Arkansas football continues its 2024 season against Alabama-Birmingham in just four days at Razorbacks Stadium in Fayetteville, and Blazers head coach Trent Dilfer spoke to the media Monday to preview the matchup.
UAB opened its season with a 41-3 win over FCS program Alcorn State, but dropped its Week 2 matchup against LA-Monroe, 32-6. Against the Warhawks, quarterback Jacob Zeno completed 22-of-32 passes with an interception, and running back Lee Beebe Jr. carried the ball 14 times for 62 yards.
Last season, UAB finished with a 4-8 (3-5 AAC) overall record that included wins over North Carolina A&T, South Florida, Florida Atlantic and Temple. The Blazers did sport the 18-best total offense in the nation (450.0 yards per game), which was good enough to score 21 points at No. 1 Georgia and versus Memphis.
This will mark the second meeting between the two teams, as Arkansas leads the series 1-0. The last meeting came back on Oct. 25, 2014, when Arkansas secured a 45-17 win over the Blazers in Fayetteville.
Here's everything Dilfer had to say about head coach Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks:
On Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green:
Dilfer: "Tremendous player. Tremendous athlete. You know, it was the COVID year in Elite 11, so we only got to see him from a virtual standpoint. But we, as an Elite 11 staff, we thought the world of him as a person, as a player. Was successful at Boise (State). Totally understandable why he's with Bobby (Petrino).
"He's got everything, you know what I mean? I didn't watch a lot of Sunday football, but I know the guys playing on Sunday, and he looks like one of them. He can throw with the best of them, he can read defenses, he's athletic. He's got physical confidence because of his skill set. He's poised. He's got everything, so (a) tremendous challenge.
"I mean, we're going to play an SEC team that's loaded with one of the greatest offensive minds that's ever coached football, at any level. With a very talented quarterback. So, you put all that together, and the challenge is immense, and the quarterback makes it that much more immense."
On offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino:
Dilfer: "Puppet master. Like he's consistently been a puppet master offensively for years. One, he gets the right pieces. He knows what his offense needs from a skillset standpoint, and he gets them. Why wouldn't you go play for Bobby? He's got a track record of putting up massive numbers and getting guys to the NFL. So, it's hard not to go play for him if you're a skill player.
"Then, once you get there, he demands so much of your skillset, including your mind. Because he wants to be the puppet master, he is the puppet master. He'll sit there, he knows the weakness of every defense and he's going to call a play because he's got an arsenal call. He's got a play that attacks your weakness. He does a lot like what we would like to do, we haven't been able to do it yet, but he makes you play eating your soup left-handed.
"He's constantly putting you in a position of weakness and where you're uncomfortable. If you're trying to play a one-high defense, he's got every one-high beater. If you're trying to play a certain front, he's got every front-beater. If you're trying to take away surface players, he'll add a surface player. If you're trying to play a two-high shell, he's going to attack you every which way. Like, he's got an answer for everything you got.
"So, he's Mike Martz-ish in my list of innovative, creative, aggressive, attacking play callers that I've ever seen. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say he's on the Mount Rushmore of college football offensive coaches."
On the approach of playing Arkansas after a disappointing loss:
Dilfer: "I think all of this is important. But I don't know if it's paramount. I think this is one of the things that I want our building to understand, that all of what you just asked is an important category. Are they going to have a more intense week of practice? Probably. Is their messaging going to be, 'We got to get back on track'? Probably. Are they going to find things to address that they got to get better at? Most likely.
"Are they going to feed off their crowd because they're at home coming off a loss on the road? Most likely. At the end of the day, does that matter more than your ability to go execute? Does that matter more than your ability to go find something inside of you that's going to allow you to think clearly in the chaos? I don't think it does. I think you have to, again, you have to recognize the challenge. You have to recognize that they are going to need to bounce back from and be motivated to bounce back from.
"But, it can't take away from your ability to maximize this week. It's amazing how much young people can change in one week, right. So, the challenge for us is our young people, and our old people too. Me. We need to change better (laughter) in one week and we got to make sure we're using this time to become a better football team and not worry about what's going on on their end.
"I think that's the biggest thing I've recognized in college football, is so much talk is about them. Whoever them is, and it distracts you from us and in my football life, the best iterations of teams are the ones that are completely invested in us. Like, let's control us. We can't control them. Let's become a better us and see where that takes us."
