Does Everyone Have Wrong Expectation of Razorback Offense?
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Since Dan Enos was hired as Arkansas' offensive coordinator back earlier in the year, a lot of folks have gotten the impression it was going to be a return to a ground-and-pound approach to offense. The numbers tell a different story.
Kendal Briles' offense actually had more yardage on the ground than through the air the last two years he was here. We'll throw out the 2020 season. Nothing about that entire schedule was anything approaching normal for the Razorbacks and college football. Stats from then isn't providing much of a fair comparison.
You may find it a little surprising that Enos' offenses put up more yardage through the air than on the ground. We'll leave out any comparisons with the two Chad Morris years because that period just skews everything else trying to include them.
Enos was here for three seasons (2015-17) and the Hogs' yardage doesn't reflect the record. The best season was 2015 when Brandon Allen passed for big plays, producing just 42.3% of the offense. The next year, 2016, dipped down to 38.3% of the yardage on the ground and that bad 2017 year when the entire coaching staff was fired, 48.5% of the offense was rushing.
Briles' offense produced more yards running than throwing. In that nine-win season in 2021, the Hogs generated 51.5% of the yardage on the ground opposed to passing. A lot of folks will be surprised by that. Even last year's mediocre team got 50.2% of the yards on the ground.
As Sam Pittman has said in making the rounds of interviews the last couple of weeks, you get the impression he's not that worried about the numbers, but being able to run the ball and keep getting first downs. Especially in close games, which were the Hogs' downfall last year.
Everybody keeps expecting some kind of running approach. Enos is actually much more balanced. Pittman talked about it, but most people don't want to actually pay that close attention. Enos will throw a variety of formations and things at defenses, making them have to spend time preparing for a variety of things they never know when Enos will decide to employ. It's a guessing game.
There's also going to be pressure on the Hogs' defense to make some stops, which is why they will be using four men on the defensive front. The hope is they can do a better job in close games of getting off the field late and giving the offense a chance. That's assuming, of course, they get positive answers to the multitude of personnel decisions that are going to have to be made. How well that happens will determine if it's a good season or not.
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