoring drive after Dick threw an interception to start the second half were scored. And we haven’t mentioned yet Arkansas’ running into the kicker penalty that kept alive Alabama’s game-opening scoring drive of its 35-7 first half.

No excuse, says Willy Robinson. The defense should have bowed up.

“ That’s going to happen anywhere, ” Robinson said of offensive and kicking game mistakes digging a defensive hole. “ You have to stand up and respond and not let them score again. That’s where we’ve got to respond and face the fire and either get a turnover or stop the drive. ”

Most weren’t drives. Just romps. Alabama tailback Glen Coffee, 10 carries for 162 yards, popped his first-quarter 87-yard TD run on the drive’s first and only down. He ran his third-quarter 31-yard TD just two plays after Dick’s interception.

Reserve tailback Roy Upchurch’s 62-yard TD was the first and last of Alabama’s fourth-quarter scoring drive.

“ To start the second half, ” Robinson said, “ we let one play bite us. The rest of the quarter they don’t do a thing. We let one play in the fourth quarter bite us and the rest of the quarter they don’t do a thing. We’re not good enough as a defense to overcome that. ”

Both sides of the ball, and the kicking game, too, are good enough to do some good things.

It may sound the like the horrible, old joke, “ Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play ? ” but the Hogs did do some good things on all of the above against Alabama.

Alabama came to Fayetteville leading the nation in rushing defense, just 42 yards per game.

Tailback Michael Smith netted 91 on 19 totes and would have carried more but the Hogs were in obvious must-throw, catch-up mode. Smith excelled there, too, 6 catches for 67 yards and a TD.

The kicking game committed one disastrous penalty and wasted one timeout with personnel confusion, but otherwise excelled. Jeremy Davis punted beautifully and kicked off strategically. Alex Tejada faced his ULM game demons and precisely kicked two PATs. Coverage was excellent against Alabama’s feared return game. And it seems the Hogs have found a kick return force with Texarkana freshman Dennis Johnson (6 returns for 141 including a 41-yarder ).

Petrino said he’s trying to stay positive and those are positives he can stay positive about. Otherwise, he left Saturday’s game about to watch film on the Hogs hogging the ball nearly 35 minutes and losing by 35 points.

“ The next 24 to 48 hours are not going to be a lot of fun, ” Petrino said. Nate Allen covers the Razorbacks for the Northwest Arkansas Times.