FAYETTEVILLE — Bret Bielema, Dan Enos and Robb Smith break down Arkansas' loss to Alabama and look forward to the matchup with Ole Miss.
Bret Bielema
— Fans did a great job with the environment, but the team didn't play well enough to get them involved all the time. Hopes it's as good this week for Ole Miss.
— Hogs came out of the game pretty well physically. Keon Hatcher didn't regress. Santos Ramirez couldn't go after trying but felt better Sunday. X-rays came back negative on Drew Morgan.
— Alabama took advantage of alignment issues by Arkansas' defense.
— Can't give away free points.
— Lost to two teams that are probably top five in the country in most people's minds. SEC West is pretty good. Just have to focus on Ole Miss.
— Scoota Harris has great tools and has played both Mike and Will, but the game was a little big for him Saturday when he got in, which paved the way for Dwayne Eugene to play. Eugene did well. He takes a ton of notes. Khalia Hackett has put himself in a position to get back in the mix the last few weeks.
— Dre Greenlaw is out for four to six weeks, not the entire season. Had surgery today.
— Had a philosophical conversation with Robb Smith about how to get players in better position before the snap. Thinks that will help.
— Thinks Hogs are physically better than they have been as far as it relates to the rest of the SEC.
— Santos Ramirez wasn't quite there, which left Hogs with two safeties. Pointed out the lack of depth to several safeties visiting. Josh Liddell took bad angles and missed some tackles, but he can be better if he's lined up right and knows his keys. Felt De'Andre Coley was the same. Both pressed trying to make more
— Taiwan Johnson needs to take more reps. Team has to have its best players on the field as much as possible without being adversely affected.
— Jokes that he lost 20 pounds to try to get down the sideline quicker to call timeouts. Came in handy on the fumble recovery that was missed. His life flashed before his eyes when Arkansas stopped Alabama on the third down play that was negated by the timeout.
— Noted the refs also called Arkansas for having 12 men on the field when they only had 11.
— Devwah Whaley is getting better. Obviously missed the pass pro on an Allen sack. He's so conscientious and got hard on himself when he missed the pickup. That'll get better.
— The offensive line gets a lot of hype in the conference, so they'll deal with the heat.
— Brian Wallace did a good job blocking some really good players.
— Sometimes it was scheme issues on blocking. Sometimes it was technique.
— Wallace is putting it together better every week.
— Wants to move forward instead of reflecting on the holding call on the negated Morgan touchdown. He's been guaranteed the Hogs won't see the official who called the hold on Wallace.
— Austin Allen was laid-back in the quarterback room Sunday making coffee. Great demeanor.
— Team Hogs played is ranked No. 1 for a reason. There were some busts, but they were a split second away from allowing running backs to break long plays. They emphasize "strain," holding blocks for a little longer. It can make a big difference.
— Jokes that he has a lot of agreements with officials, but media only wants to talk about disagreements. A lot of communication with officials is for educational purposes. Cites Alabama offensive linemen downfield who wasn't called for it because the pass being out of bounds.
— Was impressed the drunk fan who was arrested was able to pronounce his name correctly. "He was at least somewhat in the loop." Won't be speaking in his class any time soon. Hasn't heard from him. He hasn't heard from the fan. Notes if he heard from everyone in the stands who yelled at him, it'd be a long process.
— Notes that Hjalte Froholdt is still just six games into his career. He had to be removed from the offense recently in practice for a few plays because he got too emotional. Bielema stressed to him that the game needed to be played by calm people. Saturday, he had a few mental busts. He's a smart kid, so Bielema stressed that he has to be locked in mentally on the field. His father was in the stands from Denmark this week. Froholdt is clearly the best option at left guard.
Dan Enos
— Hogs had to be aggressive. There were three or four big plays open that the Hogs couldn't complete because of pass protection. Everyone in protection was at fault for some. Even Austin Allen posture was the reason for one sack.
— Receivers and tight ends did a much better job than they did last year. Competed much better than a year ago.
— Loved Austin Allen's competitiveness, lowering his shoulder on the third-and-20 trying to pick up the first down in the first half.
— Allen's feet got him in trouble on some throws. When you make poor throws and decisions, the feet are often a good indicator for the confidence in the play. It doesn't matter how many times you've been hit, you have to look downfield and make good throws with pocket posture and footwork. It'll be a growing moment.
— Austin Cantrell is doing a good job, but needs to be a bit better in the pass game. Behind where Jeremy Sprinkle was in the same position last year. Has done a great job in the run game. Has great strength.
— Devwah Whaley is close to being a double-digit carries back, but has to get better at other aspects. Didn't play much after missing the blitz pickup. Once the run game was shut down, offense had to try to make plays throwing the ball, which made them go other directions.
— Expects wrinkles from Ole Miss since it is coming off a bye week.
— Jared Cornelius' big jump has come with great, consistent practice. He's one of the smartest football players on the team, knows all three receiver positions. He has great ball skills.
— "Mind-blowing" how well Frank Ragnow played given the circumstances. "Off-the-charts good." Wasn't perfect, but for what had happened, it was amazing.
— Hadn't seen Alabama blitz as much this season, especially on early downs. Doesn't know why that was. Not normally a big blitz team.
— Alabama is very "clutchy" and "grabby" and it goes uncalled a lot. Hogs WRs battled and competed.
— Goes back and says he doesn't think they get away with it. Very rarely do WRs get free releases off the line of scrimmage. Just a physical group. That's why Hogs did so much motion, trying to get free releases. Not saying what Alabama does is illegal. Their DBs are big and they recruit them that way for a reason.
Robb Smith
— Thought De'Jon Harris and Dwayne Eugene did a good job. Staff is going to look at ways to put them in better positions this week. Both players will prepare as starters. Whoever performs the best will win the start.
— Khalia Hackett and Randy Ramsey could help because it's "all hands on deck." Hackett has responded the last few weeks.
— Josh Williams and Josh Harris will get reps behind Brooks Ellis at the Mike linebacker spot.
— Encouraged that Dre Greenlaw could get back.
— Hogs have to minimize Chad Kelly's ability to extend the play "at all costs." Need to keep him contained and in the pocket.
— Thought Hogs coached and executed better in the second half. Better isn't to be confused with good, but there was progress in the second half.
— It's not all on the safeties. Have to do better setting the edge. Need 11 guys to perform at their best on every play.
— Thought Hogs emphasized stopping Jalen Hurts' run game and players did that. Staff has to be smart with what they emphasize.
— Staff believes in what it does. There's always a tweak or two every week. This week will be the same.
— Defense needs to produce takeaways.
— Any time you have a performance like that, you're critical of everything. Staff has to find has to find ways to allow players to play fast.
— Santos Ramirez is still day-to-day. They'll work to get him healthy.