Photo by Kirby Clarke, TexAgs
Texas A&M Football
“Bret Bielema is in his fourth year and they have recruited well for Arkansas. They aren’t A&M, or any other top 15 recruiting class but they have recruited what they do. They have a great group of receivers that really helps the quarterback. What Brandon Allen didn’t have in his time early at Arkansas was his health, he was beat up pretty bad each of the first couple of years. He didn’t have a lot of help around him. Austin Allen has been able to sit there and go through an entire year of watching his brother, and he is a really talented guy who, throughout his career, has been called a gamer. He is a clutch kind of performer and when the moment gets bigger, he gets better. Due to the talent that he has a receiver and the solid running game that Bielema always has. Rawleigh Williams is well on his way to being another 1,000-yard rusher and they always seem to have one of those guys. They have recruited well on the offensive line; it is just a matter of when it all comes together and gel. That will certainly be tested on Saturday with those great defensive ends that the Aggies have.”
“If you watched the TCU-Arkansas game, late in the game the secondary looked questionable. Early in the game you had to be impressed because they shut them out in the first half. They go into the fourth quarter only having only given up seven points and Arkansas had a first and goal at the two. It was eerily reminiscent of the last two A&M games where they blew leads in the fourth quarter, but this time they held on and tied the game. They went to overtime and picked up the win. To answer your question, I think they are a lot better on defense. The secondary is much improved. Are they still susceptible? Yes, I think that any defense can be the way that offenses are run today. If the offense executes, that puts the defense at a disadvantage. I think Arkansas is better up front on the defensive line and are way better at linebacker, and the back end is much improved. I think it will be the toughest test that the A&M offense has had in an Arkansas defense in the last three meetings. Paul Rhoades was a great hire. Robb Smith is a great defensive coordinator and you can see that over the past few years. They are starting to do things differently in the secondary and from a coordinator’s perspective it is all about being connected. You can’t coach every position and you need people to coach the way that you want it done. I think that Paul Rhoades is that, but also brings a lot of specialties to the position group with his technique and touch. It has been a really good pairing so far.”
“I had a lot of great help when creating ‘Being Bret Bielema’. It came about when I was talking to the University of Arkansas about just being around him and understanding the type of person that he is. If you spend any time around him, you will like him. He is just fun to be around. We were working with JM Associates, a great production company out of Little Rock who has worked with ESPN for years, and we talked about doing a TV show and it came about that Bielema was going to be a great TV show if we could get some access. Basically we pitched it to him that it would help in recruiting and it would help people understand who he is and it was a win-win I think. You see the reality of what it is like being a coach, so being the kind of guy that he is, a real genuine guy who is funny. There is a lot of stuff that makes up four really solid episodes. They are on the WatchESPN app if you want to watch and are on time to time on the ESPN channels. After they beat TCU, they aired all four of them on ESPN2. It is not hard to find them. It is not Arkansas-centric, but it is more about Bielema and if you like behind the scenes college football type of stuff, you will like this.”
“I think a lot of people are concerned with how things make them look. He is worried about that, too, because he doesn’t want to look bad either. He is very convicted about being real. He finds it very important to be authentic and it is very personal to him. In sports over the years you think about Alex Rodriguez, and you think about how during most of his career he spent a majority of the time trying to put on a front about something that he is not. He wanted to make sure that he looked good. With Bielema you sort of get what you get. When you are raised on a farm you have solid characteristics and that defines who he is. “
“I would be surprised if there aren’t more installments of this show. We are going to be producing a few little side things that we haven’t shown yet. I would be surprised there wasn’t more to the Bielema show, and especially if Arkansas keeps winning. All of that starts Saturday against A&M. One other thing, can that game start any later? They bumped it back to 8:15. I heard from the Arkansas play-by-play guy that the start is at 8:15 now. So, we will see what happens.”
“I think Arkansas would like to keep this game in Dallas. That is a great recruiting area for them. There are so many advantages in playing this game. That location is closer to campus and is advantageous to them. A&M probably wouldn’t have agreed to it if that had been in the SEC at the time of the deal. Arkansas is all about keeping the contract. From a fan perspective, after a while Arkansas fans might want to come to College Station. Or, if you are an Aggie, you may want to go experience Fayetteville and other towns. It is not a bad trip to Arlington, it is pricey, but it is a heck of an experience. It has been a great game and there have been great crowds. I think Arkansas is in a bit of a different position as far as where the game is played. I guess for A&M and Arkansas is when you are the home team you give up an SEC home game at your own stadium. For Arkansas you have to replace that with a meaningful non-conference game like a TCU next year. What they had was a Michigan game that was cancelled. Now they have to figure out that who they want to play instead.”
