Texas A&M vs Arkansas Preview: 3 key matchups in SEC West showdown

Sep 12, 2015; Little Rock, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bret Bielema leaves the field after action against the Toledo Rockets War Memorial Stadium. The Rockets defeated the Razorbacks 16-12. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Bret Bielema vs. BERT

Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema is a very, very good football coach known for guiding a consistent, winning program at Wisconsin, and for rebuilding Arkansas from the inside out, as in focusing on the line of scrimmage first. Bielema is also an entertaining personality, which makes him fun to cover for journalists that are often frustrated with the same short answers most head coach give in weekly press conferences and on conference calls. But sometimes, BERT doesn’t know when to keep his mouth closed.

Telling reporters at SEC Media Days that taking a knee at the end of the Texas Bowl was “borderline erotic” was hilarious. However, looking back at it now following back-to-back upset losses to Toledo and Texas Tech, perhaps the comment was a warning to us that Bielema spent a lot of his time in the off-season patting himself on the back for the terrific coaching job he did last season – which included consecutive shutouts over LSU and Ole Miss – to earn the spot in the bowl game against Texas, and then beating the Longhorns in dominant fashion.

The latest example of BERT putting his foot in his mouth came to light after the Razorbacks lost 35-24 to Texas Tech last Saturday. Red Raiders head coach Kliff Kingsbury took exception to a speech Bielema gave to a group of high school coaches in the Lone Star State during the off-season, reportedly in reference to Bielema’s preferred preference for a hard-nosed, traditional rushing attack over the spread offenses common across the nation (and particularly in Texas high schools).

Kingsbury made some pointed comments to the media after the game, and Bielema – not knowing when to stop talking – responded through the media Monday. Interestingly enough, it was the second week in a row Bielema looked especially silly because of his big, BERT mouth. He called out Ohio State’s scheduling practices days before losing to MAC opponent Toledo.

But perhaps even worse than Bielema’s comments in recent weeks is the fact that his team has lost that smashmouth identity on offense. The Razorbacks averaged 218 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked fifth in the SEC and No. 24 in the nation, and threw for 188 yards on average, which ranked No. 11 and No. 11, respectively.

This year, under the direction of Dan Enos, whom Bielema hired as his new offensive coordinator over the winter, Arkansas has run for 171 rushing yards on average through the first three games, and have thrown for 305.3 yards per context. With one of the nation’s toughest offensive lines and junior running back Alex Collins in the backfield – who gained 1,100 yards and scored 12 touchdowns while sharing time with Jonathan Williams last season – the decision to lean on the passing game is perplexing to say the least.

For Arkansas to get off to a good start in SEC play, BERT needs to keep himself out of the newspaper, and he needs to get his team’s offensive identity back.

Next: Prediction