Defense holds off high-octane offense
Harold McIlvain II
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Sports
When preparing for a Tulsa team that averaged over 50 points per game entering Saturday, Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino said it wasn't very easy to sleep.
But after the Razorback defense held the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation to only three second-half points Saturday, Petrino said he was pleased by the defense's ability to execute the game plan during a 30-23 win.
"I'm just proud of our players," Petrino said. "They stayed positive and had good attitudes. If you watch Tulsa in their other games, they are scoring 60 and 77 points. For our defense to hold them to 23 points, I think that is an excellent job."
And the game was secured by the defense after Tulsa marched a final drive down within 12 yards of tying the game. But three rushing attempts were thwarted, leaving one final down from the 7-yard line to determine the game.
Petrino said he was expecting a pass after a tackle for a loss from safety Matt Harris on third down. The final play was a pass, but Tulsa quarterback David Johnson didn't find his target, sealing a Homecoming victory for Arkansas.
Defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said the defense stepped on the last drive and showed how much the unit has improved.
"We've had that happen to us two weeks ago," Robinson said. "But we didn't do it; we didn't ring the bell. For us to have it in our hands and have our kids step up and do what they did, especially after giving up all those yards, our kids fought."
But Harris, who was involved in tackling all three final rushing attempts, said the game was more than just a goal line stand.
"It didn't come down to just that fourth down play," Harris said. "It came down to our offense putting points on the board and our special teams. Dennis Johnson's [touchdown] return was huge. When it came down to fourth down, the defense knew we needed to hold our end of the rope."
Harris, who finished with a team-high 12 tackles, was a part of a secondary that rotated safeties in and out after freshman Jerico Nelson was injured early and missed most of the game.
But after the Razorback defense held the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation to only three second-half points Saturday, Petrino said he was pleased by the defense's ability to execute the game plan during a 30-23 win.
"I'm just proud of our players," Petrino said. "They stayed positive and had good attitudes. If you watch Tulsa in their other games, they are scoring 60 and 77 points. For our defense to hold them to 23 points, I think that is an excellent job."
And the game was secured by the defense after Tulsa marched a final drive down within 12 yards of tying the game. But three rushing attempts were thwarted, leaving one final down from the 7-yard line to determine the game.
Petrino said he was expecting a pass after a tackle for a loss from safety Matt Harris on third down. The final play was a pass, but Tulsa quarterback David Johnson didn't find his target, sealing a Homecoming victory for Arkansas.
Defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said the defense stepped on the last drive and showed how much the unit has improved.
"We've had that happen to us two weeks ago," Robinson said. "But we didn't do it; we didn't ring the bell. For us to have it in our hands and have our kids step up and do what they did, especially after giving up all those yards, our kids fought."
But Harris, who was involved in tackling all three final rushing attempts, said the game was more than just a goal line stand.
"It didn't come down to just that fourth down play," Harris said. "It came down to our offense putting points on the board and our special teams. Dennis Johnson's [touchdown] return was huge. When it came down to fourth down, the defense knew we needed to hold our end of the rope."
Harris, who finished with a team-high 12 tackles, was a part of a secondary that rotated safeties in and out after freshman Jerico Nelson was injured early and missed most of the game.
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