Enos says belief not wavering

FAYETTEVILLE — Bret Bielema and the Arkansas Razorbacks’ coordinators said motivation won’t be an issue when they take on No. 1 Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“If you don’t believe you’ll win each week, I don’t want to coach them,” offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. “There isn’t anyone in that room that doesn’t feel they can win every game they step into, and this one isn’t any different.

“When you’re a competitive athlete, that never crosses your minds. No one I have ever coached has gone into a game thinking they couldn’t win.”

Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said coaches always talk about the opportunity available in high-profile games.

“A phrase that’s often said, ‘If you can’t get excited about a game like this, you probably don’t have a pulse,’ ” Rhoads said. “Our guys know what’s at stake, and it’s on the road in a great environment.

“Is it hostile? Sure. But it’s a great environment and they get the challenge of playing the No. 1 team in the country. When she kicks off, it’ll be zero to zero and one of two teams will walk away with the victory.”

The defending SEC champion Crimson Tide are a 30-point favorite.

“It’s not the first time we’ve seen this kind of situation,” Bielema said. “I think our first couple wins here, the odds were decidedly against us in those situations. And we always kind of poked fun at it afterwards.

“It’s not the first time they’ve seen this number or this much percentage of odds against them by the experts. The good news is every game is a chance to play your best, and that’s what we’re going to try to do on Saturday.”

No doubt

A reporter asked Bret Bielema if any doubt was forming in his mind over whether he can turn the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville into a consistent winner.

“It’s a great question,” Bielema said. “We’ve been on a steady ship trying to build this thing up. We were going to be at the highest win total a year ago and lost two games at the end of the year that were very frustrating and haven’t been

able to get on track yet.

“We’ve battled a lot with our injuries and new players, new faces this year that we haven’t gotten over the hump. But there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll get it to where it needs to be.”

Later in his news conference, Bielema talked about what gives him hope that the team can reverse its course.

“If anyone asks what gives you hope … I told our guys on Sunday night if I’ve ever been around a team that can change their path in a very short fashion, it’s these guys right here, right now,” Bielema said. “It’s not like they’re a million miles away.

“They’ve lost an overtime game. They lost a game against TCU that was right

All times Central

BYU at Mississippi State, 11 a.m. South Carolina at Tennessee, 11 a.m. Auburn at LSU, 2:30 p.m. Vanderbilt at Ole Miss, 2:30 p.m. Texas A&M at Florida, 6 p.m. Arkansas at Alabama, 6:15 p.m. Missouri at Georgia, 6:30 p.m.

down to the wire, and now we had a third quarter that got completely out of control.

“I get it. Everyone is going to have commentary. I get it. But they really, truly are a team that is not very far away from being where they need to be.”

Tube talk

Arkansas’ home game against Auburn on Oct. 21 has been selected for a kickoff at either 6:15 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. The earlier kickoff would be broadcast on ESPN and the later kickoff would be on the SEC Network.

Hogs vs. No. 1

Arkansas will play a No. 1-ranked team for the 23rd time Saturday at Alabama.

The Razorbacks are 4-18 against No. 1 teams, including 0-5 against the Crimson Tide.

Arkansas’ last victory against a No. 1 team came in the 2007 regular-season finale in a 50-48 tripleovertime victory at LSU in Coach Houston Nutt’s final game.

Alabama is playing its 81st game as the No. 1 team and is 69-11 in those games, including 50-6 under Coach Nick Saban.

Alabama’s last loss as No. 1 came in last year’s College Football Playoff championship game in a 3531 loss to Clemson.

1 on 1

Arkansas played more man coverage than it had been earlier in the season, opting to blitz more frequently against South Carolina’s much-maligned offensive line.

The blitzing pressure forced several hurried throws from Jake Bentley, most of them incomplete, early in the game.

“Arkansas did a great job of mixing it up,” Bentley said. “What we saw on film and what they did in the game was a lot different, so it took us awhile to adjust.”

The Gamecocks began to make hay with the man coverage in the second quarter and sporadically for the rest of the game.

“We went in today wanting to take advantage of those one-on-one shots,” Bentley said. “It’s just winning those one on ones.”

The Razorbacks forced errant deep throws or broke up long passes five times through the first three series.

Arkansas cornerback Kamren Curl also had one of his three pass breakups on third and 10 from the Arkansas 31 late in the second quarter, leading to a missed 49-yard field goal.

But the Gamecocks drew a pass interference call on a fade route against Curl late in the first half to put the ball at the Arkansas 13.

“You can’t let that type of stuff faze you,” Arkansas safety Santos Ramirez said. “Kam had good coverage. I disagree with the pass interference call.”

Bentley connected with Bryan Edwards for an 18-yard score with four seconds left before halftime after a South Carolina penalty.

“When we have Bryan with a one-on-one matchup in the red zone, I like it any day against anyone,” Bentley said.