A clash of wills meet in Fort Worth
TCU is looking to beat Arkansas for the first time in three decades.
The Horned Frogs (1-0), who beat South Dakota State 59-41 to begin the season, last defeated the Razorbacks in Fort Worth 28-24 in 1981 when the two were members of the Southwest Conference. The last time TCU beat Arkansas was a 56-24 victory in Fayetteville in 1990.
The two squads kick off at 6 p.m. Sept. 10 on ESPN.
But it’s safe to say things have changed since those games decades ago. First, the Horned Frogs are ranked, run a spread offense and its starting quarterback beat Arkansas already as a Texas A&M Aggie.
That was in 2014 when Kenny Hill scored the game’s only touchdown in overtime to lead the Aggies to a 35-28 win. In his debut with TCU, Hill was 33 of 49 for 439 yards and two touchdowns.
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema acknowledged the unique situation the Razorbacks are facing.
“He’s a much improved player than the last time we saw him,” Bielema said. “He’s much more comfortable, scored a lot of points, has tall edge players on offense on the outside. They’re really tall and create some mismatches at 6-4, 6-3.”
Receiver Taj Williams led the Horned Frogs with 11 receptions for 158 yards and a touchdown, the most for TCU since former standout Josh Doctson caught 12 balls for 184 yards against West Virginia last season.
The other issue for Bielema is TCU’s pace on offense. He noted the goal for the Horned Frogs, like it is for many Big 12 Conference members, is going fast.
“So we’re going to have to have a little bit more of an urgency,” he said. “We have to be on our game. It’s a very difficult preparation.”
He noted several of his players watched the Texas win over Notre Dame and saw the speed of the Longhorns’ offense, adding they see how quickly they must be ready to play after the previous play has ended.
“The most important task on Saturday is for our defense to find the ball, get aligned and get ready to make the correct calls,” Bielema said. “I’m sure they’ll do that, and I’m sure they’ll spread you out.”
Perhaps the best way to ice the TCU offense is to make sure the Razorbacks have their own long offensive drives that chew up the clock, he said. They’ll rely on running back Rawleigh Williams to set the tone, much like he did during the 21-20 win against Louisiana Tech in the season opener. Williams had 24 rushes for 102 yards and a touchdown. In all Arkansas had 40 rushes for 142 yards and a touchdown and chewed up almost 36 minutes of game clock.
“I think that’s par on the course for us,” Bielema said. “That’s one of the advantages you have in this style of offense is to be able to monopolize the clock, be able to take the ball. … I like the fact we run a pro style offense, I like the fact we play huddle football and the effect it has on the other team.”
He complimented first-year starting quarterback Austin Allen who was 20 of 29 for 191 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He noted the offensive line and other skill players were adequate.
“Football is all about how it plays out in the end,” he said.
As he reflected on the TCU defense, Bielema mentioned defensive ends Josh Carraway and James McFarland as two who stood out.
“They understand see ball, get ball, run to ball,” he said.
The last time the Bielema led his team against TCU and Gary Patterson was in the 2011 Rose Bowl when the Horned Frogs beat Wisconsin 21-19 to cap a 13-0 season. Bielema noted the contest featured plenty of players who are now in the NFL.
“One heck of a game to watch, it was one of those good defense, good offense. It was played the right way, it was a really clean game,” he said. “That’s when I had a true appreciation for what they do defensively. He’s a defensive coach, heard him clinic, heard him lecture. Been around him now for several Nike events, he’s just a good dude.”
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