FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas and Mississippi State will take the field Saturday both looking for the same thing....their first win in SEC play.
Sam Pittman has seen his team lose five games in a row including four SEC contests, all on the road except Texas A&M that was played in Arlington, Texas. On the SEC teleconference Wednesday the host said Arkansas will host Mississippi State and that pleased Pittman.
"I like how you said ‘the Hogs will host,’" Pittman said. "We haven’t hosted anybody for a long time, so we’re very excited to play in front of our fans and play a very, very good Mississippi State team. Well-coached, very aggressive team. But we’re excited to be back home. Have to get ready for an 11 a.m. start, but so grateful that we get to play in front of our fans."
Much has been said about Mississippi State's offense known for the Air Raid when Mike Leach was the head coach, but the Bulldogs have a very experienced pair of linebackers who could make it hard on KJ Jefferson and the Hogs offense Saturday. Jay Johnson leads the Bulldogs with 66 tackles and has four sacks, two interceptions and pair of forced fumbles. Nathaniel White has 57 tackles, 5.5 sacks, an interception and one forced fumble.
"I think a lot," Pittman said of State's aggression on defense. "I think they’re a big concern, well, I know they’re a big concern for us. I think coach puts them at the point of what he thinks the attack is going to be. They’re really fine. They’re two outstanding linebackers. But I think they really showcase their abilities by what they’re doing on defense. Obviously they do a really fine job with all their movements and things of that nature, but they’re going to showcase those two guys because they’re very, very talented and very physical."
Pittman said his offense may have to do some things different against the Bulldogs.
"Well, we’re probably going to have to throw it a little bit more, to be honest with you," Pittman said. "This is a feast or famine type of defense. Not famine, but they’re very aggressive on first down, so we’ve got to figure out how to, just like last week…we went in saying if we got positive yards on first down, we hung the moon. Didn’t matter the yardage. It was we get positive yards, now we’re in manageable situations. I think it’s a little bit alike against these guys, too. We’ve got to protect it up, we’ve got to move the pocket and we’ve got to throw and catch. There are some runs that obviously we like against the front, but with all the movement and our experience up front, we have to do something different than turn around and hand it off between the A gaps, because they’re piling them all in there."
Pittman also was asked about the Mississippi State offensive line. They too are adjusting to a new offense since Zach Arnett hasn't completely used the Air Raid offense like Leach.
"They’re aggressive," Pittman said. "I really like their center. Their two tackles are big and very, very physical. They’ve had some really good players at tackle in the past. These guys are going to be like those guys. I know they had a first rounder and things. But I see good aggressiveness. They’re different than what they’ve been in the past because they’re running … even though they had great running stats a year ago and the time before when Coach Leach was there.
"It’s just different schematics. They’re running more tight end oriented offenses. More dotted the I in the “home” position than what they have before. So to me their offensive line is sort of a little bit like ours too because of the non-fast pace they’re being tested a little bit more in a schematic, mike-point, not necessarily a zone read type of offense. Of course unless the other quarterback is in there (which he will be). But I see them learning. I think they’re a lot like us as well in that category. Very aggressive at the tackles. I like their offensive line. They play very hard."
Pittman was asked about the job Arnett has done leading the Bulldogs to a 3-3 record though 0-3 in SEC.
"I think he’s done a really good job," Pittman said. "He’s been hit with injuries, now, he has. He’s trying to take it to a new offense, and obviously, he’s still working with the defense, but he was calling it before … I’m sure it’s a little bit different. But there are a lot of similarities in what they’re doing now and what they did last year defensively. …. I have a lot of respect for him. I had a lot of respect for him when he was a D-coordinator. I do think if they’ll stay with him that he’ll bring a tough — that’s what they’re going to bring in here — a tough, physical team. But I think a lot of his … I don’t think they’ve had problems, but a lot of their situation has come from injuries. Some of their best players have been out."
The Bulldogs are using two different quarterbacks. They returned Will Rogers, but he has battled injuries. Mike Wright has played as well. Rogers has completed 105-of-171 passes for 1,275 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. Wright has completed 8-of-11 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. Wright also has 20 carries for 138 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
"He throws better than I want him to," Pittman said of Wright. "He can throw the football. He’s fast. Obviously, they’ll run him with run-designed plays for him. Not just read plays where he can have the opportunity to keep it. Run a lot of fly sweeps with him, with the opportunity to pitch or keep. Right now, they’re reading the defensive end, and allowing him to run or hand it off. Running the nakeds and letting him throw a little bit out of that. He did throw more against Western Michigan than he had before. But I think he got more opportunity as well, which proved he would throw the ball as well. And we saw at Vandy he could to."
Pittman expects to get linebacker Chris "Pooh" Paul, cornerback Jaylon Braxton and defensive tackle Cameron Ball back for the game. Cornerback Dwight McGlothern is also possible to play some. Pittman talked about the mindset of playing at home after a month on the road.
"We’ve got to win," Pittman said. "We have to win. Have to win Saturday. To reach — again when the season starts you have all these goals and there are still some that we have. Now, they may have been down here to get up here, but there are still some attainable goals that we have. And our kids know. I’m going to talk to them today about it. But this game Saturday is a big, big game for us. They all are, but you keep backing yourself up into a corner, at some point you have to go forward.
"We’ve proven that we’ve got a pretty good football team. We haven’t proven we can win. So, we’ve got to do that Saturday. I think our kids understand that. There are some things in that locker room, you know, the kids that have been here for four years have started that we don’t want to let go of. There’s a lot of motivation and things. One of them is being back home. We want to show the state of Arkansas that we have a good football team, one good enough to win. So, there’s a lot of motivation there."
Arkansas and Mississippi State will kickoff at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning and televised on ESPN.
Photos Courtesy of Craven Whitlow CW3 Sports Action
