COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW | 8.25.2024
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OFFENSIVE OVERHAUL PETRINO, GREEN HOPE TO INFUSE NEW LIFE INTO ARKANSAS ATTACK
MATT JONES HAWGS SPORTS NETWORK
One question hangs over the 2023 Arkansas football season.
What would the Razorbacks have been able to accomplish with a competent offense?
Defensively, Arkansas played well enough to keep the team competitive until late in the season when the wheels fell off both ends and the Razorbacks were embarrassed by Auburn and Missouri on their home field.
Throughout an October 0-fer, Arkansas was in every game it played thanks to its defense. In losses at Ole Miss( 27-20) and Alabama( 24-21), and at home to Mississippi State( 7-3), the Razorbacks were unable to score enough points to take advantage of their opponents’ substandard offensive performances.
Arkansas also lost one-possession games to BYU( 38-31) and LSU( 34-31) earlier in the season when its offense had some of its strongest performances, but could not score enough to overcome late defensive lapses.
It was part of a 1-5 record for the Razorbacks in games determined by seven points or less.
Following the 7-3 loss to Mississippi State last October, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman and athletics director Hunter Yurachek made the decision to fire offensive coordinator Dan Enos after just eight games.
Kenny Guiton coordinated the rest of the season in an interim role and oversaw an impressive effort against Florida( a 39-33 victory in overtime) before the Razorbacks became ineffective again in their final two SEC games, losses to Auburn and Missouri by a combined score of 96-24.
In SEC-only games, Arkansas’ efficiency ranked 12th out of 14 SEC teams. The Razorbacks scored 22.6 % of all possible points in SEC play, based on number of possessions, ahead of only Vanderbilt( 19.7 %) and Mississippi State( 15.3 %).
By comparison, LSU scored 58.5 % of its points possible. Georgia scored at a 55 % clip.
Texas A & M, coordinated by Bobby Petrino, scored at a 35.6 % rate. If that type of efficiency were applied to the Razorbacks’ October games, the 2023 season would likely be remembered much differently.
Once Arkansas’ 4-8 campaign ended, Pittman immediately went to work to identify an offensive coordinator.
He interviewed five candidates, but it was an easy decision once he spoke to Petrino on the phone. Petrino also was in the market after a head coaching change at Texas A & M.
Pittman wanted a hard-nosed coordinator who would preach physicality, toughness and accountability. Above all he wanted a coach who would oversee an offense that could run or pass the ball whenever needed.
“ It was just a no-brainer,” Pittman said of hiring Petrino.
Petrino’ s offensive reputation preceded him. Pittman saw it up close as Missouri State in 2022 and Texas A & M in 2023 gave the Razorbacks problems defensively.
At Missouri State, Petrino ran the show as the team’ s three-year head coach. It was a different story at Texas A & M, where thenhead coach Jimbo Fisher instructed Petrino to call plays from Fisher’ s playbook— a tough ask of any coordinator, especially one so seasoned.
Despite the handcuffs and a quarterback room that experienced multiple seasonending injuries to starters, Petrino adjusted enough to keep the Aggies in the middle of the pack offensively in the SEC. Texas A & M clinched bowl eligibility with a 51-10 victory over Mississippi State last November while starting its third-team quarterback.
At Arkansas, Petrino will be able to run his offense without restrictions. And, instead of inheriting quarterbacks already on the roster, he was able to choose who he wanted behind center.
FINDING A QB
As the head coach at Missouri State, Petrino was one of the first to offer Taylen Green a scholarship out of Lewisville High School near Dallas.
It became apparent to Petrino quickly, though, that he would not have a chance to coach Green in Springfield. FBS teams also offered, including Boise State.
Green spent three seasons in Boise, including a redshirt season as a true
See OVERHAUL, Page 6
Bobby Petrino | Offensive Coordinator Taylen Green | Arkansas Quarterback File Photo