Five Questions: Hogs-Aggies

[Trey Biddy]

Click Here for a 5 questions feature I did with AggieYell.com Publisher Mark Passwaters. Or read the copy & paste below:

Five Questions: Arkansas-Texas A&M

AggieYell.com publisher Mark Passwaters and HawgSports.com publisher Trey Biddy exchanged five questions this week regarding Saturday's big game between Arkansas and Texas A&M.

• AggieYell.com Publisher Mark Passwaters Q&A
  
  1. What are the biggest changes John Chavis has brought to the Aggie defense?

• The changes are wholesale. The read and react routine is gone for the front line; all four are supposed to be getting into the backfield. The linebackers are more aggressive and the safeties are a lot closer to the line of scrimmage. The corners play press man coverage after laying off the past three years. But, if you ask Chavis, the biggest change he's brought was restoring a sense of confidence to a group that had been battered the last couple of years. Though it's still early, the results have been considerably better than last year's so far.

• 
  2. What are your thoughts on the matchup between Arkansas' offensive line, which is tied for the national lead with zero sacks allowed in 94 pass attempts, and Texas A&M's defense, which leads the nation with 15 sacks?
  
  The Aggies plainly haven't seen a line like Arkansas' yet, but the same goes for the Razorbacks and A&M's defense, especially ends Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall. The biggest line A&M has seen was Arizona State's, and the Aggies abused it for nine sacks. Chavis believes he's got the best two pass rushing defensive ends in the nation and Garrett, who leads the country with 5.5 sacks, is simply a freak of nature. I think the odds are that A&M will get to Brandon Allen and break the streak -- the question is how many times will they get to him? That could be one of the biggest keys in this game.
  
  3. How does A&M view the game being played in Cowboys Stadium annually and what are the perceived pros and cons?
  
  From a fan's perspective (except for folks in D/FW), they hate it. They would much rather see it become a home-and-home series like other SEC games. This week it came out that AD Eric Hyman is also looking at ways to possibly get out of the contract, which was agreed to long before he arrived. The pros are pretty simple: it's easy for D/FW fans to show up and it's a nice recruiting tool in the Metroplex; the cons are equally simple: you've got a $485 million stadium sitting empty on a Saturday when it could have 102,000 people in it every other year.
  
  4. In which areas has Kyle Allen made the biggest improvements and how has Kyler Murray improved since arriving?
  
  Allen's made a lot of improvements, but the biggest one has been his patience. He was a one- or two-look quarterback in the five games he started last year and he was still getting acclimated with the offense; this year, he's using the whole field, his decisions are a lot better and he knows the entire offense. Murray is tougher to gauge, because he hasn't played as much. We knew he was an incredible athlete, and he has shown that with some amazing scrambles, but his passing is still a work in progress.
  
  5. What similarities and differences schematically can Arkansas fans expect to see from A&M's offense versus what they saw last weekend from former OC Kliff Kingsbury and Texas Tech?
  
  You'll see some similarities in the spread scheme and a lot of 4-wide sets, but A&M's offense has evolved since Kingsbury left after the 2012 season. Most of the evolution has occurred this offseason, with the arrival of new offensive line coach Dave Christensen. The Aggies are now more of a 50/50 run-pass offense, and they're running a lot of power and counter plays, not tosses to the outside or draws. They're using a lot more of the tight end and H-back, something that was non-existent until late last year. The pace and the high-quality receivers are similar; in fact, the arrival of true freshman Christian Kirk probably gives the Aggies the best receiving corps in the nation. Allen normally gets the ball out quickly, like Tech did, but he certainly has the arm and ability to go deep. One thing A&M has not done, to date, is use the middle of the field. It'll be interesting if they start doing so with Kirk and Ricky Seals-Jones this weekend.

• HawgSports.com Publisher Trey Biddy Q&A
  
  1. What have been the biggest problems Arkansas has faced on its way to a surprising 1-2 start?
  
  Arkansas has really struggled in the red zone on offense. They went just 1 of 5 against Toledo and only picked up three points in that loss. Untimely penalties have also cost them, particularly six holding calls against Toledo that all seemed to come on big plays. Then on a huge pass play against Texas Tech, Arkansas' Hunter Henry was hit with an offensive pass interference call that made a 3rd-and-2 that went for a touchdown a 3rd-and-17 that was an incomplete pass. Brandon Allen has been great between the 20s and in the first half, but he hasn't been as effective in the second half of games. Defensively, Arkansas hasn't been getting pressure on the quarterbacks. The Hogs have just one sack this season. Linebacker play has been a concern also, and the Razorbacks will start a true freshman for the second week in Dre Greenlaw.
  
  2. Last year, the Razorbacks were a run-heavy team. This year, it appears the passing game has been more effective. What's the cause of the change - is it schematic or something else?
  
  Arkansas brought in a new offensive coordinator in Dan Enos, who left his head coaching position at Central Michigan. If Arkansas goes to the line-of-scrimmage with a running play and Brandon Allen doesn't like the look of the defense, they will throw a bubble screen, so that takes up some of the runs. However, they did not do that against Texas Tech, and the philosophy under Bielema has always been to run even if they know it's coming and do it anyway. UTEP and Toledo both did everything in their power to take away Arkansas' rushing attack. Against Texas Tech, they ran the ball with more intent.
  
  3. Arkansas is dead last in the nation in sacks. What's been the issue and how might they try to apply pressure?
  
  The primary issue is they have played three teams with a really quick passing game. Toledo never took more than 2.5 seconds from snap to throw, so that has played a role. Sacks or no sacks, Arkansas has to do a better job affecting the quarterback's throws - getting him off-balance, getting in his throwing lanes, etc. The Razorbacks lost two NFL draft picks on the defensive line in Trey Flowers and Darius Philon, and that didn't help, but going into the season defensive line depth - particularly at end - was viewed as a team strength.
  
  4. What's your take on the marquee matchup, the Arkansas O-line against A&M's defensive line?
  
  I think Texas A&M has the best defensive end in the country in Myles Garrett and maybe a guy who could join him on the All-SEC first team in Daeshon Hall. Both of Arkansas' starting tackles are three-year starters and five of the top six offensive linemen are back from last season. Some believe Arkansas' slow start running the ball is a result of so much shuffling on the offensive line. Dan Skipper is a three-year starter and has started at left guard, left tackle and right tackle now. Denver Kirkland is a three-year starter and started the first two years at right guard and is now the left tackle. Both of those players should be drafted, as well as left guard Sebastian Tretola. To be honest, it's a mystery how they'll perform against A&M's ends, but there's no question this will be their biggest challenge to date.
  
  5. How important is this game to Bret Bielema and the Arkansas program?
  
  This is a huge game. Arkansas needs to separate itself from those two bad losses, and with a 0-0 record in SEC play they can approach this like it's a new season. Arkansas needs to come into this one like Texas Tech came into Fayetteville last weekend - like the opponent owes them something and they're taking it no matter what. Arkansas was in total control of the game last season before Texas A&M stole it in the fourth quarter and in overtime. It's a big game in terms of getting the team back on track and a win would stop the negativity on message boards and the airwaves and probably help recruiting. As for Bielema, this is his third year but he has a buyout over $15 million that is too expensive even several years down the road, so his job isn't at stake but a win would certainly improve the outlook for the team and for recruiting.

- See more at: https://arkansas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1806939#sthash.lAAfbFzf.dpuf

 

[HowardHog]

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