FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas run game must be more productive on Saturday if the Razorbacks are planning to bring the Battle Line Rivalry trophy back to the Fred Smith Center.
The Razorbacks (3-5) take on Missouri (4-3) at 11 a.m. Central at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo., in a game that was originally scheduled to be played last week at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The venue changed during the summer owing to covid-19 issues, and the date changed last week because the Razorbacks were hit with their first big in-season flare-up of positive coronavirus results and contact tracing.
Arkansas managed just 104 rushing yards in its last game against LSU on Nov. 21, its lowest output since gaining a season-low 63 yards on the ground in a 21-14 win at Mississippi State on Oct. 3.
“If you want to be honest, we just had a bad game up front, and we just had a bad game the whole game really in the run game,” junior tailback Trelon Smith said.
“We saw some things that we didn’t adjust to, and I feel like coming into this next game we’ll do a better job of adjusting and just out-physicaling these guys. I feel like we weren’t as physical as LSU was and that was a major role in it. We’ve just got to out-physical these guys this coming weekend.”
Smith, held to a season-low 28 rushing yards by LSU, is now tasked with handling the bulk of the carries after senior Rakeem Boyd opted out of the final two regular season games.
TJ Hammonds and Dominique Johnson are next on the tailback depth chart for the Razorbacks.
Smith feels he’s made strides throughout the year.
“I feel the [area] most improved is my pass blocking, my pass protection, picking up on blitzes, picking up on cornerback blitzes,” Smith said. “Just noticing where it’s coming from.”
Interestingly, the Razorbacks have five rushing touchdowns in the last two games (3 at Florida, 2 vs. LSU) after producing just two through the first six games.
Covid, health
One week after having to postpone the Missouri game due to dropping below the SEC standard of 53 available scholarship players, the Razorbacks are pointed toward much better numbers for Saturday’s game against the Tigers.
“Covid’s been kind to us this week,” Coach Sam Pittman said. “We have one more test. They tested today, so we’ll get the results back in the morning. But it’s been a good week as far as negatives and covid tests.”
Pittman was not as upbeat on the status of offensive tackle Noah Gatlin, who has missed the last three games and has spent time in concussion protocol.
“I don’t know that he’ll be ready or not,” Pittman said. “I’m concerned there. … I thought there was a good possibility early in the week. I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see there. He’s moved well and all those things, I just don’t know if he’ll be cleared or not.”
Gatlin started the first five games at right tackle and Dalton Wagner, a 12-game starter at the spot in 2019, has started the last three.
Pittman at Missouri
Coach Sam Pittman has looked back this week with fond memories of his lone season on the coaching staff at Missouri in 2000 after serving as a high school head coach in the state at Princeton (1987-88) and Trenton (1989-90).
Pittman, an assistant at nine different colleges, worked on the staff of Coach Larry Smith.
“Coach Smith, rest his soul, was such a wonderful guy,” Pittman said. “Great motivator. You know, I coached high school ball at Trenton and Princeton, Mo., and I was just so elated to go to Missouri. Certainly didn’t last as long as we wanted it to, but I loved the kids there.”
Pittman said he also frequented a restaurant in Columbia, Mo., named Chevy’s Fresh Mex during the 2000 season.
“I ate at [Chevy’s] a lot,” Pittman said. “That stood out. I think I put some weight on there at Missouri.”
Smith, formerly the head coach at Tulane, Arizona and USC, finished the last of his seven seasons at Missouri with a 3-8 record in 2000. He died in Tuscon, Ariz., in 2008.
Hog memories
Missouri Coach Eli Drinkwitz, an Alma native and Arkansas Tech graduate, was happy to share this week his most significant memories of Arkansas football while living in the state.
“Probably my biggest memory of Arkansas football was, it was...when Barry Lunney Jr. went down to Alabama and threw a roll-out pass to J.J. Meadors to win the game,” Drinkwitz said.
“I remember some of the ’98-’99 seasons with with Houston Nutt and some of the good things. [Clint] Stoerner. I’ve got some really good memories of the Arkansas Razorback football team, but obviously I’m the head coach at Mizzou now and so excited about the opportunity to go against them.”
