NEW ORLEANS — UA coach putting on game face
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino is focusing on the task at hand.
Petrino, meeting with the media after the Razorbacks’ Sunday morning practice at Tulane University, was clearly more intense than he had been in his last appearance with reporters on Thursday.
“There’s only so many things in life you can focus on, and what we’re focusing on is this football team, the University of Arkansas, and going out and having a very, very good performance in a big bowl game,” Petrino said of Tuesday’s Sugar Bowl. “This is a big game.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this football team to play a game of this magnitude.”
Pryor concerns
With two days remaining before the 77th Sugar Bowl, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor finds himself embroiled in more controversy.
The Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday that Pryor had been stopped by police for traffic violations three times in the past three years while driving cars owned by a used car salesman or one from a lot where the salesman worked.
The newspaper reportedthat Ohio State officials had looked into two of the stops, both from early 2010, and determined no NCAA violations had occurred.
Pryor was driving a loaner car while the engine was being replaced in his vehicle, which Ohio State officials concluded was a standard procedure at the dealership, according to the Dispatch.
Ohio State officials were unaware of the third stop, in October 2008, the Dispatch reported, but said they would investigate it. Pryor was ticketed for speeding in that incident while he was driving a 2004 GMC Denalithat was owned by car salesman Aaron Kniffin, the newspaper reported.
Timing pattern
Bobby Petrino said the Razorbacks have been throwing and catching the ball well in New Orleans since shaking off the rust in Tuesday’s opening practice.
“It’s been great to work in the dome all week long, because the lights are a little bit different,” Petrino said.
“We’ve caught punts well, kickoffs well. I’m excited about that.”
Arkansas’ outdoor practice on Sunday at Tulane University, because of the Saints’ game against Tampa Bay, was its only work this week outside of the Superdome, the site of the Sugar Bowl.
Michigan guy
Ohio State players have extra motivation facing Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, the transfer from Michigan who has expressed his dislike for the Buckeyes since the Sugar Bowl pairing was announced.
“He’s an unbelievable quarterback, and we have to get after him anyway, but I think it does help that he was a Michigan guy,” Ohio State defensive tackle Dexter Larimore said. “It never hurts to put that mentality in our head and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to play this guy like we play Michigan.’ ”
D.J. on Bourbon
Arkansas tight end D.J.
Williams showed again on Sunday why he is ever the football ambassador for the Hogs.
Williamssent out a picture on Twitter that showed him posing on Bourbon Street with an Ohio State fan who is wearing a wild wig and facepaint and an Ohio State jersey that appeard to have “Buckeyeman” on it.
Williams wrote, “This is what u call sportsmenship.
Lol! Gotta love bourbon street” on the tweet.
In the club
Defensive end Jake Bequette will become the latest member of his family to play for the Razorbacks in one of the traditional big four bowl games: Cotton, Sugar, Orange and Rose.
His grandfather, George Bequette, played in the 1954 Cotton Bowl against Georgia Tech. Jay Bequette, his father, played for the 1979Hogs against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and his uncle, Chris, played in the 1987 Orange Bowl against Oklahoma.
“When Arkansas made the Sugar Bowl this year, I told Jake, ‘Welcome to theclub,’ ” Jay Bequette said.
Jake Bequette can grab family bragging rights if the Razorbacks defeat Ohio State on Tuesday, as none of the other Bequettes won their big bowl games.
Big Sugar?
SI.com’s Stewart Mandel reported Sunday that the Sugar Bowl has a good chance of matching the television rating posted by the Rose Bowl.
Mandel posted on Twitter, “FWIW, I’ve been told the Sugar Bowl, w/ primetime slot and Ohio St., could come close to matching Rose Bowl rating, which has never happened.”
Kick uncoverage
Arkansas’ kickoff coverage team ranks 111th nationally in allowing 25.86 yards per return. The unit gave up a 100-yard return for a touchdown against UTEP, a 99-yarder that led to a touchdown at Auburn, and two 50-yard plus returns in the regular-season finale to LSU’s Patrick Peterson.
Special teams coordinator John L. Smith said the situation has been vexing.
“It’s just not been as good there as I would like it to be,” said Smith, who also noted the Hogs’ kickoff returns - which rank No. 102 with 19.6 yards per return - have not been up to snuff.
“We need to make improvements in both of those,” he said.
On Broadway
Senior cornerback Ramon Broadway, whohas been out since the South Carolina game witha dislocated ankle, said he would have loved to have finished his career in his home state of Louisiana in a BCS bowl.
“It’s killing me,” Broadwaysaid, while leaving Tulane’s Wilson Center for Intercollegiate Athletics after the Hogs’ practice.
Broadway said his rehabilitation work has gone well as he works toward a professional career.
Worth noting
Bob Petrino Sr., the father of Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino, said he’s been in town all week after attending Illinois’ victory over Baylor in the Texas Bowl to be with his other son, Paul Petrino, the offensive coordinator for the Illini.
Sugar Bowl officials have done a good job all week of asking reporters to turn off their cell phones before news conferences, but without a notification on Sunday, a reporter’s phone went off with music from the old sitcom “Seinfeld.”
Sports, Pages 20 on 01/03/2011