Making points count

FAYETTEVILLE -- There is no simple way to explain the emergence of this Arkansas Razorbacks football team.

An abrupt turnaround, after a 1-3 start that was triggered by injuries, penalties and other mistakes, has led to bowl eligibility for the Razorbacks, who have climbed into a tie for second in the SEC West with Ole Miss and LSU.

Arkansas (6-4, 4-2 SEC) will try to extend its four-game winning streak and improve its bowl position tonight at Reynolds Razorback Stadium against Mississippi State (7-3, 3-3).

A victory today and against Missouri next Friday, coupled with an Alabama loss in the Iron Bowl at Auburn, could push the Razorbacks into a tie for the SEC West title.

Coach Bret Bielema's frustration with the team's lackluster September -- when it lost home games to Toledo and Texas Tech -- was clear when that SEC title scenario was presented to him.

"I get what you're saying, if we finish out and they finish out that way, that would be the case," Bielema said of a Razorbacks team that is coming off road victories against Ole Miss and LSU-- two teams ranked in the College Football Playoff top 10 -- in back-to-back weeks. "But the only way you control your own destiny is at the beginning of the year to win them all, and we didn't do that.

"We're just going to play Mississippi State and see how the cards lie after that."

Perhaps the single largest contributor to Arkansas' reversal of fortunes has been the team's state of mind.

The Razorbacks entered their bye week in mid-October with a 2-4 record after a 27-14 loss at Alabama. That's when Bielema hammered home the idea that the team's only focus should be on the next practice, the next day, the next game.

"We kind of, I guess, forgot the first part of the season and really kind of reinvented ourselves," quarterback Brandon Allen said. ... "Taking it one day at a time and winning games."

Said running back Kody Walker: "Our preparation has been great these past several weeks.... When you know what you're doing, that creates an edge for you."

Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos said Bielema's steady hand when the Razorbacks were at their lowest points helped fuel the turnaround.

"Anybody can lead when the seas are calm, but when they get rocky, that's when true leaders show themselves," Enos said. "Coach Bielema certainly did a great job of keeping the team focused on the task at hand."

The assistant coaches helped stress that message, and it permeated the locker room.

"The sign of a good, well-coached football team is they get better throughout the year," Enos said. "I think certainly you've got to give Coach Bielema a ton of credit because I think our football team has gotten better in a lot of areas."

Tight end Hunter Henry said staying hungry was imperative.

"Our backs were against the wall, and we knew that," he said. "We all recognized that. We could all hear what was going on around us, but I think we all kind of blocked it out.

"Our attitudes, it's been cool to be around. The adversity we've faced this year in games and in the season I think has really shaped us into who we are."

FEWER FLAGS

The final three drives of Arkansas' 16-12 loss to Toledo epitomized the Razorbacks' problems early. The Razorbacks took 14 offensive snaps inside the Toledo 20 on those three series and came away with three points. There were also several missed opportunities in the loss to Texas Tech.

Six games in, after its loss to Alabama, Arkansas was 2-4 and No. 99 in scoring (23.8 points per game).

Penalties were at the root of the problem.

Arkansas was No. 97 with an average of 72.3 penalty yards per game and No. 92 with an average of 7.75 penalties per game through 4 games. Holding calls wiped out a Jared Cornelius punt return for a touchdown against Toledo and an Alex Collins run to the 1 against the Rockets. The Razorbacks were hit with four offensive holding calls in the first half of their 28-21 loss in overtime to Texas A&M on Sept. 26. Since then, the Razorbacks have been flagged for one offensive holding call in six games.

"We really tried to work on it in practice," Allen said. "If there was a penalty in practice that was noticeable, we redid the play or took the guy out who made it."

The Razorbacks have been penalized for more than 25 yards in a game just once -- seven penalties for 44 yards at Alabama -- in their past six games. In the victories at Ole Miss and LSU, the Razorbacks were flagged twice for 20 yards in each game.

Now, Arkansas is No. 20 in the country with an average of 5.1 penalties per game and No. 24 with an average of 44.3 penalty yards per game, which are compatible with Bielema's best teams.

Consequently, the Razorbacks have scored 201 points in their past four games to improve their scoring average by 10.6 points per game. They have moved up 65 spots to No. 34, with an average of 34.4 points per game.

"You get penalized less when you know what you're doing," Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman said. "You're playing faster, you're fitting on blocks more. Your backs are seeing things better. You know where the back is a little bit more.

"Most holding calls are basically I thought the back was over here and he's actually over here. I think we've started to understand the offense a little bit better."

MAKING PLAYS

Another piece in Arkansas' midseason rebound has been the emergence of multiple players who were nonfactors, nonstarters or role players to open the season.

Junior-college transfer wide receiver Dominique Reed of Camden did not get early playing time because he struggled to get lined up and run the proper route on every play. Now he's riding a streak of scoring a touchdown in six consecutive games and threatening defenses with his elite speed.

Receiver Drew Morgan also has asserted himself as one of the top receivers in the SEC with 45 catches for 639 yards and 9 touchdowns. Walker's role has grown since his return from a broken thumb, and Cornelius has scored touchdowns in each of the past two games after his early return from a double left arm fracture.

The end result has been a team that is practicing and playing with confidence, but offensive tackle Dan Skipper said the team's approach to its four-game winning streak has to be the same stance it took going into the Auburn game to open the season's second half Oct. 24.

"You can't bask on last week in order to win this week," Skipper said. "No one's going to give you anything in this league or in life."

Sports on 11/21/2015