Position-by-position matchups

OFFENSE Quarterback

Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett has drawn rave reviews from the East Carolina coaches and players this week. Mallett struggled with footwork and accuracy in pure road games and was solid in a neutral-site victory over Texas A&M. He knows East Carolina’s front four is good, but he must keep his eyes downfield, going through progressions, and taking what the Pirates allow. Mallett is 6th nationally in pass efficiency (157.8) and 14th in total offense (282.3 yards per game). He has connected on 57.2 percent of his passes for a school-record 3,422 yards and has 29 TD passes vs. 7 interceptions. East Carolina’s sixth-year starter, Patrick Pinkney, has seen it all and won big games. He doesn’t have prototypical size, but he’s in firm control of the Pirates’ schemes and he’s a very capable scrambler. Pinkney ranks 50th in total offense (218.4) and 80th in passing efficiency (122.4). He completes 59.5 percent of his passes and has 14 TDs vs. 10 interceptions. Versatile Dwayne Harris will take Wildcat snaps here, and he has 5 rushing TDs. Running backs

Mallett not bothered by NFL talk

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Arkansas has a deeper and probably more dynamic stable of tailbacks, but East Carolina has a 1,000-yard rusher in Dominique Lindsay and the Pirates have relied on the rush much more than the Razorbacks. Dennis Johnson (53 carries, 341 yards) is likely to get the starting nod for Arkansas, but he’ll be spelled by a group including big back Broderick Green (93-405, 11 TDs), fleet freshman Ronnie Wingo (47-332, 3) and Knile Davis (31-163, 4). Johnson and Wingo each average better than 6 yards per carry. The Razorback runners do not have a fumble this season. East Carolina’s Lindsay, a 5-10, 202-pounder, has 206 carries for 1,029 yards, with 5 touchdowns and just 1 fumble in 352 career carries. Brandon Jackson and Gianvanni Ruffin get spot duty and they’ve rushed for a combined 580 yards and 8 of the Pirates’ 23 rushing scores. Receivers

Arkansas sophomores Greg Childs, Joe Adams and Jarius Wright are the core of one of the nation’s top receiving units. The trio has a combined 110 receptions for 2,006 yards and 18 touchdowns. East Carolina’s top three, Dwayne Harris (79-914, 6 TDs), Darryl Freeney and Alex Taylor, have totaled 156 catches for 1,905 yards and 9 TDs. So, while the Hogs have thrived on the big play, averaging 15.7 yards per reception, the Pirates are more methodical and work underneath, with an average of 11.4 yards per catch. Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams (31-399, 3) is expected to be a prime focus, as the Razorbacks have excelled when he’s been heavily involved. Cobi Hamilton (18-336, 3) has had a rookie season similar to his sophomore teammates, and his 18.7 yards per catch compares favorably with Adams (19.8) and Childs (19.2). East Carolina’s Harris is a tackle-breaker, turning many short crossing routes and screens into huge plays. Freeney leads the Pirates regulars with 14.9 yards per catch. Tight end starter Kevin Gidrey (8-94) shares a jersey number with Williams (45), but not his productivity.

Line The Razorbacks picked it up as the season went on, run-blocking for an average of 4.4 yards per carry and protecting the non-nimble Ryan Mallett to a large degree. Arkansas allowed 24 sacks for 168 yards through 12 games, not bad for an offense that averaged more than 35 pass plays per game. Senior guard Mitch Petrus did not allow a sack in the regular season, teaming with tackle DeMarcus Love to present a formidable strong side for the Hogs. That pair, along with center Seth Oxner, guards Wade Grayson and Grant Cook and tackle Ray Dominguez, will face a formidable front four. The Pirates’ starting lineup of center Sean Allen, guards Terence Campbell and Cory Dowless, tackles D.J. Scott and Willie Smith and tight end Kevin Gidrey have started all 13 games. The unit averages 6-5, 310, so there’s no shortage of size. The Pirates have allowed just 8 sacks. They average 4.1 yards per carry and 5.4 yards per play, compared to Arkansas’ 6.8 yards per play.

DEFENSE Line

The Razorbacks’ starting four — tackles Malcolm Sheppard (26 tackles, 11 tackle for loss) and Zach Stadther (35, 2 fumble recoveries), and ends Adrian Davis (46, 5 1 /2 sacks) and Jake Bequette (37, 5 1 /2 sacks) — are solid. Their stamina will be tested today, however, with key reserve tackle D.D. Jones (knee, ankle) out and primary end reserve Tenarius Wright (ankle) questionable. Look for Lavunce Askew (16, 2 1 /2 TFL) and Patrick Jones (7, 2 TFL) to get more snaps on the interior and Sheppard to play less at the nose. Damario Ambrose (12) and Caleb Evans (2) look like the top reserves at end if Wright is unavailable. Senior ends C.J. Wilson (56, 5 1 /2 sacks, 14 hurries) and Scotty Robinson (39, 5, 11), senior tackle Jay Ross (44, 4 1 /2 TFL) and junior Linval Joseph (57, 12 1 /2 TFL, 14 hurries) make up East Carolina’s strongest unit on the team. The rotation is sound, too, with Josh Smith (24, 4 sacks) and Michael Brooks (23, 3 1 /2 TFL) providing depth at tackle, and Steve Spence (15, 2 sacks) filling in at end. Linebackers

