Another one slips away from Hogs
Bret Bielema meant to be encouraging when he said in the Arkansas dressing room Saturday that the Razorbacks “have a lot of football in front of us.”
Many in the increasingly fractious Arkansas fan base think time is running out for Bielema’s team. And that the referee should be counting 8-9-10 over a fallen coach, now 10-23 in Southeastern Conference games at Arkansas — and under contract through 2020.
The coach’s comment came after Texas A&M beat Arkansas for the sixth year in a row, 50-43 at Cowboys Stadium. For the third in time in four years, overtime was needed to determine a winner in this matchup of former Southwest Conference rivals, one that Arkansas has not won since Bobby Petrino walked its sideline.
Supplying historical perspective, A&M cranked out some of the best teams in college football under Homer Norton from 193843 when it last won six straight from Arkansas, which then was a Southwest Conference also-ran and generally remained one until Frank Broyles’ coming.
Fast-forward to 2017 and Arkansas is, sorry to say, treading water, or worse, in the Southeastern Conference. Even Aggie fans find it strange that Kevin Sumlin can beat Arkansas consistently with teams that keep finishing
8-5. Winning the “Hot Seat Bowl” against Bielema is no guarantee of job security for Sumlin, who had an Aggie regent calling for his head after a howling 45-44 reversal at UCLA.
Arkansas fans found cause for genuine excitement Saturday after the Razorbacks led 21-7 in the second quarter and 28-24 in the fourth. For those tired of the quarterbacking Allen brothers, redshirt freshman Cole Kelley flipped a two-yard touchdown pass to David Williams for a 14-7 advantage. The Hogs then parlayed Henre’ Tolliver’s interception into a twoyard plunge by Chase Hayden, a Week 1 star against Florida A&M but virtually ignored against TCU.
Bottom line: Arkansas could not win even with Austin Allen, returning from an early beating by the A&M defense, enjoying one of his best halves as a Razorback. The senior two-year starter has developed a rapport with Jonathan Nance, who followed a 49-yard scoring reception against TCU with a 44-yard touchdown play against A&M.
Some quarterbacks are kissed with intangibles, perhaps born so. Austin Allen is anything but lucky. Saturday’s game ended on Armani Watts’ end-zone interception off Allen after Christian Kirk went 10 yards for his third score of the day on the Aggies’ first possession of overtime. That pick will stick in memory, but after passing for 229 yards and two scores (Nance with three catches for 100 yards), Allen should not get the rap for this loss.
Not when Arkansas had worthy contenders for the goat’s horns both on defense and the not-sospecial teams.
Where were Arkansas’ linebackers when Keith Ford burst
44 yards for a 33-28 Aggie lead with 8:46 left? Where was the kick coverage on Kirk’s 100-yard return (making it 40-36 A&M) that answered Nance’s touchdown catch against double coverage for a brief Arkansas lead with 5:21 remaining.
The officials took a second-quarter touchdown away from A&M when quarterback Kellen Mond was ruled out of bounds at the 10 on an 89-yard run. Replays clearly showed Mond didn’t step
out of bounds, and the SEC issued a statement that the call was incorrect but since the whistle had blown it was a dead ball at the 10.
Good teams — and whether the Aggies are or can be one is debatable — can overcome adversity. Arkansas, it appears, will need every break to win, perhaps even against nonconference opponents New Mexico State (Saturday in Fayetteville, with good seats available) and Coastal Carolina.
No better than it protects Allen, Arkansas can’t expect to score 43 points every week, especially not against a legitimate SEC defense, And, since the Hogs haven’t played a true road game, who can imagine what horrors await a potentially fragile team at South Carolina, Alabama and Ole Miss — all in October.
Remember, Arkansas was exposed defensively and in the kicking game against Texas A&M after a week off. Saturday marked the first of 10 straight games for Bielema’s squad, a possibly weary bunch come November.
Just don’t read too much into A&M winning another Southwest Classic against Arkansas. That’s becoming as seasonal as leaves changing colors in the fall. Suffice it to say that two teams with borderline terrible defenses and restless fan bases kept spectators and TV viewers enthralled. Can we ask more of our heroes?