Like it is: Razorbacks must step up game to defeat Bulldogs

WALLY HALL
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- It is time.
If the Arkansas Razorbacks have any intention of keeping Houston Nutt's home record unblemished, now is when everyone has to step up.
Georgia is better than Alabama.
The Bulldogs were the team picked to win the SEC championship this year.
Quincy Carter is the quarterback who was being heralded as a threat to Michael Vick in the Heisman Trophy race.
If the Razorbacks are going to have a chance to get it into the fourth quarter and work their magic against Georgia, they have to be better.
Each week they've improved, but now they will have to make an even greater leap.
They can't do that if they don't immediately forget Cedric Cobbs and Alabama.
Last Saturday, by the time Houston Nutt made it off the field and finished with his interviews and meeting with players and parents, it was two minutes past midnight.
His rule has always been celebrate a victory until midnight and then start preparing for the next game.
When he finally finished all the handshaking and could change out of the clothes that had been soaked for three hours, he had already begun to focus on Georgia.
We have to do this and we have to do that, he started saying to assorted assistant coaches.
"Let's be ready for film by 8:30," Nutt said, meaning it would be a very short night for him and the assistant coaches.
That focus and enthusiasm carried over for Nutt through Wednesday when he passed on a lunch with some friends to study film with Brandon Holmes and Radale Pearson, who have suddenly been elevated to the main practice field.
With Cobbs and Fred Talley out -- not to mention that Andre Ackee had been penciled in as third team before injuring a knee that required surgery -- Holmes and Pearson, both true freshmen, are expected to back up Alvin Ray.
Ray is the 5-foot-9, 192-pound junior who had been more obvious for his tattoos and pierced nose than for his football until last Saturday.
He's been thrust into his first start as tailback for the Razorbacks, and if he picks up where he left off against 'Bama, he will be OK.
Ray did bring fresh legs into a game when the Tide's defense was tired, so it may not be like he will peel off 30-plus-yard runs at will.
Ray will need to step it up.
It is also time for another receiver to step forward. Boo Williams and Richard Smith need some support on the field, too.
Which brings us to the foundation of every offense, the line.
Its improvement has been steady through the first three games, but this is a new challenge with Georgia's defensive tackles.
Plus, without Cobbs, Hampton will simply need more protection as the Bulldogs won't be as worried about Cobbs getting the ball and running it down their throats.
Needless to say, it doesn't stop there.
The defensive line needs to improve, too.
The way South Carolina beat Georgia was to force Carter into five interceptions. The Gamecocks did that by forcing him to rush his passes.
If the Hogs can get some pressure on him, as well as record a couple of Richter-scale sacks, that will go a long way to covering up the youth and inexperience in the secondary.
Which is another area that has to be on the incline.
Carter is not as good a passer as, say, Bart Kendricks of Boise State, but he's light years more efficient than Tyler Watts was for Alabama.
However, Carter will tuck it and run, so the linebackers are going to have to at least repeat the performance they had against Alabama, if not improve off it.
Although asking Quinton Caver to improve might be asking more than is possible.
If he shows that same intensity the rest of the season, he's a lock for postseason honors ranging all the way up to All-American.
Overall, though, the Hogs have to improve, and now is the time to do it if they hope to ever break into The Associated Press rankings this year.
They went into this season believing they were better than anyone expected, and now, on regional television, they have a chance to prove it.
All they have to do is improve on their last game.

This article was published on Thursday, September 28, 2000

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