Arkansas' win over Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday in Fayetteville did not go how it was supposed to. The Razorbacks (2-1, 0-0 SEC) struggled for a 37-27 win over the Blazers (1-2, 0-0 SEC) and head coach Sam Pittman said afterwards that a lack of physicality in practice during the week leading up was notable.
Entering the game, the Razorbacks were expected to be missing veteran safety Hudson Clark due to a back injury, while sophomore starting cornerback Jaylon Braxton was questionable with a bone bruise. Neither played against the Blazers, who gained 235 yards and three scores through the air, and it sounds like there might have been more injuries on defense during the week.
"I just think that we had, we had five guys on defense in green (no-contact) jerseys this week," Pittman said postgame. "We had two on offense, and we practiced them. Green means you can’t hit them. So the physicality of the practices wasn’t what it should’ve been because of the green jerseys. So then you decide, ‘Are we going to practice him so he can be ready if he’s healthy, or are we not going to practice him and practice somebody else with that one group?'
"Now, the guys that played, they practiced. I’m not saying guys in green jerseys didn’t get any physicality. That’s how it was because we needed them available for the game. It slowed practice down, and I was worried, especially defensively. I was worried about how our physicality and how we would fly to the football and all those things because during practice, with a lot of green out there that you can’t hit, it slows down. So, I think that probably had more to do with that than the Oklahoma State deal, and we were physically beat up from that game and still recovering from it honestly."
VIDEO: Postgame press conferences - Arkansas 37, UAB 27
The Razorbacks did outgain the Blazers in total yards, 427-354, but they allowed UAB to convert on five third downs and all three of their fourth down tries. UAB averaged 5.3 yards per play on offense, plus they racked up four tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries and three sacks on defense.
Senior defensive end Landon Jackson said practicing slow throughout the week can lead to a slow game. That's exactly what happened, as the Razorbacks were quickly down 17-3 at one point in the first half.
"I feel like we played not a good game at all, to be honest," Jackson said. "Any team in the SEC is going to beat the hell out of us if we play like that. So we need to find a way to clean up those mistakes and play a lot more physical. We didn’t play our brand of football today. We came out with a win, so that’s always good, but at the same time we’ve got a lot to clean up."
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UAB is a team that lost 32-6 at Louisiana-Monroe just one week ago, and they couldn't muster up a single touchdown in that game. Things were much different against a Southeastern Conference opponent in the Razorbacks, and Pittman made it seem like there were — mainly the green no-contact jerseys — throughout the week in practice that the defense could struggle.
Defensive coordinator Travis Williams and his wife, Jeanine, welcomed their fourth child into the world Tuesday, which is something Pittman brought up postgame.
"Thank the Lord, Jeanine had the baby," Pittman said. "But there were some distractions with (Williams) … and that’s wonderful. He needs to go see his baby and his wife and all those things. And we may have played the same if he had been there all the time. But I just felt going into the game that we had the drive going into practice and I thought it was because of the green jerseys.
"I don’t know. Obviously I’m disappointed in the way we played and we’ve got to put a finger on why we struggle at times at home. Because we’ve been a little bit better road team actually, to be honest with you. But we’ll go to work on it. I think we were beat up going into this week and we’ve got to get healthy for next week because Braxton and some guys didn’t play."
Early in the game, the Razorbacks also saw starting center Addison Nichols exit with what Pittman confirmed was a previously-existing high ankle sprain. Redshirt junior backup center Amaury Wiggins practiced all week in preparation for the likelihood of playing.
"I feel like (offensive line coach Eric Mateos) has done a great job of preparing us across the board," right guard Joshua Braun said. "He talks about having 8 to 10 guys that can play, and I feel like we have that. And so when one of us goes down … take Amaury for example. He went in there and he did his job. He executed. There were some miscues, but that just comes with experience, and the more experience we get him, he’s able to execute at a higher level and we can lean on him when we need to."
Down the heart of their group, the offensive line still blocked its way to 266 rushing yards and 7.0 yards per carry. Utah transfer running back Ja'Quinden Jackson had his third straight 100-yard game with 15 carries for 147 yards and one score.
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"We’re trying to live up to the Razorback standard," Braun said. "And that’s something we have to hold ourselves to every day. Whether it’s in practice, meetings, or just daily life. In the first half we weren’t able to hold up to that standard. I think we readjusted our mindset at half-time. Had a decent third quarter. Then we just have to keep pushing to live up to that standard every day."
Arkansas will begin SEC play next week against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. Kickoff is set for 2:30 or 3:15 p.m. CT and it'll be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or SEC Network.