Arkansas radio host Bo Mattingly shares thoughts on Saturday's game
September 21, 2016
4,153
Key quotes from Bo Mattingly interview
“This will be another great game in Dallas. Arkansas has had a losing streak in this series and for Razorback fans, they are wondering if it will be any different this time around. It has been fascinating to watch the first three weeks of SEC play and the evolution of A&M and what they are doing and how Kevin Sumlin has adjusted. I can remember Gary Danielson of CBS talking about how it would be difficult for A&M to win playing the way that Sumlin wanted to play because this league, more so than any other in college, is like the NFL with the big defensive lineman and the war in the trenches, but also the speed that comes in this league. It is hard to win in the league without being physical and having a great running game. They have adjusted and right now I think Arkansas and A&M are sort of battling to see who is the contender and the pretender right now in the West.”“Bret Bielema is in his fourth year and they have recruited well for Arkansas. They aren’t A&M, or any other top 15 recruiting class but they have recruited what they do. They have a great group of receivers that really helps the quarterback. What Brandon Allen didn’t have in his time early at Arkansas was his health, he was beat up pretty bad each of the first couple of years. He didn’t have a lot of help around him. Austin Allen has been able to sit there and go through an entire year of watching his brother, and he is a really talented guy who, throughout his career, has been called a gamer. He is a clutch kind of performer and when the moment gets bigger, he gets better. Due to the talent that he has a receiver and the solid running game that Bielema always has. Rawleigh Williams is well on his way to being another 1,000-yard rusher and they always seem to have one of those guys. They have recruited well on the offensive line; it is just a matter of when it all comes together and gel. That will certainly be tested on Saturday with those great defensive ends that the Aggies have.”
“If you watched the TCU-Arkansas game, late in the game the secondary looked questionable. Early in the game you had to be impressed because they shut them out in the first half. They go into the fourth quarter only having only given up seven points and Arkansas had a first and goal at the two. It was eerily reminiscent of the last two A&M games where they blew leads in the fourth quarter, but this time they held on and tied the game. They went to overtime and picked up the win. To answer your question, I think they are a lot better on defense. The secondary is much improved. Are they still susceptible? Yes, I think that any defense can be the way that offenses are run today. If the offense executes, that puts the defense at a disadvantage. I think Arkansas is better up front on the defensive line and are way better at linebacker, and the back end is much improved. I think it will be the toughest test that the A&M offense has had in an Arkansas defense in the last three meetings. Paul Rhoades was a great hire. Robb Smith is a great defensive coordinator and you can see that over the past few years. They are starting to do things differently in the secondary and from a coordinator’s perspective it is all about being connected. You can’t coach every position and you need people to coach the way that you want it done. I think that Paul Rhoades is that, but also brings a lot of specialties to the position group with his technique and touch. It has been a really good pairing so far.”
“I had a lot of great help when creating ‘Being Bret Bielema’. It came about when I was talking to the University of Arkansas about just being around him and understanding the type of person that he is. If you spend any time around him, you will like him. He is just fun to be around. We were working with JM Associates, a great production company out of Little Rock who has worked with ESPN for years, and we talked about doing a TV show and it came about that Bielema was going to be a great TV show if we could get some access. Basically we pitched it to him that it would help in recruiting and it would help people understand who he is and it was a win-win I think. You see the reality of what it is like being a coach, so being the kind of guy that he is, a real genuine guy who is funny. There is a lot of stuff that makes up four really solid episodes. They are on the WatchESPN app if you want to watch and are on time to time on the ESPN channels. After they beat TCU, they aired all four of them on ESPN2. It is not hard to find them. It is not Arkansas-centric, but it is more about Bielema and if you like behind the scenes college football type of stuff, you will like this.”
“I think a lot of people are concerned with how things make them look. He is worried about that, too, because he doesn’t want to look bad either. He is very convicted about being real. He finds it very important to be authentic and it is very personal to him. In sports over the years you think about Alex Rodriguez, and you think about how during most of his career he spent a majority of the time trying to put on a front about something that he is not. He wanted to make sure that he looked good. With Bielema you sort of get what you get. When you are raised on a farm you have solid characteristics and that defines who he is. “
“I would be surprised if there aren’t more installments of this show. We are going to be producing a few little side things that we haven’t shown yet. I would be surprised there wasn’t more to the Bielema show, and especially if Arkansas keeps winning. All of that starts Saturday against A&M. One other thing, can that game start any later? They bumped it back to 8:15. I heard from the Arkansas play-by-play guy that the start is at 8:15 now. So, we will see what happens.”
“I think Arkansas would like to keep this game in Dallas. That is a great recruiting area for them. There are so many advantages in playing this game. That location is closer to campus and is advantageous to them. A&M probably wouldn’t have agreed to it if that had been in the SEC at the time of the deal. Arkansas is all about keeping the contract. From a fan perspective, after a while Arkansas fans might want to come to College Station. Or, if you are an Aggie, you may want to go experience Fayetteville and other towns. It is not a bad trip to Arlington, it is pricey, but it is a heck of an experience. It has been a great game and there have been great crowds. I think Arkansas is in a bit of a different position as far as where the game is played. I guess for A&M and Arkansas is when you are the home team you give up an SEC home game at your own stadium. For Arkansas you have to replace that with a meaningful non-conference game like a TCU next year. What they had was a Michigan game that was cancelled. Now they have to figure out that who they want to play instead.”
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