Vanilla Saturday
Hogs ride run game after Allen goes down
FAYETTEVILLE — Bret Bielema is a believer that adversity toughens a team.
If that’s the case, the Arkansas Razorbacks added plenty of gristle Saturday.
Arkansas leaned heavily on its rushing attack, especially after losing quarterback Brandon Allen with a shoulder injury in the first quarter, and beat Southern Miss 24-3 before an announced crowd of 63,067 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins both exceeded the 100-yard mark for a third consecutive game as the Razorbacks went heavy on the run game with backup quarterback AJ Derby at the helm. They even introduced a Wildcat package with big back Kiero Small taking direct snaps — before and after Allen left the game.
“We just wear some people down,” Bielema said. “I don’t know if a lot of people want to play four quarters of football the way we do.”
Arkansas improved to 3-0 heading into its first road game next Saturday at Rutgers. Southern Miss (0-3) lost its 15th consecutive game, the longest losing streak in the FBS.
“Obviously you’re going to have to score more than three points to give yourself a chance,” Southern Miss Coach Todd Monken said.
Williams broke open the low-scoring game with his 45-yard touchdown burst midway through the third quarter to put Arkansas on top 17-3. The sophomore finished with 116 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Collins put his name in the SEC record book, becoming the first conference player to run for 100 yards in his first three games with his 115-yard effort. Collins, who capped the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter, is the first back in the NCAA to rush for 100 yards in his first three games since Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson did it in 2004.
“I’m honored by that, and I appreciate it,” Collins said. “My offensive line, I have to give credit to them first.”
Arkansas’ defense allowed a 27-yard field goal by Corey Acosta after the Golden Eagles reached first-and-goal at the 2 early in the second quarter, but it didn’t give up anything else.
Defensive end Chris Smith racked up three sacks and linebacker Jarrett Lake had 13 tackles, including a stop on a fake field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, in his return from a one-game suspension.
Southern Miss managed 254 total yards against an Arkansas defense that came into the game allowing 252.5 per game.
“We saw as a defense, once our quarterback went down, we felt like it was our job, or our opportunity, to make a statement,” Lake said. “Just to show everybody, even if our offense doesn’t score any more points, we’re still going to do our job in keeping them out of the end zone. But our offense pulled through, scored points, and we did our job as well.”
Arkansas had 327 total yards, 163 less than it averaged in the first two games, and had to work hard to establish its running game after Southern Miss packed the box after Allen’s injury.
“Our offensive line stepped up amazing and the running backs did great, so that took a lot of pressure off myself,” Derby said.
Allen went to the X-ray room adjacent to the visitor’s locker room after landing on his right shoulder on his 5-yard touchdown dive, which opened the scoring at the 3:52 mark of the first quarter on Arkansas’ third possession.
Allen made the long walk all the way down the sideline to the locker room in the second quarter and wore a sling on his right arm while wearing a headset on the sideline in the second half. Bielema said the initial report appeared to indicate a bruised AC joint in Allen’s shoulder.
Arkansas offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said he kept things relatively basic for Derby, who took his first Arkansas snap at the 1:59 mark of the first quarter.
Derby settled in after a shaky start, which included a muffed Shotgun snap that led to a 19-yard loss, to run the Arkansas offense. Derby completed 4 of 6 passes for 36 yards and had a chain-moving 10-yard scramble on a second-quarter drive that led to a field goal.
“He’s a good quarterback,” said Small, who had 21 rushing yards and 43 yards total offense. “He makes all the checks that he [Allen] makes. I knew that he had a grip on the game plan and was sort of just getting his nerves.”
Arkansas called 41 runs and eight passes after Derby entered, and it gained 180 of its 216 total yards on the ground behind Derby.
“Unfortunately we didn’t put them in position to change their game plan, to force them to do something they didn’t want to do,” Monken said. “That’s the key: Put pressure on their play-caller and their players to make plays at critical times. At no time did they feel that.”
Southern Miss quarterback Alan Bridgford, who had been averaging 299 passing yards per game, completed 17 of 33 passes for 133 yards. Bridgford was intercepted twice, first by defensive end Trey Flowers, who floated back with a tight end on a hot route and made a diving interception; the second interceptions came when cornerback Will Hines hauled in a deep ball late in the second quarter.
The Golden Eagles, who ranked last in the FBS with 42.5 rushing yards per game, sprung Jalen Richard for 94 rushing yards on their way to a season-best 119 yards on the ground.