Despite Knile Davis injury, hopes still high for Hogs
USC at ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS on 11/5
Coach: Bobby Petrino (23-15 in three seasons at Arkansas, 64-24 overall)
Last Season: 10-3 (6-2 SEC), lost to Ohio State in Sugar Bowl
Last Meeting with USC: 2010 (ARK 41-20)
All-Time Series vs. USC: Arkansas leads 12-7
Heading into the season, Arkansas was ranked No. 15 in the country despite losing quarterback Ryan Mallett.
After losing running back Knile Davis to a season-ending left ankle injury, the Razorbacks will have an uphill battle in the tough SEC West.
"We obviously will try to build on last year," said coach Bobby Petrino at SEC Media days last month. "Very proud of last year, the football team we had. But we do understand that this is a new team. It will have new players on it. We have to find out a lot about ourselves as we get started practicing here and find out what is going to make us the type of football team that we were a year ago."
Offense: Razorback fans got a glimpse of presumed starting quarterback Tyler Wilson last season when he came into the game for Mallett, who'd suffered a concussion in the game against Auburn. As Arkansas returns a star-studded receiving corps led by Greg Childs, fans should expect to see the passing game get a lot more active, especially with the injury to Davis.
"I think Tyler has an opportunity to do a very, very good job for us," Petrino said. "He's been in the offense for four years now. He's done a good job when he's come in games. We all saw what he did in the Auburn game last year. But also the next week, when we had that marathon game with Ole Miss, the two lightning delays, Tyler came in and finished the game and converted some tough third downs and helped us win the ballgame. Been very impressed with the way he's prepared in the off-season, the leadership role that he's working to take over."
The offensive line appears to be in good shape as well with two starters returning in Travis Swanson and Alvin Bailey, both of whom were SEC All-Freshman Team selections in 2010.
Defense: With Petrino buying into the principle that the defensive front separates the SEC from everyone else, the Razorbacks have worked on developing their defense with each year, as was evident in the improvement last year.
"I spend a lot of time in the defense, particularly in the off-season, in spring, what we want to do in playing the principles of good defense," Petrino said. "I think that's one of the biggest keys, is your ability to shed blocks, run full speed to the ball, tackle, strip the ball and hit the quarterback, cause turnovers. I think those are the things that, when you look at what we're doing on defense, the fundamentals, the techniques, are things you have to make sure you constantly work on every day in practice."
The defense returns seven starters from a unit that held opponents to an SEC-best 33.5 third-down conversion percentage. Jake Bequette returns to the defensive line after leading the team with seven sacks. Jerry Franklin also returns to Arkansas after recording a career-high of 100 tackles in 2010.
"Our expectations are high, but as a team we do expect so much out of each other that the expectations are nothing to shy from," said defensive end Tenarius Wright on the expectations of the defense. "We know what's going to be in store for this upcoming season."
Special teams: Last season the Razorbacks struggled with kickoff coverage on special teams, which Petrino recognized and focused on in spring practices.
"It's an area we have to improve on," Petrino said. "We spent a lot of time in spring ball working on it, which I usually never do. I usually like to just work on punt and punt return in spring ball. We did try to address our kickoff coverage."
Arkansas returns kicker Zach Hocker, who was a selection to the SEC All-Freshman Team last season, as well as Joe Adams, who averaged 15.56 yards per punt return last season.
Schedule analysis: Arkansas plays three of its four nonconference games at the start of the season, which could backfire for when the Razorbacks travel to Alabama in its SEC opener on Sept. 24. The team will then travel to Arlington for the Southwest Classic game with a strong Texas A&M team, which will be a test before returning home to face Auburn. Arkansas will get to play South Carolina and Mississippi State at home, though it will have to play LSU in Baton Rouge for the final game of the season.
The final word: "I think the team as a whole is very confident. Since coach Petrino got here, we've gotten a lot better every year and made improvements. We feel like setting big goals is the only way for us to get to the SEC Championship. We have the players to do it. We just don't see why we can't." — Davis
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