Sophomore Jerry Franklin (84 tackles, 4 takeaways) shifts back inside to middle linebacker to take over for suspended Wendel Davis. The shuffling will mean more snaps for Freddy Burton (42, 3 /2 tackles for loss) and Jerico Nelson (69, 5 1 /2 TFL), while Bret Harris (5) and Terrell Williams (9) might see more action than normal. Davis’ presence will be sorely missed, and the Hogs might have to gamble more to keep this unit from being overtaxed against the ball-control Pirates. East Carolina’s thick and active front four gives the linebacking crew plenty of freedom to scrape, plug and rack up tackles. Nick Johnson in the middle leads the team with 94 stops, including 7 1 /2 TFL, and he has 2 interceptions. Jeremy Chambliss (82, 10 1 /2 TFL) and Chris Mattocks (78, 5 1 /2 TFL) are the starters at the outside spots. None of the trio weighs more than 220 pounds and they play a lot of snaps. The Hogs will try to have their linemen lean on these second-level players if possible. Secondary

Again, East Carolina will enjoy an experience advantage, as Arkansas senior safety Matt Harris, the team’s third-leading tackler, was suspended and will not play. That thrusts Tramain Thomas (23 tackles, 2 interceptions) back into a starting role. Thomas’ playing time decreased after a fast start when injured Elton Ford (55, 1 fumble recovery) returned at strong safety. It appears Jerell Norton (11, 2 interceptions) might have played his way into a starting cornerback job, and he’ll certainly rotate with Rudell Crim (40, 4 pass breakups), Ramon Broadway (49, 3 PBU) and possibly Andru Stewart (21, 2 tackles for loss), who hasn’t been an impact player since missing the Eastern Michigan game with an academic issue. East Carolina’s backfield is led by senior safety Van Eskridge (93, 7 PBU), whose 6 interceptions for 126 return yards rank among the best in the nation. The starting cornerbacks, 5-10 Travis Simmons (49, 2 PBU) and 5-11 Emanuel Davis (64, 11 PBU, 2 interceptions) starting, and reserves Derek Blacknall and Leonard Paulk will be tested on the edges by Arkansas’ swift receiving corps, and if the Pirates provide extensive safety help for deep double-teams, Ryan Mallett has shown the ability to check down and pick apart defenses underneath. Safety Levin Neal (60, 2 interceptions) is the other Pirates starter. Special teams

How long has it been since Arkansas sophomore Dennis Johnson had a scintillating kickoff return? Johnson still ranks 26th in the country with 26 yards per return, but that number has been on a slow decline the past several games. Arkansas junior Alex Tejada, who seems to do his best kicking when the game’s not on the line, could use a clutch kick or two heading into 2010. Tejada is 56 of 57 on extra-point attempts and 14 of 19 on fieldgoal attempts, compared to East Carolina’s Ben Hartmann, who is 32 of 32 and 19 of 25, including a long of 49 yards. The Razorbacks’ coverage units, like deep snapper Rhett Richardson and holder Austin Tucker, have been very steady all season long. The Pirates’ multipurpose star Dwayne Harris ranks 16th in the country with a 27.4-yard kickoff return average. East Carolina’s Matt Dodge is an extraordinary punter with a 45.8-yard average that ranks second in the country. East Carolina is 7th nationally in net punting (39.3), giving the Pirates a distinct advantage over Arkansas (No. 111, 32.3) in that area. Intangibles

The Razorbacks will be boosted by a tremendous fan advantage, with some estimates projecting Arkansas filling up as much as 80 percent of the sold-out Liberty Bowl (62,380 total). Commercial breaks and timeouts will probably play a role, as Arkansas will be without three or four top defensive playmakers on an already thin unit. East Carolina has great motivation after letting what seemed like a sure victory against Kentucky get away here last year. Plus, the fact that a Conference USA team has never beaten an SEC opponent in this bowl is motivation. Arkansas’ preparations were intense. Key matchup

Arkansas’ offensive blocking scheme vs. East Carolina defensive front

The Pirates have a superb front four, led by end C.J. Wilson and tackle Linval Joseph. Their slants and stunts are difficult to pick up and are intended to plug the run and change passing angles for Coach Bobby Petrino’s offense.