FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is off to its best start under Bobby Petrino with a 6-1 record heading into Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt, but Petrino’s Razorbacks can’t get off to a good start on a week to-week basis.
At least not against the quality of competition they’ve faced the past month.
The BCS No. 10 Razorbacks have trailed early in each of their four games against BCS conference opponents, and in three of those four games they have been behind by at least 10 points prior to halftime.
Twice Arkansas has rallied from at least 17 points down to win, but the Razorbacks understand they are skirting along a dangerous path.
“If you’re playing a good team and you spot them 17 points, you’re not going to get a win a lot of times,” quarterback Tyler Wilson said.
“It’s frustrating,” center Travis Swanson said. “We’re going to fix it this week.”
Arkansas scored a touchdown on its opening drive in each of the first three games, all against lower-level competition. Since then the Razorbacks have gone three-and out on their opening possession in each game. Wilson has completed just 4 of 9 passes for 12 yards on those opening drives, with no completion longer than 4 yards, and the backs have managed three carries for 4 yards.
“Offensively, we’ve sputtered,” Petrino said. “We haven’t been able to take things from the practice field onto the game field right off the bat. It’s important for us to get going fast on offense.”
Defensively, the Razorbacks allowed first-drive touchdowns to Alabama and Texas A&M and second-drive scores to Auburn and Ole Miss. The Hogs have allowed 591 yards in the first quarter of their past four games.
“I wish we had the answer to that, or we probably wouldn’t be going through it,” senior linebacker Jerry Franklin said.
“Defensively, we need to be more aggressive,” Petrino said.
The Razorbacks recognize the flaw, and defensive coordinator Willy Robinson joked about it Wednesday, if only briefly. Robinson told the media he was sorry for starting his news conference later than scheduled. Then he added: “Kind of like we’re starting games, isn’t it?”
Robinson turned serious quick enough.
“It’s a matter of when you do get hit in the mouth, how do you respond?” he said. “I think that has been admirable, even though we’ve found ourselves in really bad situations.”
Linebacker Jerico Nelson said the defense hasn’t been communicating well to start games.
“So we end up giving up cheap yardage and big plays early in the game, but end up fixing it later,” he said.
While coaches can correct poor route-running, a flaw in a throwing motion or improper technique in taking on blockers, a chronically sluggish start is an abstract concept.
Being prepared to play fast,having confidence in the game plan and keeping focused on execution are all critical components for a team hoping to charge out of the gate.
Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said a greater focus on execution should lead to quicker starts.
“It shows just how intense you are, how important things are, that you’re really on it, executing at a high level,” McGee said.
Vanderbilt Coach James Franklin didn’t sound comfortable discussing Arkansas’ issues with opening strong.
“I really don’t want a whole lot of people talking about these things, because Coach Petrino is working on fixing them,” he said. “The more people talk about them ... you know, just like we are, I know Coach Petrino and his staff are aware of things they want to improve on.
“Whether it’s scoring by quarter, whether it’s third down percentage or red zone, we’re all working on our weaknesses.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 10/27/2011