Based on the Razorbacks’ play last week, I’m not sure if Arkansas is up to the challenge of defeating TCU at Forth Worth just yet. The Hogs dominated the trenches during the first half and held a 13-0 halftime lead.
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Yes, the Razorbacks have improved each year under Bielema: from 3-9 in 2013, to 7-6 in 2014 and 8-5 last year.
“I told him it wasn’t that amusing”, Patterson said. And Bielema was still coaching at Wisconsin when TCU finished its undefeated 2010 season with a Rose Bowl victory over the Badgers. Strutting into his postgame news conference following Arkansas’ thrilling 41-38 double overtime win at No. 15 TCU, he plopped down into his chair with the giddy expression of a child who just slipped his vegetables under the table to the family dog. The offense works to score but also manage the clock, keeping the defense off the field as much as possible.
Can the Arkansas Razorbacks put up enough points to hop the Horned Frogs of TCU? One of those losses was an embarrassing 16-12 loss in Little Rock, Arkansas, to unranked Toledo a year ago.
All that and more on this week’s first episode of Going Ham. Williams came in as the No. 1 overall Juco wide-receiver in the nation. “You don’t play any basketball”, TCU coach Gary Patterson said.
TCU head coach Gary Patterson signals from the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arkansas on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Now the No. 24 Razorbacks (2-0), winners of eight of their last nine games, are looking ahead for a change.
The victory snapped TCU’s 14-game winning streak at Amon G. Carter Stadium and knocked the Horned Frogs out of the top 25.
That was about the only thing the Hogs wanted to be slow Saturday night.
Something will have to give, and whatever is given will likely be dictated by defense, and just like their offenses, the Hogs and Frogs’ defenses schemes couldn’t be more different. Seven days later, the script has been flipped. The Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and now the Horned Frogs have early non-conference defeats on the season.
Quote to note: “We are not going to take them [Arkansas] lightly and we look forward to the challenge”, James McFarland said. He won’t hesitate to target Arkansas’ secondary, so that group needs a demonstrably better effort than what we witnessed vs. the Bulldogs.
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The sophomore running back ran with determination, allowing Arkansas to control the tempo and impose its will on a TCU defense that wasn’t strong up front early. You can findhis historical college football performance here, and you can subscribe to his service here. Nonetheless, the Frogs have what it takes to overcome the adversity that stands in their way. The offense gave up no turnovers, the defense forced two of them and they only had one penalty, bringing a huge run by Williams back for negative yardage to TCU’s three for 40 yards. But if the game is as close as the line and the analytics study suggests, it should be entertainingly close. Jeremy Sprinkle admitted this week that he didn’t have the proper spacing on his route on Allen’s second-quarter interception against Louisiana Tech, resulting in an extra defender being in the area of Allen’s intended target Drew Morgan.
