The Arkansas Razorbacks started the season predicted to finish sixth in the SEC West.
By Matt Zemek
The team picked to finish seventh is the team they’re playing this week, the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Razorbacks surged in September with wins over Texas and Texas A&M, but then ran into the buzzsaw that is Georgia and then lost a one-point thriller against Ole Miss. After that, the Razorbacks lost to Auburn at home. With LSU and Alabama on the horizon, a win over Mississippi State would give the Razorbacks a very good chance of finishing ahead of the Bulldogs in the division. Let’s see what they need to do
1 – Bait Will Rogers into mistakes and pounce
Defensive coordinator Barry Odom has done a fairly good job with the Arkansas defense, but he — like the rest of the team and the coaching staff — lost ground in October after the stellar September. Odom has to bring his A-game against Mike Leach and the Mississippi State offense. Washington defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake used to love playing against Leach and Washington State in the Apple Cup because he knew what they were going to do, and all he had to do was coach his guys to stop it. Odom would love to get into that kind of comfort zone versus Leach. He will likely want to bring pressure on Will Rogers and force him into bad decisions. It will be a priority to attempt to disguise coverages so that Rogers thinks he has a man open when the safeties are, in fact, spying on him the whole time. Rogers is a mistake-prone quarterback, and Odom is a good enough defensive coordinator to punish Rogers for his mistakes.
2 – Know what can hurt… and know how to avoid it
There are benefits and problems involved in playing against Mike Leach. Opponents know exactly what he’s going to bring to the field. Leach’s players are drilled day in and day out on their assignments within the Air Raid offense. They find ways to thrive within his structured system. If you’ve seen one Mike Leach game, you’ve seen them all. Similar to Paul Johnson and his triple-option, Leach doesn’t need a play card because he knows his offense so well. If Odom can drill his players to not allow yards after the catch and stay home in their responsibilities, the Razorback defense should be fine. It’s not as though he has to plan for a running game.
3 – K.J. Jefferson has to evolve
Jefferson is a unique and talented athlete. Most players his size aren’t as quick or shifty as he is. The problem with Jefferson seems to be twofold. The most noticeable concern for Arkansas is not Jefferson himself, so much as the unwillingness of the coaching staff to trust him as a passer. In the game against Georgia, coach Sam Pittman let him throw the ball a total of only 13 times. Jefferson has played several games this season in which he has thrown fewer than 20 passes. He has also been sacked eight times this year. Jefferson has to take the next step if he wants to thrive within the SEC, and the coaching staff has to give him more freedom; the two points are intertwined.
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