FAYETTEVILLE — Petrino: Friday good fit
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said he would prefer the Hogs’ annual game against LSU to be on the Friday after Thanksgiving, as it was during his first season in 2008 when the Razorbacks won 31-30 on a late touchdown pass at War Memorial Stadium.
“When we went out on the road recruiting ... it seemed every school we went into, every home we went into, they watched that game on TV,” Petrino said.
Asked if he would lobby for a return to Friday, Petrino said he wasn’t much of a lobbyist.
“But maybe upstairs they can do it,” he said, referring to Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long.
The Arkansas-LSU game moved to Saturday in 2009 when Alabama and Auburn changed the Iron Bowl to the weekend after Thanksgiving and the game was quickly snagged by CBS for its Friday slot.
Ready for Ryan
The LSU defense, which was torched by Auburn quarterback Cam Newton for 217 rushing yards and burned by the feet of Ole Miss quarterback Jeremiah Masoli last week, isn’t unhappy about facing a traditional drop-back quarterback in Ryan Mallett.
“We’re getting back to playing a more conventional offense with a pocket passer,” LSU linebacker Kelvin Sheppard said. “I’m pretty excited about that.”
Defensive end Barkevious Mingo said speed rushing is more convenient than trying to track a quarterback who can bolt from the pocket and slice downfield.
“He’s not as elusive as Masoli or Newton,” Mingo said. “He’s just a pure quarterback who stays in the pocket and it’s easier to plan for that than for Masoli, who gets out of the pocket and makes plays with his legs.
“You can’t really pin your ears back against a guy like that. You’ve got to react to what he does. This week, the quarterback is going to have to react to what we do.”
LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson said the Razorbacks have a pro-style offense with a prototype quarterback “who can throw the ball all around the yard. They’ve got aphysical running back coming off a career night, a good receiver corps. They execute the plays well that they run, and that’s going to be a hard task for us. But it’s going to be a fun game.”
Tricky situation
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino acknowledged he and his staff pulled out their LSU “trick play” video this week in anticipation of any Tigers’ hi-jinx Saturday.
The Tigers rank second nationally with 10 of 11 (.909) fourth-down conversions this season behind Florida State (5 of 5).
“We always have to spend time with their trick plays and special teams, the fakes and everything they do,” Petrino said.
“There was a while back we brought [LSU’s gadgetplay video] out to see if there were any of them we wanted to use. We used one and it didn’t work at all against Texas A&M. Maybe we should have kept that file in the closet.”
Petrino was referring to an over-the-shoulder fake field goal toss by holder Austin Tucker that did not hit kicker Zach Hocker instride and did not result in a first down.
Ironically, LSU used the play that very night against Florida and the ball bounced perfectly to kicker Josh Jasper for a fourthdown conversion that set up LSU’s game-winning touchdown.
Peterson excels
LSU cornerback and return specialist Patrick Peterson was named one of three finalists for both the Thorpe and Bednarik awards this week. The Thorpe is presented to the top defensive back in college football, while the Bednarik is given to the top defensive player.
Last week, the Pompano Beach, Fla., native was selected as a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy, which is bestowed by the Football Writers Association of America to the top defensive player in college football.
Exotic Tigers
A brief waltz through the LSU roster is an annual treasure trove of interesting names.
A sampling of this year’s Tigers: Center TBob Hebert and defensive linemen Ego Ferguson and Barkevious Mingo.
Second OT
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino kept it safe last week in the first overtime - with three Knile Davis runs - because the situation called for it with the Hogs needing just a field goal to beat Mississippi State.
The second overtime was a different situation altogether, as the Razorbacks had the ball first.
“We came back the next time and went back to our normal offense and were aggressive,” Petrino said.
Sports, Pages 26 on 11/26/2010