HawgBeat - After watching the film: Western Carolina game
HawgBeat provides a quarter-by-quarter breakdown of what we saw on film from Arkansas' win over Western Carolina.
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Head coach Sam Pittman told reporters ahead of Saturday's game against Western Carolina that he wanted his team to play their best ball against "non-logo" teams. While there were some issues, Pittman's Razorbacks took care of business the way they should in a 56-13 win Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
I've gone back and studied the tape — not every individual play, sorry — and I went quarter-by-quarter to talk about the things that stood out to me. After watching nearly every spring practice and every fall camp practice, it was nice to finally see the team hitting a true opponent.
Let's be real, Western Carolina never stood a chance against Arkansas. But the Catamounts did some things right and they exposed some weaknesses that the Hogs now have a chance to improve on.
Some of the little details go unnoticed during the live action, so it's always good to go back and study the tape and see what led to the outcome on big plays, touchdowns, turnovers and more. With that said, here's what I saw after watching the tape from Arkansas-Western Carolina....
Note: It's unrealistic for me to write about every individual player and play, so I apologize if I missed anyone doing something impressive. To give your thoughts, visit The Trough premium message board today!
First Quarter
Offensively, the first quarter was a struggle trying to get anything going in the run game. That's a product of the offensive line not getting a push against an FCS team, which is pretty concerning that it lasted the whole game.Arkansas totaled just 105 rushing yards on 36 total carries for a team average of 2.9 yards per rush. On the flip side, the Catamounts ran 30 times for 64 yards (2.1 yards per rush), so the Razorbacks' defensive line did a good job.
Pass blocking went pretty well for the Arkansas o-line, though. There was really just one play that should've been a sack int he first quarter, but it wasn't because Western Carolina brought a safety free and he bounced off KJ Jefferson around the 6:40 mark. Jefferson scrambled and completed a pass on the run.
I was particularly impressed with the pass blocking of Patrick Kutas at right tackle not just in the first quarter, but throughout the game. There was one sack on Jefferson that was a result as a pass rusher coming free from the right side, but I don't blame that play on Kutas.
Hudson Clark had back-to-back big plays out of the HOG (nickel) beginning at the 3:56 mark in the first quarter.
On the first play, he chipped the running back trying to get to the quarterback, but he recognized the screen pass and got out to clean a missed tackle by Jordan Crook behind the line of scrimmage. On the next play, he read the quarterback's eyes and quickly dropped back about 12 yards to position himself for the first interception of the day.
An important part of Clark's interception was the pass rush of Pittsburgh transfer John Morgan, who really impressed me Saturday.
Freshman Jaylon Braxton got in at corner late in the first quarter and gave up a big catch over the middle that put the Catamounts in Arkansas territory. He made up for it by tipping a 3rd and 11 pass in the red zone to force a field goal.
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