Odom's scheme works wonders for Arkansas' defense
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To get ready for Mike Leach’s air raid offense that shattered records in its SEC debut, Arkansas studied some Pac-12 tape.
The Razorbacks needed to mold their defensive game plan around teams that slowed down Washington State, Leach’s previous stop, considering LSU gave up 623 passing yards last week.
“Some teams that had played them had some success doing what we tried to do, so it was easy to find,” head coach Sam Pittman said. “Barry said, ‘This is what I want to do, just keep reminding me to be patient,’ and I said, ‘Okay.’”
What Barry - defensive coordinator Barry Odom - drew up worked almost to perfection, as Mississippi State managed just 313 yards and threw three interceptions in Arkansas’ losing streak-snapping 21-14 upset win over the No. 16 Bulldogs.
“All week, the kids believed we could rally around the ball and make tackles,” Pittman said. “For the most part tonight, that’s exactly what we did. It’s a copy-cat league and copy-cat world a little bit, but we copied some teams that had played them that had some success and we certainly had our own input as well.”
Specifically, the Razorbacks implemented a dime defense with three defensive linemen, two linebackers and six defensive backs on the field at the same time. On virtually every snap, the back eight dropped into zone coverage and the only pass rush was generated by a three-man front.
Afterward, linebacker Bumper Pool - a third-year starter - told reporters that it was the “most prepared” he’s ever been for a game.
“We knew what they were going to do before every play,” Pool said. “When you have that kind of confidence going in, it’s unbelievable. You fly around and make plays fast.”
The scheme immediately paid dividends when sophomore Greg Brooks Jr. intercepted a K.J. Costello pass and took it 69 yards to the house on the game’s opening possession, jump-starting the defense.
It was the Razorbacks’ first pick-six since Santos Ramirez had one in the upset over No. 10 Florida in 2016, snapping a 41-game drought - which was the seventh-longest in the country entering the game.
“(Brooks' pick) was such a big momentum change early in the game,” Pittman said. “They were driving a little bit. We talked about it all day. We said, 'Hey, he's going to get impatient and hopefully he'll throw us some,’ and he did.”
Costello ended up throwing two more passes to Arkansas defenders, with safety Joe Foucha coming down with both of them.
Despite not being one of the six starting defensive backs, the junior came off the bench and made an impressive interception near the sideline as Mississippi State was driving late in the first half.
The second pick also came at a critical time, as the Bulldogs were deep in Arkansas territory and threatening to tie the game after a quick possession by the Razorbacks.
“He just stayed with it, man,” Pittman said. “He knew he was going to get in the game and he came up big. I'm so happy for him, so proud of him because it was bigger than him. It was about the team, and he tried to go get his job back.”
Arkansas was content with letting Costello check down and complete short passes, leading to an impressive 43-of-59 (72.9 percent) performance, but it rallied to the ball well and didn’t give up chunks of yards after the catch.
That prevented the Bulldogs from making explosive plays and limited Costello to just 5.3 yards per attempt - a dramatic decrease from his 10.4-yard average against LSU.
It also resulted in Pool racking up 20 tackles, which is tied for the 10th-most in a single game in UA history. He joined Jerry Franklin - who also had 20 tackles at Mississippi State in 2010 - as just the second Arkansas player to reach that mark since 2002.
“We knew with the game plan we would have to make a lot of tackles because we were letting them have the underneath routes,” Pool said. “So as a unit we did a phenomenal job of getting to the ball fast and making plays.”
Starting at the other linebacker spot, Grant Morgan made a career-high 15 tackles despite missing part of the first half with an injury. Playing with his left arm wrapped, he made nine of those tackles after halftime.
“Grant's a warrior, he's very tough,” Pool said. “Today he showed it. He had a tough little injury, but he said 'Screw it, I'm going to get tougher, I'm going to go out there and make plays.’”
When the Bulldogs did try to run the ball, Arkansas’ three-man front - which was without starting defensive ends Dorian Gerald and Julius Coates - swallowed them up.
The Razorbacks kept Mississippi State under 100 rush yards and, just as they did against Georgia, held the Bulldogs under 4 yards per carry, at 3.6.
No stop was bigger than the combined tackle for loss by Morgan and Foucha on the fourth-and-2 play inside the 10-yard line with less than five minutes remaining.
“Those guys were flying around and getting to the ball,” Pool said. “I think we took the physicality to them and I think that they weren’t wanting to run the ball as much as they had to.”
It was the second straight week Arkansas’ defense carried the day, as it also kept Georgia out of the end zone for a half despite horrible field position. The performance hasn’t gone unnoticed by the offense.
“Those guys played their tails off tonight,” quarterback Feleipe Franks said. “That's two weeks in a row. Week in and week out, that's what SEC football is all about. It's just a testament to them.”
Odom has taken virtually the same defense that was the worst - statistically speaking - unit in school history a year ago and turned it the strength of the team.
It’s just a two-game sample size, but the defense has so much confidence now that it is starting to believe it can sustain the success throughout the season.
“We all feel now like we’re a dang good defense and whenever you start building confidence on defense, it’s huge for your team,” Pool said. “It kills momentum for the other team and your offense can rally off of it.”