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Balanced, methodical offense lulls Texas to sleep in 24-point loss to Arkansas
By Jordan Cox
Published:
The numbers aren’t flashy, but boy were they effective.
An Arkansas offense that was balanced as ever gained 351 yards of total offense in the Razorbacks’ 31-7 Texas Bowl win over Texas on Monday night in Houston. Junior signal-caller Brandon Allen delivered a solid performance, living up to his “game manager” title. The duo of Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins gashed the Longhorns en route to 191 yards on the ground.
Allen completed 12-of-23 passes for 160 yards and two scores. It was the typical performance we’ve come to expect from Allen. He made some nice throws when he had time, but when he missed, he missed badly.
The junior began the game just three-of-eight. He caught fire midway through the second quarter, though, completing four-of-six passes on a touchdown drive that put Arkansas up 10.
When the Longhorns created pressure, he struggled. Allen missed tight end Hunter Henry — who was open in the left corner of the end zone — throwing the ball out of bounds in the third quarter. That led to a missed Adam McFain field goal, causing the Hogs to come up empty on their first drive of the second half.
Allen was good enough to compliment a run game for which opposing defenses continue to have no answer. Williams rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, while Collins added 76 yards on 17 touches. The tandem — with their impressive vision and bruising style — wore down a Texas defense that ranked among the top in the Big 12.
Arkansas succeeded on Monday night, because offensive coordinator Jim Chaney aided that. A coach long known for his knowledge of the passing game — he coached the likes of Drew Brees at Purdue — has taken the pieces given him and cultivated a punishing offense behind a massive offensive line and two NFL-caliber backs. The second-year coordinator called his best game of the season in the Texas Bowl.
Arkansas has had similar outings in 2014; the Hogs put up 49 points on Texas Tech in an early-September non-conference rout, and followed that up with 28 points against Texas A&M and 30 points against Ole Miss. However, there have been moments this season in which the offense has stalled or Chaney has gotten away from the identity of the offense.
Take the second half of the season finale against Missouri. Chaney, while Arkansas held a lead, abandoned the run and forced Allen to throw leaving him vulnerable for Tigers defensive stars Shane Ray and Markus Golden. That’s only one such instance. But on Monday night, Chaney stuck to his plan and delivered the most balanced Arkansas offense of the season with 351 yards on 73 plays.
Arkansas’ 31 points weren’t the result of any big plays, outside of Demetrius Wilson’s spectacular 36-yard touchdown reception in the first half.
The Razorbacks, however, did exactly what they needed to lull Texas into a sleep and deliver the knockout blow.
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
