Hogs' Secret Weapon May Go to Waste Against Oklahoma State

Pittman had inside intel that may have gone unnoticed had it not been for one phrase

Arkansas Razorbacks corner back Marquise Robinson during drills in fall camp on the outdoor fields in Fayetteville, Ark. / Craven Whitlow-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Whether he physically has an impact on the field, there is little doubt defensive newcomer Marquise Robinson is going to impact this Saturday's game between Arkansas and Oklahoma State. The only question is which team will receive the positive impact.

Robinson is a transfer from South Alabama where he helped the Jaguars issue a 33-7 curb stomping to the Cowboys in Boone-Pickens Stadium last September. He was part of a unit that shut OSU out until a lone fourth quarter touchdown well after the game was already decided.

In addition to recording a pair of tackles, Robinson picked Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman off on the first play of the second quarter and returned it 24 yards to the 17-yard line. It was the play that turned the tide for good as on the ensuing play, South Alabama drove what was left of the field on a single carry to go up 16-0 in front of a stunned crowd.

That day, Bowman went 6-of-12 for 42 yards and Doak Walker Award winning running back Ollie Gordon had three carries for 12 yards. Those are the kind of numbers Arkansas defensive coordinator Travis Williams dreams of forcing this weekend.

Bringing Robinson in as a transfer appeared to be paying dividends as the Razorbacks watched film on Oklahoma State during camp. Time and time again, he saw formations he had studied the year before and let the room know what was coming.

"I was telling them in all the meetings early, I was like, 'Hey, they lined up in that, this is fixin' to come,'" Robinson said at a press conference a few weeks ago. "We lookin' at film and I'm like, 'I told you they fixin' to do that right now. One thing I like about the DB group here, everybody will listen and hear."

Had he stopped there, it probably would have been a mundane comment that would have faded into obscurity. Chances are, no one at Oklahoma State sees it and it doesn't garner enough attention for anyone on the staff to realize Robinson had made his way to Arkansas with potentially damaging information about the Cowboys.

But, that's not where it stopped. There was an additional comment that OSU fans latched onto at some point this week that officially blew whatever cover, if there was any, that Robinson was teaching his fellow defensive backs how to read Oklahoma State's offense like a children's book.

"I feel like when we go back this time, it's going to be a domination," Robinson said before expressing how excited he is to possibly get another shot at Oklahoma State.

The question now becomes what does Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy do with that information. What South Alabama did to OSU was embarrassing and thorough. The fact it sounds like Robinson was able to identify the same tendencies in game film that probably wasn't the Jaguars' win from this time last year is quite damning.

The one thing about Gundy is he gets pretty stuck in his ways. He doesn't seem the type to make last minute changes to what his team has spent much of the offseason and past several days working on to get ready for Arkansas.

However, knowing the Hogs' defensive backs have been taught by Robinson to look for specific things and expect concrete things to happen can play into his hands. While there likely won't be big changes across the board, knowing when to make a single change a play here or there at the opportune time can result in big plays that can be the difference.

He just has to have the patience to lull Arkansas into seeing what it expects to see long enough to get lazy and yank the rug out from under them once the secondary gets overconfident in its intel. However, it should be noted Gundy is known to be stubborn.

There's a chance that even with this information, he will up and decide he's going to take down Sam Pittman by doing what he's always done. The ranking says he has the better team and guys like Jimmy Johnson and Nick Saban never had to worry if the other team knew what play was coming at them, so why should he?

There's also the argument of bulletin board material, but that doesn't carry nearly the weight of the information Gundy has at his disposal. This just became a chess match when all Arkansas wanted to do was play a game of Cracker Barrel checkers while starting with kinged pieces across the board.

By 2 p.m. Saturday, the whole world will know whether Gundy's a chess man. It will also know which way a transfer defensive back who has entered the season under the radar in regard to the world outside of Arkansas impacted one of the biggest Week 2 games in all of college football.

HOGS FEED:

• Different motivation could drive Cowboys against Hogs

• Hasz looking to have healthy second season with Razorbacks

• Scouting report indicates game against Oklahoma State will be closer than expected

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