Arkansas Razorbacks
Southeastern Conference
Who is the ultimate judge of success? We need that guy’s help. The Arkansas Razorbacks finished third in their own division and will not make a BCS bowl after being invited to the Sugar Bowl a season ago. Despite this, they are one of the top 10 teams in the nation and only lost twice all year long. Those two losses also happened to come against the current number one and number two teams in the country, making it conceivable that Arkansas is indeed the third best team in college football this season and just ran into a bulldozer of bad luck. Arkansas and its fans will certainly be disappointed with the bowl game they end up in, leading to the very real possibility of losing to a team happy to be placed in that very same bowl game. It would put a damper on a season where the Razorbacks, at the very least, exceeded everyone’s expectations.
2011 Record: 10-2, 6-2
Last Bowl Appearance: 2010 Sugar Bowl vs. Ohio State (L 26-31)
Big Wins: 10/1 vs. Texas A&M (42-38), 11/5 vs. South Carolina (44-28)
Bad Losses: 9/24 at Alabama (14-38), 11/25 at LSU (17-41)
Coach: Bobby Petrino (33-17 at Arkansas, 74-26 overall)
Bowl Record: 1-1 at Arkansas, 3-3 overall
Offensive Coordinator: Garrick McGee
Defensive Coordinator: Willy Robinson
Strengths:
In a world of one-eyed monsters, the two-eyed beings shall rule. The 2011 Southeastern Conference was not necessarily the blueprint for great quarterback play and offensive prowess. Nevertheless, Arkansas was the best offensive team in the conference this season, especially through the air. Led by quarterback Tyler Wilson, the Razorbacks finished first in the SEC in passing offense and total offense, and finished second in scoring offense behind only LSU. Their nearly 38 points per game ranked top 15 nationally as well and Wilson was the facilitator. He threw 22 touchdowns to just six interceptions while tallying enough yardage to make him the conference’s offensive output leader. With the help of wide receiver Jarius Wright, whose 63 receptions and 1029 yards were also tops in the SEC on a per game basis, Tyler Wilson led Arkansas to as high as third in the BCS rankings late in November. On the defensive side of the ball, Arkansas was no pushover. Do-it-all linebacker Alonzo Highsmith and defensive lineman Jake Bequette led a unit that ranked competitively in pass defense, although they were prone to allowing chunks of points. To make up for any inconsistency on defense, Arkansas was able to flip field position rather well with their punt return game. Wide receiver Joe Adams averaged over 16 yards per return and took three back for touchdowns on the year.
Weaknesses:
Running the ball and stopping the run, two staples of effective ball-control football, were two glaring weaknesses of the Razorbacks this season. On offense, their leading rusher, Dennis Johnson, barely cracked 600 yards on the ground. Backup Ronnie Wingo Junior fared even worse. Even though he carried the ball just six fewer times than Johnson, he finished the year with 440 yards and just one 100 yard performance. The carries overall and per game were split rather efficiently but neither man could gain any traction week to week. As for the defense, their 174.33 rushing yards allowed per game were near the very bottom of the conference, 100 yards more per game than the Alabama Crimson Tide were allowing while playing a similar schedule. No one would ever compare Arkansas’ defense to this Tide team, but allowing so much on the ground when they couldn’t control the pace of the game themselves is a problem. This reared its ugly head in the games where they allowed the most points. In their two losses specifically, the Razorbacks gave up a combined 483 yards rushing.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Dennis Johnson, RB, 637 yards
Passing: Tyler Wilson, QB, 3422 yards
Receiving: Jarius Wright, WR, 1029 yards
Tackles: Jerry Franklin, LB, 93
Sacks: Jake Bequette, DE, 8.0
Interceptions: Tramain Thomas, S, 5
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 138.08 (80th in nation, 9th in conference)
Passing Offense: 307.75 (12, 1)
Total Offense: 445.83 (28, 1)
Scoring Offense: 37.42 (14, 2)
Rushing Defense: 174.33 (79, 9)
Pass Defense: 197.08 (29, 10)
Total Defense: 371.42 (51, 9)
Scoring Defense: 22.75 (40, 9)
Turnover Margin: 0.0 (59, 8)
Sacks: 1.83 (66, 6)
Sacks Allowed: 2.08 (70, 6)
