Don’t be surprised when it comes to Leach

Sam Pittman and defense coordinator Barry Odom have to prepare the Arkansas Razorbacks for the unexpected Saturday when they travel to Starkville to face Mississippi State.

While it seems obvious State head Coach Mike Leach will stick with his “Air Raid” offense, obvious is seldom the way Leach thinks.

Sure, K.J. Costello burned LSU for 623 yards and five touchdowns on 36-of-60 passing.

No doubt Arkansas’ head coach noticed the guy who torched the Hogs on the ground last year, Kylin Hill, ran only seven times for 34 yards. Hill had 234 yards on 21 carries with 3 touchdowns in that 54-24 romp in Fayetteville.

On Saturday Hill had more

catches, eight, than runs.

Is Leach capable of flipping the switch and have Hill run more? Absolutely.

Last year, the Razorbacks used three quarterbacks against the Bulldogs, something not unusual by that point in the season.

They were a combined 9-of-24 passing for 101 yards with 1 interception. John Stephen Jones threw the only touchdown pass of the game for the Hogs.

This time around the Razorbacks have an established quarterback in Feleipe Franks, who had a decent debut against one of the top defenses in the country.

A lot of talk this week centered around Leach crawling up on an old wagon and telling Mississippi State fans there’s plenty of room.

Knowing people such as Ray and Debbie Dillon, Michael Marion and dozens of others, Bulldog fans are not quick to jump off the bandwagon.

They are realistic and loyal through the best and worst of times.

Of course, State’s 44-34 win at LSU — the defending national champs who won in

Starkville a year ago 36-13 — was one of the best times in recent history.

Someone found an old wagon — one of those big ones with wooden spoke wheels — and Leach had some fun. He said that the wheels weren’t locked when he was getting on, and the wagon started rolling.

He had to be an athlete, he said, to get aboard.

It wasn’t a bad message to invite the bell ringers on the bandwagon, just didn’t seem necessary. Especially during a season when attendance is limited to about 23% capacity.

Leach was pretty entertaining during his Monday news conference. When asked about mostly not wearing a mask on the sideline, he deferred to the reporter and asked for tips about wearing a mask.

He also said after a while the mask starts to smell bad, and then you realize it is your breath.

History says Leach is charming when he is winning. History also says State has some great fans.

Earlier this week, Georgia’s Kirby Smart announced quarterback transfer JT Daniels has been cleared to play. Daniels tore his ACL and MCL last year at Southern Cal.

Smart is keeping up his previous act and and refusing to announce a starter for this week’s critical game with Auburn.

Smart was anything but when he went with redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis against Arkansas.

With Arkansas leading 7-2 in the second quarter, Mathis was pulled for slightly undersized Stetson Bennett, who is generously listed at 5-11.

Bennett would play until late in the fourth quarter, when Mathis was sent back in to get more game experience.

Bennett completed 20 of 29 passes for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also rushed five times for 20 and had a two-point conversion.

Maybe — not for sure, though — Smart came away from the Razorback game realizing it is not the size of the Bulldog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the Bulldog.