FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas has held 15 of its past 17 opponents to fewer rushing yards than that team's season average.
Texas A&M wasn't one of them last week.
The Aggies galloped through and over the Hogs for 366 rushing yards in their 45-24 victory Saturday. It was the most rushing yards allowed by the Razorbacks since the Aggies amassed 381 yards in a 42-38 loss in 2011.
To put A&M's run-game numbers into perspective, consider Arkansas' previous four opponents -- Kansas State in last season's Liberty Bowl, Louisiana Tech, TCU and Texas State -- combined to rush for 375 yards, only 9 more yards than the Aggies posted at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
For a veteran unit that has ranked second in the SEC in rushing defense each of the past two seasons, the gashing on the ground by the Aggies was somewhat shocking.
"We weren't really doing our jobs up front and in the backfield throughout the game," defensive captain Deatrich Wise said. "There was a lot of small things."
Arkansas' national ranking in run defense was 21st before playing Texas A&M, with the unit allowing 98.7 yards per game. After the Aggies, Arkansas fell to 76th with an average of 165.5 rushing yards allowed per game.
It's a long climb back into the top 25.
"My hat's off to them," Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith said to the Aggies. "I thought they did a great job, and when we made some mistakes, I thought guys pressed at times to do some things more than they had to do, and we've got to learn from that.
"I'm sure we're going to face similar tasks down the road, so we have to take that film ... and learn from it."
Defensive line coach Rory Segrest pointed to the biggest issue.
"At the end of the day, it's big plays," Segrest said. "You can go back and look, and we had TFLs [tackles for loss] and no-gain plays and all that, and then we turn around and, whether it's run or pass, we gave up seven plays that accounted for 351 yards. I mean, you're just not going to win games doing that."
The Aggies had 11 rushing plays of 12 or more yards, three of them by quarterback Trevor Knight.
Freshman running back Trayveon Williams racked up 105 yards in the fourth quarter en route to 153 rushing yards, the most Arkansas has allowed to a tailback since Nick Chubb ran for 202 yards in Georgia's 45-32 victory in Little Rock in 2014.
Additionally, Knight executed the zone read and quarterback draw with great success, piling up 157 yards on his 10 carries, including touchdown runs of 42 and 48 yards, as well as a 62-yard burst up the middle.
"Their quarterback did a really nice job," Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said. "Those schemes were some of the schemes we've used against some really good running quarterbacks and running programs in the past. We just didn't do all that well."
Linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves said Knight's breakaway runs mostly could be chalked up to the eyes of defensive players being in the wrong places.
"I think structurally we were pretty good," Hargreaves said. "We had it set. A couple guys just weren't in the spots that they needed to be."
Another component to Arkansas' run-game issues was good blocking by Texas A&M, which helped widen seams or shielded Arkansas defenders off of Knight long enough for the quarterback to blow into the second level. Middle linebacker Brooks Ellis, in particular, got caught in traffic or was sealed off.
"On those two big runs, just one guy broke his run gap and they found the crease," safety Josh Liddell said. "We've learned from our mistakes."
Defensive backs coach Paul Rhoads noted Alcorn State also presents a difficult quarterback run game Saturday with Noah Johnson and Lenorris Footman, and the challenge of stopping fleet-footed quarterbacks likely will be repeated.
"Both of them are capable of running as well as throwing, and that trend is not going anywhere," Rhoads said.
"The easy piece is having people in the right place. There are so many gaps on the field, and you have to fill those gaps with the right people. Anytime they have that quarterback in a run game, they have created an extra gap ... and there is not an extra defender.
"So you've got to create a scheme to produce that extra defender or cause disruption. As we move forward, that's what we've got to accomplish."
Texas A&M had back-to-back runs of 23 and 22 yards by Williams on a quick touchdown drive after a failed onside kick try by Arkansas after the Hogs pulled within 38-24 in the fourth quarter.
"I think more than anything defensively, we just started pressing," Bielema said. "We had some guys that uncharacteristically maybe hopped out of their responsibility to try to help with someone else. That's just not the way it's going to work."
Assignments have to be followed against dangerous running quarterbacks, Bielema added.
"To defend the quarterback run game in the Spread, you need 11 guys doing their assignment," he said. "It's very much similar to the old-school option football. Everyone has to be assigned and locked into their task and be able to perform. Otherwise, you'll have failure."
Sports on 09/29/2016