Razorbacks can afford ire, but not apathy

These are not like the good old days with Chad Morris.

Not even close.

In Morris’ first season the Arkansas Razorbacks were winless in SEC play and outscored by 191 points in those eight games.

In his second winless SEC season the Hogs improved to being outscored by just 190, but also had losses to San Jose State and Western Kentucky.

Sam Pittman may just be 10-19 in SEC play and staring into the eyes of Alabama and a likely 0-4 start in conference play, but they could have beaten LSU and Ole Miss.

What seems to be the biggest concern among the fans is why the offensive line isn’t better.

Before becoming a head coach Pittman’s reputation was as one of the best O-line coaches and recruiters in America.

He was once offered the offensive coach job at Alabama by Nick Saban and he helped Kirby Smart start a championship program at Georgia.

Pittman is not the O-line coach, that’s Cody Kennedy and he only has two senior starters. Which partly explains why KJ Jefferson has been sacked 20 times in the last four games, all losses.

What should be as big of a concern is penalties. Arkansas ranks 108th in penalty yards with 384 on 46 penalties. Those are averages of 64 yards and 7.8 penalties per game.

Last Saturday night in Oxford they were called for 10 penalties for 70 yards.

They had four false starts by the offensive line, two defensive holding calls, an offsides and roughing the passer.

The other two calls were an illegal snap which is usually called for moving the ball too much or snapping it before the center is set, and illegal substitution, commonly known as too many on the field.

They almost had 14 players on the field, but two raced off at the last second, one more didn’t.

This happened late in the second quarter after Ole Miss took a time out so head coach Lane Kiffin could decide if he wanted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 34-yard line.

He opted to punt but got a first down when Arkansas was flagged for the extra man. The Rebels ended up driving to the Razorback 31 but missed a 49-yard field goal attempt.

It just didn’t look good that in the sixth game of the season, after a time out, they almost had 14 players on the field, although their chances of blocking the punt should have vastly improved.

Of the three conference losses, two were to teams ranked in both coaches polls and Ole Miss moved up three spots after beating Arkansas by a touchdown.

The one nonconference loss, 38-31 to BYU, doesn’t seem quite as bad as the Cougars are 4-1 and their only loss was to a very good Kansas team.

So, no, these are not the good old days of Chad Morris, and if some of the Razorbacks Nation is upset or concerned, that’s okay.

What the program doesn’t need is apathy.

When fans quit caring they quit buying tickets and donating to the cause.

Razorback fans still care enough to complain and wonder when the drought will end.

After Alabama, Arkansas hosts Mississippi State, then an open date, at Florida before finishing with Auburn, Florida International and Missouri at home.

The Razorbacks are 20.5 point underdogs to the Crimson Tide, but after that they will have a shot at winning every game, provided of course they cut down on penalties and giving up sacks.

One other thing they need to do is not settle for field goals but find a way into the end zone.

Kicker Cam Little may be the biggest weapon they have — he leads the team in scoring with 48 points on 9-10 field goals and 21-21 extra points — but they need more extra points.