5 questions for Arkansas writer

[aubiefifty 17,487]

By James Crepea | jcrepea@al.com
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on October 21, 2016 at 7:00 AM, updated October 21, 2016 at 8:12 AM

 

 

 

No. 21 Auburn (4-2, 2-1 SEC) will host No. 17 Arkansas (5-2, 1-2 SEC) at 5 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN.

We reached out to legendary Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Bob Holt to get some insight on the Razorbacks.

You can follow him on Twitter (@BobHoltADG) for more Arkansas info.

Here are our five burning questions:

1) What makes Austin Allen so effective and has his performance been surprising to the team and coaching staff?

Holt: For a first-time starter in the SEC, Allen has shown an incredible amount of poise, especially playing against top defenses like TCU's, Texas A&M's and Alabama's. Allen's toughness and ability to take a hit — against the Aggies and Crimson Tide in particular — and still hang in the pocket and deliver accurate throws has endeared him to his teammates and coaches as well as the fans.

His talent and strong arm were obvious at Fayetteville High School, but considering he had thrown just 19 passes the previous two seasons with the Razorbacks while backing up his older brother, Brandon, it's mind-boggling to me that Austin Allen has completed 63 percent of his passes this season for 1,861 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first seven starts.

Most impressively, he led game-winning touchdown drives in the fourth quarter against Louisiana Tech and Ole Miss and led a game-tying fourth quarter drive at TCU — and caught a two-point conversion pass to boot — and then scored the winning touchdown on a run in the second overtime. Plus, he passed for 400 yards against Alabama, often on plays where the Tide knew he had to throw after Alabama had built a big lead.

Arkansas' coaches and players expressed confidence in Allen before the season — Bret Bielema named him the starter midway through spring practice — but I have to believe they've been pleasantly surprised at how fast he's come in a relatively short time as the new starter.

The key for Arkansas is keeping Allen healthy as its rebuilt offensive line continues to experience growing pains. Auburn's defense figures to offer another tough challenge in that regard.

2) Rawleigh Williams broke his neck against Auburn last season. Describe what his journey back, and now to the SEC rushing lead, has been like?

Holt: It's been a pretty incredible journey thus far.

Seeing Williams carted off on the field on a stretcher last year against Auburn, you had to wonder if he'd play again, let alone be the SEC's leading rusher this season with 785 yards.

But Williams is an incredibly upbeat guy. He has said hat once he was medically cleared to play again, he didn't have doubts about coming back. 

If Williams ever had any doubts, he kept them pretty well hidden, but I believe he genuinely was confident about his comeback simply because that's his personality.

His father is a Dallas police officer and that probably helps explain his toughness, too, mentally as well as physically.

Bielema wisely didn't have Williams take contact in the spring as a precaution, and he was tackled a few times in the fall just to make sure he'd be ready for the season, but he never showed any hesitation.

3) How is a team that so dominates time of possession allowing so many points?

Holt: That time of possession stat can be misleading.

For example, the Razorbacks had the ball for 37:07 in their 49-30 loss to Alabama, but that was impacted by the Tide returning an interception and a fumble for touchdowns.

Arkansas also has faced a lot of teams that use hurry-up offenses, so they don't hold the ball as long and at times have scored quickly while the Razorbacks have gone on lengthy drives.

4) This could be as pivotal a game for both teams as it was last year. How much did last year's game mean to the Razorbacks at the time and do you think this year will prove to be the same?

Holt: Beating Auburn was huge for Arkansas last season considering it was the start of a 6-1 closing run for the Razorbacks after a 2-4 start that included stunning home losses to Toledo and Texas Tech. To beat the Tigers in four overtimes had to make it even sweeter for Arkansas and Bret Bielema.

Winning at Auburn Saturday would be big again for the Razorbacks, but I think beating Ole Miss last week probably was more critical because it was a home game and Arkansas bounced back strong after a deflating loss to Alabama.

5) Has the Arkansas fan base embraced Bielema's brand of football now that there's been more success?

Holt: I think winning 11 of the last 14 games definitely has helped with Bielema's popularity, as it would with most coaches. 

There definitely were some questioning his blueprint after an 0-8 SEC record in 2013 in Bielema's first season at Arkansas.

But to Bielema's credit, he didn't make wholesale changes, though with the hiring of Dan Enos as offensive coordinator last season, Arkansas has improved its passing game and become more balanced.

[AUFlyer99 647]

I didn't know Rawleigh Williams broke his neck in last year's game.  Glad to see he's made a full recovery.  

[lionheartkc 6,150]

16 minutes ago, AUFlyer99 said:

I didn't know Rawleigh Williams broke his neck in last year's game.  Glad to see he's made a full recovery.  

Makes me nervous.  It would be awful if he got hurt again, against us. Arkansas players have a history of getting hurt in Auburn games.

[AU64 10,122]

Wonder if that beat writer is around to answer five questions about last night's game?

What was the impact of  AU's first offensive play on the Arky defense?

Did anything good come from the Arky players attempt at intimidation before the game started?  

What happened to the Arky OL?

Coach B is a B1G guy....will he ever be able to get his style of offense moving in the SEC?

Why was Allen in the game , and injured, so late in the game?

 

 

 

[Never2Yield 1,005]

8 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Wonder if that beat writer is around to answer five questions about last night's game?

What was the impact of  AU's first offensive play on the Arky defense?

Did anything good come from the Arky players attempt at intimidation before the game started?  

What happened to the Arky OL?

Coach B is a B1G guy....will he ever be able to get his style of offense moving in the SEC?

Why was Allen in the game , and injured, so late in the game?

 

 

 

All good questions, but love the double edged poke of question five.

[alexava 6,974]

If they have the DVR technology in Arkansas but now render it overkill?