FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks once dominated at War Memorial Stadium, regardless of whether the opponent was an SEC or Southwest Conference rival or if the University of Arkansas was hosting a non-conference foe.
Not anymore.
The Razorbacks are 3-7 in their last 10 games at War Memorial Stadium, a stretch which has included losses to Louisiana-Monroe in 2012 and Toledo in 2015 and no wins over SEC or even FBS opponents.
Arkansas' last win in Little Rock over a conference opponent came in a 44-17 rout of Mississippi State on Nov. 19, 2011. The Razorbacks rose to No. 3 in the Bowl Championship Series standings after that win over the Bulldogs before falling 41-17 at No. 1 LSU the next week.
Arkansas has lost conference games in succession at War Memorial Stadium to Ole Miss (30-27) in 2012, Mississippi State (24-17, overtime) in 2013, No. 10 Georgia (45-32) in 2014, Ole Miss (37-33) in 2018, and Missouri (24-14) in 2019.
Johnson belief
Sophomore Dominique Johnson didn't make a big deal out of Coach Sam Pittman's comment that he felt his workload should be doubled in the tailback rotation.
The 6-1, 240-pound "big back" has become somewhat of a sensation with his powerful blocking, scoring touchdowns in each of the first three games and his team-high 6.6 yards per carry.
"I knew I can do everything that I'm doing now," Johnson said. "I come to practice and I work hard like everyone else. I put my head down. I don't say anything. I come to work.
"I really love playing football. I love being physical. I know that's me. I'm a bigger back and obviously I know I can pound the ball, but if you give me a crease I can run really well. I just do the best I can with the carries I get."
Johnson who has 33 attempts for 218 yards and 4 touchdowns, ranks fourth in carries on the roster behind junior Trelon Smith (83-435, 4 TD), Raheim Sanders (70-388, 1) and quarterback KJ Jefferson (78-386, 5).
Punt particulars
UAPB leads the FCS with four blocked punts, a statistic that is not lost on the Razorbacks.
Arkansas has had four blocked punts during 17 games under Coach Sam Pittman and special teams coordinator Scott Fountain, including one this year against both Rice and Georgia.
The Golden Lions' blocks have come from Paul Reeves, Kailon Davis, Isaiah Singleton and Dylan Smith.
UAPB staff
Arkansas-Pine Bluff Coach Doc Gamble has major experience on his coaching staff.
Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell was the head coach at his alma mater, Miami (Ohio) from 2011-13 after working at stops as varied as Cincinnati, Stanford and North Carolina State and also being selected for the NFL's Minority Fellowship Program with the San Francisco 49ers (1989-90).
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Bradley was a four-year standout at Arkansas State who played four seasons with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions. Bradley worked at Arkansas State and North Carolina Central before coming on with the Golden Lions in 2019 and adding assistant head coaching duties in 2020.
Also on staff is safeties coach Aairon Savage, a Freshman All-America choice at Auburn in 2006 before injuries stalled his career. He started seven games during the Tigers' national championship season of 2010 before enduring another season-ending injury.
Former Grambling State quarterback Kendrick Nord is the quarterbacks coach. A three-year starter at Grambling (1993-95) who broke some of Doug Williams' school passing records, Nord played professionally with the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens of the NFL, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, and also with the Arena League's Iowa Barnstormers and New York Dragons, and the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe.
Third-down data
Arkansas had a strong effort with 10 of 19 third-down conversions against Auburn. That improved the Razorbacks' third-down success rate to 38 of 95 (40%) on the season to rank 11th in the SEC and 68th in the country.
The Razorbacks have had back-to-back games of better than 50% third down conversions, their first such games of the season.
On the other side of the ball, Arkansas opponents are 30 of 96 (30.9%) on third downs, a stat in which the Hogs lead the SEC and rank 15th in the FBS.
Fourth-down data
The Razorbacks went 0 for 3 on fourth downs to drop to 4 of 9 (44.4%) on the season. That figure ranks 12th in the SEC and 94th nationally.
Auburn did not have a fourth-down attempt, leaving Arkansas opponents at 9 of 14 (64.3%) to rank 12th in the SEC and 100th nationally.
First timers
Arkansas will play a second team this season that it is meeting for the first time. The Razorbacks had also never played against Georgia Southern before downing the Eagles 45-10 on
Stat chat
The Razorbacks are No. 21 nationally in total offense with 459.7 yards per game. They are No. 8 in rushing (243.0), No. 86 in passing (216.7), No. 30 in team passing efficiency (154.55) and No. 47 in scoring (31.0).
On the other side of the ball, Arkansas is No. 48 in total defense (350.4), No. 94 against the run (175.0), No. 15 against the pass (175.4), No. 32 in pass efficiency defense (119.25) and No. 75 in scoring defense (26.4).
Call crew
The SEC Network announcing team assigned to cover Saturday's game in Little Rock consist of Dave Neal on play-by-play, Deuce McAllister as color analyst and Andraya Carter reporting from the sidelines. The same crew called Arkansas' 45-10 victory over Georgia Southern on Sept. 18.