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FAYETTEVILLE — Aside from Treylon Burks’ long touchdown, Arkansas’ offense sputtered in its first game of 2020.
Playing what some consider the best defense in the country certainly didn’t help, but the Razorbacks also didn’t get out of their own way in the 37-10 loss to No. 4 Georgia.
On several occasions, quarterback Feleipe Franks was forced to move a tight end or running back from one side to the other or move a wide receiver on or off the ball or otherwise change their alignment.
It was an issue that hadn’t popped up in preseason camp, but it contributed to Arkansas managing just 10 points on 280 yards and going three-and-out on half of its possessions.
“I know that’s part of the quarterback’s job, but it’s hard to look downfield, see what’s going on, see pre-snap reads as a quarterback when you’re looking at your own team trying to get them lined up,” head coach Sam Pittman said. “So that has been a big emphasis, paying attention to the signals, getting lined up fast.”
In addition to knowing where to line up, it will also be important for the Razorbacks to communicate better against No. 16 Mississippi State.
Burks mentioned the example of receivers communicating things across the formation so everyone knows what’s going on. It’s something the players - at all positions - have focused on at practice this week.
“The communication does need to be better and we worked on it yesterday, we worked on it today,” offensive lineman Brady Latham said. “It’s been good in practice, and we just need to carry that over to the game.”
Through the first few practices of the week at least, Pittman said he felt the Razorbacks were doing much better in terms of talking and pre-snap alignment.
Even with the reduced capacity because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., will likely still be louder than most stadiums across the SEC because of the cowbells.
It will also be important for Arkansas to line up right so it can sustain drives and keep the Bulldogs’ explosive offense on the sideline.
“We need to take that off the quarterback,” Pittman said. “You have a position, you should play your position - get lined up, get set, get ready to go so the quarterback can be the quarterback.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on SEC Network Alternate.
