Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Nipping Bulldogs throw a scare into Hogs
One night short of a year from a game that sunk a coaching staff, the Arkansas Razorbacks didn’t show a lot before eventually taking care of business and coming away with a victory in The Rock, although it was a nail-biter until the Hogs scored twice in the fourth quarter to win 31-21.
A year ago Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson got hurt and Brandon Allen came in to throw a touchdown pass to make it 28-7, but the wheels came off after that as the Hogs lost to Louisiana-Monroe 34-31 in overtime.
It wasn’t known that night, but the season was all but over. The staff knew they would not be retained after a loss to a Sun Belt team at a place where the Razorbacks were considered almost unbeatable.
The Samford Bulldogs couldn’t accomplish that Saturday night, but they didn’t have any quit in them either, and it was obvious from the start they were fast and wellcoached. They had studied Arkansas’ defense and found some ways to create seams, mostly through the air.
On a night when the University of Arkansas and War Memorial Stadium honored those in the military, perhaps the Razorbacks were too cautious, too vanilla, while sticking to a game plan that was mostly run between the tackles.
No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t have shown the emotion that was demonstrated at halftime when the UA honored two former soldiers, including Adam Brown, who gave his life for his country serving as a Navy SEAL.
His wife and children were presented a framed jersey with his high school football number as pictures flashed on the big screen of the soldier, his life and his career.
Of course, War Memorial Stadium was built in memory of those who served in the military, and while the crowd roared for the veterans, it was nothing compared to the ruckus they raised for the Razorbacks, especially on third downs when — at the strategic planning of Coach Bret Bielema — they called the Hogs.
Like their team, they didn’t quit when Samford jumped out to a 21-17 lead in the third quarter.
The Hogs scored on their first three possessions and led 17-7 and appeared ready to run the FCS Bulldogs all the way back to Birmingham, Ala., but they became cautious and the Bulldogs went 24 yards after receovering an Arkansas fumble to pull within 17-14.
After Arkansas went three and out on consecutive drives, Samford drove 50 yards to take the lead and looked headed for an upset as it used a ton of dump passes underneath the coverage, which was giving the Bulldogs a huge cushion.
Most of the night Samford seemed to have a receiver open who then turned short passes into first downs. The Bulldogs also relied heavily on a safety valve, with a receiver behind the line of scrimmage, but the Hogs tightened up coverage after falling behind and stopped the Bulldogs when they nailed a screen pass for a 2-yard loss.
The Hogs came back with a grinding 75-yard drive that took 6:31 off the clock, keyed by a 13-yard reception on third-and-7 by Hunter Henry and a 21-yard run to the Samford 5 by Alex Collins. Both are true freshmen.
Jonathan Williams scored the touchdown as the crowd of 47,358 roared.
The Hogs held the Bulldogs again, and then the Razorbacks drove 74 yards on five runs, including a 55-yarder by Collins that moved Arkansas to the 14. Collins scored three plays later from the 2 for a 31-21 lead with 9:04 to play.
There would be no gambling by Bielema and Co., after that. The Razorbacks kept the chains moving and the clock running by grinding out yards.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective.
Bielema picked up his victory in The Rock, and even though it was obvious there is work to do, it was just as obvious it was always going to be a game played primarily between the tackles.