Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

9/9/2010 at 7:29am

This wasn’t the script for how the season opener was supposed to go. Thoughts during the first quarter went like this: “Where were the monster passes?” “Where was the improvd defense?” “Where were the fans?”

Let me preface all this by saying that college football has these rent-a-wins for a reason, and this is that reason: If teams come out and make mistakes they know they can come back and still win the game in the fashion they wanted to at the end, even if they couldn’t do it at the beginning. What you look for is speed and physical dominance, and Arkansas certainly had that on Saturday.

Arkansas came out flat on offense and lost on defense for the season opener under year three of Bobby Petrino’s reign at Arkansas. It was a first quarter to be characterized by fumbles, interceptions, poor blocking and miscues on defense.

Ryan Mallett threw the ball downfield only once all game and often seemed trapped between what he wanted to do and what he’s been telling himself all off-season he was going to do.

At the end of the day, while the flair my have been missing the end result wasn’t. Arkansas controlled the tempo of the game and the defense didn’t give up any sustained drives from the beginning of the second quarter on.

Arkansas did everything but dominate from start to finish, but that is what we wanted to see wasn’t it?

If it wasn’t enough for Bobby Petrino, then it wasn’t enough for me. As far as perfection goes, this was a far cry gone. Both Petrino and offensive coordinator Garrick McGee have stated ad infinitum that the offensive execution and ball security by the offense was severely lacking.

But the opener wasn’t without lessons that should be well taken. And the worst portion of the game provided that for Mallett and company.

The one play where Mallett forced a pass it resulted in an interception and the shoddy ball security showed Arkansas that at the very least a better opponent would have made them pay.

It’s a lesson I would rather have Mallett learn against Tennessee Tech, where coming from behind at a three-point deficit was far easier than a seven or 14-point deficit against Georgia or Alabama.

A move many are characterizing as a teaching moment for Dennis Johnson hopefully doesn’t fall on deaf ears. Some may say benching your best producing back after only three carries for not carrying the ball right might reek of Mutiny-on-the-Bounty-esque obsession with perfection to some. However, against Tennessee Tech it’s a lesson that you can get away with teaching.

That is why these games are played. Even if the most seasoned veterans on this offense can be taught valuable lessons they may not fully appreciate until Dennis Johnson has Alabama’s Dont’a Hightower tugging on the football as he fights for yards and he’s happy there is no space between his body and the ball.

This wasn’t the script the Hogs were supposed to follow for the opener, but it’s a script the media, the fans and the players would do well to study and learn from.

----

TJ Carpenter is host of The TJ Carpenter Show on ESPN 92.1 The Ticket in Northwest Arkansas, every weekday from 3-6 p.m.

Tagged: T.J. Carpenter Show, Tennessee Tech, Dennis Johnson, Ryan Mallett, Bobby Petrino