Drinkwitz pointed out Saturday’s game will not be his first against the Razorbacks. He was on the Auburn staff during the national championship season of 2010 with Cam Newton and also the following year.
The Razorbacks lost 65-43 at Auburn in 2010, then downed the Tigers 38-14 the following year.
Burks, Hammonds
Sam Pittman said Thursday that the Razorbacks would like to get the ball in the hands of wideout Treylon Burks and tailback TJ Hammonds this week.
Burks had six touches for 94 yards against LSU, including a 65-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. Hammonds had a 51-yard catch and a 29-yard run on the same series for 80 yards on his only touches of the game.
“I think we have to get him more than six touches,” Pittman said of Burks, who has three 100-yard receiving games and two more of 90-plus yards. “A lot of times you have to force that. … I think you can throw some screens to him and things of that nature, give him the ball on some motions and give him the ball out of the backfield.
“He’s dynamic, he’s big, he’s fast. We need to get the ball 10, 12, 15 times a game if we can to him. I don’t know if we’ll ever get him that many, but I’d like to see it in his hands that many times.”
On Hammonds, Pittman said, “Yes, I believe he’s earned the right to touch the ball more. He did a nice job against LSU. He made a couple of big plays for us. He’s had a really good week and it’s been a physical week here.”
Franks ranks
Eli Drinkwitz is a fan of Arkansas grad transfer quarterback Feleipe Franks, saying earlier this week that he thought Franks was playing as well as any quarterback in the SEC outside of Alabama’s Mac Jones and Florida’s Kyle Trask, who are considered Heisman Trophy frontrunners.
“When you watch the tape, you see a guy who obviously has a command of the offense, who gets them in the right situations, makes the right decisions, does a really nice job of adding an extra dimension to the offense with his feet,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s throwing accurate balls down the field, putting them in tight windows.”
Said Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman, “We’re certainly glad that we have Feleipe. I appreciate Coach saying that about him because I believe that as well.”
Sam’s jam
The jukebox delivered to Coach Sam Pittman’s office this week, courtesy of his representative Judy Simmons Henry and her firm, Wright, Lindsey, Jennings, is a quality product, Pittman said.
“Oh yeah, it’s a super model,” Pittman said. “It’s a Rock-Ola. The Rock-Ola Fireball. It plays CDs. The music is jamming around here.”
One flag
Missouri drew one penalty in its 41-0 drilling of Vanderbilt: A personal foul on offensive tackle Zeke Powell for a chop block that wound up in a 5-yard mark off because the Tigers were on their own 10-yard line.
“We talk about performing well under pressure,” Coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “And really, when you have few penalties, that means that’s what you’re doing. It’s focus and concentration.
“So I don’t think it’s anything more than just talking about those kind of things, playing well under pressure and focus on doing your job.”
The Tigers and Razorbacks are among the least-penalized teams in the SEC. Arkansas is tied for 21st in the country with 40.8 penalty yards per game, and Missouri is 41st with 46.0 penalty yards per game.
Common ground
The Razorbacks and Tigers have only three SEC opponents in common this season, with potentially three more still to come.
Both teams are 1-2 against common opponents Florida, LSU and Tennessee.
Missouri played each of the three while they were ranked. The Tigers fell 35-12 to No. 21 Tennessee on Oct. 3, defeated No. 17 LSU 45-41 the following week in a game that was moved to Columbia, Mo., due to the threat of Hurricane Delta in south Louisiana, and lost 41-17 at No. 10 Florida on Oct. 31.
The Razorbacks’ last three games have come against those common opponents, with Arkansas downing Tennessee 24-13, falling 63-35 at No. 6 Florida and dropping a 27-24 decision to LSU on Nov. 21.
Arkansas’ final scheduled game is against No. 1 Alabama, which was No. 2 when it downed the Tigers 38-19 in Columbia, Mo., on Sept. 26. Missouri’s final two scheduled games are against Georgia and Mississippi State, the teams the Razorbacks split with to open the season.