Like it is

Early on, 2017 not a good look for Hogs

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema yells to players during a game against Texas A&M on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, in Arlington, Texas.
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema yells to players during a game against Texas A&M on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, in Arlington, Texas.

Wednesday is always hump day, and in football it is the day most fans start to put the last game in the books and look toward the future.

The 50-43 overtime loss to Texas A&M was so disappointing to some in Razorbacks Nation that they are criticizing Coach Bret Bielema's game-day attire.

The sweatshirt didn't look professional, although the Aggies' Kevin Sumlin also was wearing one, but a dark one is better than light gray.

Which brought up another point: While it was great to honor Jerry Jones -- who has given the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville millions of dollars -- the uniforms the Hogs wore Saturday looked like Ohio State. Might not be a bad idea to pack those up with the anthracite uniforms and donate them to Houston or Miami hurricane relief programs.

One comment heard over and over was teams are supposed to win when scoring 43, but that's not the case if the defense allows 44 or more.

The new 3-4 defensive scheme doesn't seem to be slowing down opponents. It is supposed to negate dual-threat quarterbacks' ability to run.

For practical purposes, throw out the Florida A&M game: The Rattlers count only toward bowl eligibility.

The Aggies' true freshman, four-star recruit quarterback Kellen Mond ran for 102 yards on 14 carries and scored 2 touchdowns. He also completed 14 of 27 passes for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was sacked once and not pressured very often.

Kenny Hill, TCU's quarterback, ran 11 times for 35 yards and passed for another 166. He, too, was sacked just once and not pressured very often.

New Mexico State quarterback Tyler Rogers is not much of a runner, or at least he hasn't been so far. He's netted 17 yards on 17 carries but scored 2 touchdowns.

He's completed 132 of 202 passes for 12 touchdowns. He has been intercepted four times.

Don't expect the Hogs to change their defensive scheme now, not a fourth of the way into the season, but they do need to tweak something so they can occasionally put pressure on the quarterback, especially this week.

The most immediate need is to improve protection of the quarterback.

Austin Allen was sacked six times, knocked down nine more times and had to scramble more than 10 times against A&M. It is hard to throw on the run and impossible on your back.

Trailing 33-28 late in the fourth quarter Saturday, Allen sparked a 79-yard touchdown drive in just 3:25 while completing passes of 15 yards to Cheyenne O'Grady and a 44-yard touchdown to Jonathan Nance. Both plays were run out of the Shotgun, which gives Allen a little more time.

On a positive note, the Hogs did win the time of possession battle 32:17 to the Aggies' 27:43. The Razorbacks even held the lead for more than 25 minutes.

Arkansas scored 22 points in the second half, breaking a three-game drought of not scoring in the second half against FBS teams.

However, Arkansas was leading 28-24 after three quarters and gave up 19 points in the fourth quarter, when the Aggies ran for 113 yards and passed for 30.

It was an exciting fourth quarter, as are most games that go into overtime, but far from satisfying for the Razorbacks Nation as the Hogs endured their sixth consecutive loss to the Aggies, and the third overtime loss in the past four games.

Now the Aggies of New Mexico State come to town and they are pretty good, having lost to Arizona State 37-31 in the season opener. Arizona State beat No. 24 Oregon on Saturday.

Still, a good time to tweak some things before getting back into SEC play.

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Sports on 09/27/2017

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