KNOCK ON WOOD : ‘Ike’ gives Hogs chance to improve
Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008
Mother Nature and Hurricane Ike 1, Texas and Arkansas 0.
That’s how the scoreboard reads for Hogs and Horns fans awaiting the latest showdown in the series’ storied history.
It’s unfortunate so many travel plans have to be changed with the postponement of the game until Sept. 27, but those adjustments amount to little compared to the lives that will changed by Hurricane Ike when it makes landfall on the Texas coast.
We can only hope and pray the storm will lose some energy before it hits sometime late Friday night or on Saturday.
But, for the two football teams, there are some gains to be had by the game’s postponement, and if there is a winner in the situation it has to be Bobby Petrino’s Arkansas team.
Like the Hogs, Mack Brown’s Longhorns can turn their attention to their next opponent, the Rice Owls, but as improved as the Owls may be this season, I doubt anyone would dispute that the Razorbacks more desperately need extra time to prepare for No. 11 Alabama than the Steers need time off before Rice.
While the Hogs are 2-0 — and that shouldn’t be forgotten — their grade for each of their performances this season can certainly be described as an “ I” for incomplete. And that’s being kind.
Arkansas seemingly made a season’s worth of mistakes in its 28-24 win over Western Illinois and 28-27 victory over Louisiana-Monroe, and those mistakes are what made those games so close.
I would argue that in terms of talent, the Razorbacks are three to four touchdowns better than either of their previous opponents, but in both games the Hogs did as much to hold themselves back as their opponents.
From the opening play of the season, the Razorbacks’ thin, inexperienced defense has played with its back against the wall because of turnovers, poor play by the special teams and the offense’s inability to take advantage of early scoring opportunities.
Likewise, the defense has hamstrung the offense by failing to get off the field on third down, and most importantly its inability to force turnovers.
Though eight quarters, the Hogs have gained zero turnovers. That not only makes them last in the Southeastern Conference in turnover ratio, but also last in the nation.
The good news is that the majority of these problems can be corrected, but the coaches and players have to do it.
The UA coaches have to get the Razorbacks on the same page with them, pinpoint the errors, correct their techniques, fundamentals and decisions and then the players must go out and execute properly on Game Day.
Thanks to Hurricane Ike, the Razorbacks have more time to iron out the kinks that have tripped them up so far this season before playing host to No. 11 Alabama on Sept. 20.
At the moment, a wide chasm seems to separate the Hogs and the Crimson Tide. It will be interesting to see how much the Razorbacks can narrow that gap during the next eight days. The Razorbacks now have the opportunity to improve this week, but if they don’t take advantage of it, the Hogs will continue to look more adept at wallowing in their own mistakes than actually playing football.
• • • Who will televise the rescheduled UA-UT matchup and the corresponding kickoff time should be announced on Monday. Chances are the game will be televised by ABC and kickoff will be at 2: 30 p. m. just as scheduled before. ABC has the right of first refusal on all Big XII games and its intraleague schedule isn’t exactly attractive on Sept. 27.
Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.
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