Can we get a little stability please?
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Simply, there is not another team in college football that has had a turnaround like Arkansas, and few are playing better. “But I know where we’re at”, Bielema added. I’m talking, of course, about Ronda Rousey losing to Holly Holm. His 12 tackles for loss are also tops on the team. Here are three thoughts on Arkansas’s win. But once they get moving, it’s wise to stay outta their way. The win is Arkansas’ second straight over LSU and fourth in a row overall. One of the sacks led to the Razorbacks’ third touchdown when LSU’s defense had turned the ball over on an interception by Jamal Adams. That is irrelevant as it is clear that they aren’t the better football team regardless of talent. After the first consecutive 200-yard performance in Alabama history, it looks like Derrick Henry will not be denied Heisman Trophy.
The Rebels play their final home game of the season at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (CBS) against No. 9 LSU before travelling to Mississippi State on November 28 (6:15 p.m., ESPN).
The Razorbacks outgained the Tigers, in terms of total yards, in the first half, 255-110, including a 156-minus 3 advantage in rushing yards, while LSU held a 113-99 edge in passing yards.
Defensively, Arkansas tamed LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who had 91 yards and a touchdown, but the bulk of those yards came on one drive in the third quarter.
“It’s a time where as a coach, you just bury your head and you go to work, and you coach like there’s no tomorrow”, Miles said in rare dramatic form Monday at his weekly press luncheon, where he usually tends to downplay and gloss over things. Arkansas’ win pulled it into a three-way tie for second in the SEC West, although Arkansas owns victories over both teams with which its tied – LSU and Ole Miss.
After the second-worst home loss in his 11-year tenure, LSU coach Les Miles shook off any notion that the beatdown was a result of a hangover from last week’s loss in Tuscaloosa, instead shouldering most of the blame. The junior has scored a touchdown in six straight games, and he has a combined 10 catches for 188 yards in the last two wins at Ole Miss and LSU. It’s a harsh fall aided by a newly focused and determined Alabama defense and a Razorback squad that has gone from being an afterthought to a major threat in less than a month’s time. And that means Cameron will not be around for 2016 unless there are drastic improvements in the next two games. Where did this come from?
Any Razorback fan who can prove they believed 6-2 in the SEC was in the cards on October 1 should be awarded free season tickets forever for blind faith in coach Bret Bielema, quarterback Brandon Allen and others. If the Tigers somehow revive themselves and run the table, a 10-2 record would be a great bounce back season from last year’s 8-5 mark and less-than-prestigious Music City Bowl appearance.
Arkansas ended the game outgaining LSU, in terms of total yards, 440-330, including a 299-59 advantage on the ground, while the Tigers finished with a 271-141 edge in passing yards. He lost back-to-back to Ole Miss and Arkansas in 2008 in an 8-5 season and to Alabama and Arkansas previous year in an 8-5 season.
You can’t underplay what’s happening now. Collins, Fournette and Reed were the most important players, for various reasons. It was another subpar showing from a unit that, during the Tigers’ 7-0 start, had been labeled as one-dimensional.
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Arkansas hosts Mississippi State on Saturday before getting Missouri, again at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium, to close out the season.
