College Football Live talked with ESPN analyst Chris Spielman and Arkansas Quarterback Ryan Mallet about the win against Auburn and the upcoming game with Florida.
video by VerotiK of Woopig.
Questions with Chris Spielman
Q1 – College Football Live: What were you most impressed with in the Razorbacks win over Auburn?
Chris Spielman: I think coach Petrino hit the lottery when Mallet decided to transfer to Arkansas. And the thing yesterday vs Auburn, they got their running game going which has been not very good, not very consistent. Michael Smith went off yesterday; also you’ve got two true freshmen… With a Wingo… #20, and of course Knile Davis #7 then add to the mix Broderick Green… they ride the hot hand, and yesterday Michael Smith was the hot hand, and you’ve got three young wide receivers that are growing and getting better as the season progresses.
Q2 – College Football Live: What has to happen for the Razorbacks to have success against Florida?
Chris Spielman: They’ve got to play defense like they did in the first half against Auburn. If they play like they play in the second half they won’t have a chance. But the other thing and I think that Arkansas can do that LSU could not do on a consistent basis is they can jack the ball down field. So anytime you can throw the ball down the field and have big play capability you got a chance to win the football game, but their defense has to be a little bit more consistent, and they certainly weren’t consistent against Auburn where they had Auburn down. I believe, I think it was 33-3 at one time or 27-3 and they couldn’t close the door. So if you’ve got somebody down like that you’ve gotta get that killer instinct.
Questions with Ryan Mallett
Q1 – College Football Live: What kind of opportunity did you see before you going into the Auburn game?
Ryan Mallett: We felt like it was time for us to make a statement. We haven’t made a solid statement about what football team we are yet, this season, and that’s what we went in with the mind set of yesterday.
Q2 – College Football Live: What is the statement you made yesterday?
Ryan Mallett: That we can be one of the best offenses in the country, and our defense can make some plays, and get us a win.
Q3 – College Football Live: Four of your last five games you have scored at least 40 points. What’s the biggest key that makes your offense click?
Ryan Mallett: Just that we’ve got so many guys that are homerun hitters, and can take it to the house whenever they touch the ball. We’ve got a lot of depth at skill positions and that makes us… the ability to be a great team.
Q4 – College Football Live: Next week you go to Florida. How do you feel about playing the defense that slammed the door on LSU?
Ryan Mallett: They didn’t let them get much opportunity to give themselves a chance to get in the ball game. So we go out there and we’re going to prepare like we do every week and get a good game plan and we just gotta go execute.
Q5 – College Football Live: What did you learn in the one game where you struggled the most in the Alabama game?
Ryan Mallett: That we’ve gotta stay within ourselves and not shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties and go in every game aggressive. We were kinda passive in that game and that hurt us.
Q6 – College Football Live: How do you avoid going into the swamp and not losing confidence playing a team like that?
Ryan Mallett: Just trust our training that’s what it’s all about. We prepare for things like that so if we go out there… like I said earlier if we execute… we’re gonna give ourselves a chance.
Q7 – College Football Live: What does the Razorback program give you that other places may not have?
Ryan Mallett: Progressing… Learning the game of football with coach Petrino and coach Mcgee is one thing that really opened my eyes so that’s the main reason I came here… to better my knowledge of the game.
