FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas is set to go back on the road this week for Saturday's SEC meeting with Mississippi State.
Arkansas (4-3, 2-2) and Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4) meet in Davis Wade Stadium at 11:45 a.m. and televised on the SEC Network. The Hogs are coming off a disappointing 34-10 loss to LSU this past Saturday. The Bulldogs have lost six consecutive games since winning its opener 56-7 over Eastern Kentucky. Despite the record Sam Pittman knows the Hogs will be in for a fight in Starkville.
"Moving on to Mississippi State, they’re playing really well," Pittman said. "Coach (Jeff) Lebby’s done a great job there. They’re in every game and playing extremely hard. They have speed on their team, a lot of talent. Their quarterback is playing really well. I like their runners. They have a couple of good running backs. Their offensive line, Coach (Cody) Kennedy has got those guys playing much better. They’re talented at wide receiver. I know they had an injury to No. 7 (that’s his name, like 11). I don’t know what his status is. But they have a lot of speed. (Kevin) Coleman is an exceptional player.
"Defensively, I like their linebacker group. They really run to the ball. It starts with (Nic) Mitchell and then (Stone) Blanton and then (Isaac) Smith. They do a lot of things defensively to confuse you on third down, all the way from total all-out blitz to drop eight. But the looks are who are the six guys who are going to rush. So we have to be on top of that. They have a nice punter. Obviously Coleman is the punt returner. The kick returners are the two guys in the backfield. So we know the cowbells will be rolling. I have a lot of respect for their football team and we’re excited to go play an early game over in Starkville."
Coleman leads the Bulldogs with 44 receptions for 536 yards and four touchdowns. Smith has 68 tackles to lead Mississippi State defensively. Lebby was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma last season. Despite losing they are piling up points. Despite losing they scored 31 points on Georgia and 24 against Texas A&M in their last two games.
"Well, they’re wide open," Pittman said. "They have a mixture of playing fast. Of course, we had K.B. (Kendal Briles) here, and he’s in that tree of Lebby, and obviously his daddy. They’re wide open … I tell you what they’re doing, if you press them, they’re going to throw it on you. They’re going to throw deep. They’re connecting on those plays. They’ve got speed at wide-out.
"Their quarterback, (Michael) Van Buren, he can throw the deep ball. The other thing is, they’re running the stretch and the inside zone very well. Their two backs run extremely hard. And then the quarterback can make plays with his feet. They’re not necessarily wanting to run him, I don’t feel like, a bunch, because he slides every time. A running quarterback, most of the time he just runs. But he’s elusive in the pocket.
"They’re just playing with a great deal of energy. You can just feel it on the film by the sidelines, the way that they’re excited on the sideline. And so they’re running the ball well enough, and they’re quarterback gives them opportunities there to scramble and make some plays and he’s throwing the ball really well."
Quarterback Blake Shapen was the starting quarterback. He's injured and won't play against the Hogs. Van Buren has completed 61 of 114 passes for 792 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. Pittman feels Van Buren is very poised.
"He is what you just said," Pittman said. "He's very, very poised back there. I’ll tell you what now, he made a — I don't remember what game it was I was watching last night — but he made a throw to his left that he knew he was going to get wiped out, and it was freaking on the money. It might have been against Georgia. The way he's running the offense now, they've done a really good job with him. Of course, he's done a good job, too, but he's a real good player and very accurate in his throws, and we're gonna have to get in front of him. We're gonna have to move him at times. I'm sure they're very pleased with him because he's been awesome for them."
Despite losing, Mississippi State has continued to improve. Pittman recognizes that.
"I think ever since the Toledo game (41-17 loss in Week 3), I think they've just gotten better and better," Pittman said. "They had some breakdowns and given up some scores and you don't see that happening now. They fly to the football. They're very physical football team. I think also after the Toledo game, I think they changed in trying to get to the quarterback. I think they've changed a number of guys in the box... I think they’ve played a little bit more man-coverage so I think after that Toledo game, I can see the last three games how they’ve changed number-wise in the box. They’re getting better and they’re taking more chances on third down, second and long trying to get to the quarterback and it’s worked out for them."
Lebby was asked on Wednesday how he has gotten his team to improve despite losing?
"I think for us, and I talked a little bit about it on Monday, we’ve continued to get better," Lebby said. "There’s been great improvement, I think, on both sides of the ball. Guys are understanding what the expectation is and how to be able to go play free and fast inside the scheme. At the same time, we’ve got to find ways to get better and win.
"We’re going to have an unbelievable challenge here at home again this weekend. Arkansas I think is playing with a lot of confidence on both sides of the ball and there’s belief inside their football team, there’s energy. There won’t be a single thing handed to us. Our guy understand that, and we’re going to have to go play really, really well."
The Bulldogs went into Razorback Stadium last season and won 7-3. Lebby doesn't see that type game again.
"I think both teams are in a completely different place," Lebby said. "Again, they’re playing much, much better offensively. I think when you look at them, they have the chance to make some explosive plays, and they have. They’ve found ways to run the football at a really high level. For us, it is, it’s going to be about playing really well first- and second-down defense, and then getting off the field. Then offensively, I mentioned it, but we’ve got to find a way to establish the run. Take some pressure off Mike and be able to score touchdowns in the red zone to go have a chance to win."
In addition to Georgia and Texas A&M, the other SEC losses for the Bulldogs were to Florida and Texas.
Photos Courtesy of Craven Whitlow CW3 Sports Action