When Arkansas head Bret Bielema arrived in Fayetteville from Wisconsin, he brought with him a West Coast offense that fixated on a power rushing attack. He immediately built an offensive line that ranked as the biggest in the conference and that by last season was the biggest in the country and larger than that of many NFL teams. He recruited four star Alex Collins to join sophomore Jonathan Williams, both of whom were powerful runners at over 200 pounds who could take a pounding and give on in return. He had multiple tight ends on the roster and given a dearth of wideouts it was common for the Razorbacks to use 22 personnel (two tight ends, two backs) quite frequently.

A&M defensive end Myles Garrett will be looking to exploit his athleticism against Arkansas' bigger offensive tackles

As a result, even in 2013 when the Hogs finished 3-9, Arkansas ranked third in rushing yardage per game in the run heavy SEC and averaged 5.28 yards per carry. They ranked fifth in rushing in the conference last season, scored 31 rushing touchdowns, and held the ball eight minutes a game more than their opponents. They wore people down even when they weren’t winning games with their big line and ability to keep their backs fresh. Their defense faced just 63 plays a game which kept them rested and also kept scoring opportunities down which meant that even while losing his 14 SEC games Bielema’s teams rarely got blown out and stayed in games.

However, the Hogs didn’t always score enough points to win game either and in the off season Bielema brought in former Central Michigan head coach Dan Enos as his new offensive coordinator. Enos doesn’t do things much differently than his predecessor as he uses power concepts and a fullback while trying to be more unpredictable in his play calling and enhance the downfield passing game. There’s very little misdirection in the running game as most of it incorporates zone blocking (toss, inside zone, outside zone, delay draw) or multiple people pulling. He reduces his formations whereby you have the offensive line, tight ends, and wideouts all aligned within the hashes.

Even so, things began unraveling even before the season started. Running back Jonathan Williams was lost for the season with a foot injury in fall camp. Williams and Collins’ physical running styles and the ability to switch out with each other meant that they could hit gaps with power and burst in the fourth quarter and even when the offensive line was struggling to move people in the running game. Collins also was ill prior to the Toledo game and so that dynamic is now missing from the offense.

Moreover, worse was to come as wideout Keon Hatcher broke his foot in the Toledo game. Hatcher was the proven one deep threat at receiver even though he was inconsistent at running routes and catching the ball. Two other receivers were lost to injury as well. Tight end Chris Henry has proven to be one of the best tight ends in the country with his size, ability to read coverages, and receiving skills. However, he’s it right now among the receiving corps in terms of quality. It’s not like Arkansas was able to stretch the field last season anyway but that ability has pretty much vanished at this point in time.

However, the most shocking aspect of Arkansas’ offense in comparison to last season has been the play of the offensive line. For all of their size, it’s been a unit that has been noticeably less effective in the run game even though they returned four starters from last season. The Razorbacks are averaging 4.75 yards per rush which ranks ninth in the SEC even though they have yet to face a conference opponent yet. In contrast, they averaged over five yards a pop in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

In 2014, Arkansas would face eight and nine man fronts designed to stop the run and even then Arkansas would find a way to crank out 150 yards a game against most opponents. They prefer to run behind 6 foot 10, 331 pound right tackle Dan Skipper, right guard Frank Ragnow, center Mitch Smothers, and on some plays pull 334 pound guard Sebastian Tretola to that side. In addition, you’ve got 250 pound fullbacks and tight ends providing additional leverage. On paper, that size should be formidable; in reality, they’ve found it difficult to get much push as defenders are doing a better job of staying low, winning pad level, or avoiding blocks. More front seven defenders are getting penetration, especially on early downs. Isolation and edge blocks don’t get made.

As a result, Arkansas’ backs are hesitating or being redirected before they get to the line of scrimmage rather than hitting a hole with momentum. That precludes them winning sufficiently on first down to set up manageable second and short or medium situations. This is evidenced by the fact that Arkansas has averaged 36 rushing attempts a game in 2015 after averaging 43 of them in 2014 and 40 per game in 2013. In addition, they’re noticeably less effective in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on just 36% of their opportunities as opposed to 64% in 2014 and 60% in 2013. A dominant offensive line and backs is supposed to enhance your abilities to score touchdowns which is important for a team that plays a style with fewer possessions and opportunities to score points. Raleigh Williams III looked pretty good in his time last week at running back and he's expected to carry a much bigger share of the running game this week to take some of the load off of Collins.

Quarterback Brandon Allen has been considered something of a game manager since he emerged as a starter his sophomore year. He doesn’t have a great arm but he was a good decision maker (particularly as a junior) and generally mobile enough to avoid the rush when he had to move around. He’s being asked to carry out fakes and hit people down the field rather than drop off the ball to his tight ends. Arkansas’ offensive line hasn’t allowed a sack and they’ve generally been good with their punch and footwork which has bought time for Allen to hold the ball and deliver it to his outside receivers. He’s generally been successful at that as Hatcher was averaging 15 yards a reception, Jared Corneilius was averaging 21 yards a reception, and Allen was averaging 15 yards a completion. However, Hatcher and Corneilius are both gone for the season with injuries and now the Hogs will be starting youngsters Jojo Robinson and Kendrick Edwards who have all of three receptions between them. Allen still has Henry at tight end who reads coverages well and has great hands. Even so, a team that had difficulty backing people out of the box now faces being far less able to do that than ever before. That in turn puts more pressure on Allen who’s thrown a pick in each of his last two games.

A&M defensive ends Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall should be able to get upfield versus the Hogs although there’s times that Arkansas’ tackles will get their hands on them and push them around. A&M’s defensive tackle rotation should also get upfield or at least hold its own physically. Texas A&M’s linebackers and safeties are probably the key to the game because there’s been times this season where their run fits, taking on blocks, and open field tackling have been an issue. However, they got a glimpse of a team that used three man surfaces with tight ends and H back/fullbacks in Nevada and so they should probably be better prepared for that look this week, particularly in terms of closing down gaps and bouncing things to the outside.

Cornerbacks Brandon Williams and De’Vante Harris will be matched up against newcomers at receiver who will be hard pressed to be muscled at the line of scrimmage. Their biggest adjustment will probably be playing almost as safeties when Arkansas uses multiple tight ends with one wideouts or reduced formations. They will also have to have an understanding of run fits outside the tackles and tight ends, be able to make one on stops, and be physical in coverage against those tight ends. In addition, Arkansas will probably try to take some shots down the field if for no other reason than to try to back A&M off the line of scrimmage.

Overall, Arkansas is currently hard pressed to generate any big plays considering their injuries at the skill positions and they’ll be counting heavily on newcomers to help carry the load this week. The decline of their offensive line in the run game has negatively impacted them as well although their pass blocking has improved. The Hogs are going to find it very difficult to score points unless A&M’s interior defense from the tackles to the safeties doesn’t play well. There will probably be times Saturday when Arkansas moves the ball due to their emphasis on the run game and A&M’s technical issues on defense. However, they’ve scored just 36 points in their last two games and it’s unlikely that a 20 point outing is going to be good enough to beat the Aggies this weekend.

