Arkansas Offense May Need a Little Extra Kick to Take Down A&M

Special teams star's preparation difference when it comes to close games

It's been a quiet year for Arkansas kicker Cam Little. 

The scoring machine who put up so many points last year it would take the current Texas A&M team a full half season to finally outscore Little at its current pace hasn't had much to do this year.

The Arkansas offense has been so efficient about putting the ball in the end zone that Little's biggest kick this year has been threading a shake through a drive-thru window as part of an NIL deal with Big Red convenience stores.

However, if Arkansas is going to pull the win this Saturday, odds are high that the Razorbacks will need Little to run through all of his signature celebrations on the field of Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

If Little hits the Aggies with the six-shooter, the Dirk Nowitzki fade away, and a team bow of respect before dancing the Griddy, it should be a great day for the Hogs.

The Razorback offense proved last year it could hit big plays against the Aggies, including an 85-yard pass touchdown reception from Jefferson to Treylon Burks on the right side and a 48-yard reception to AJ Green on the left side. 

There has been little reason to think Arkansas can't hit big plays again this year. The Razorbacks have one of the best big play offenses in the country, which is how the Hogs were able to avoid disaster last week. 

However, Arkansas statistically has the nation's worst pass defense, which means the Hogs could find themselves in a shootout. As drives stall here and there, Little's ability to hit kicks consistently will be a huge weapon in putting pressure on an A&M team whose archaic offense makes it difficult to come back from large deficits. 

Arkansas kicker Cam Little accounted for 106 of the Razorbacks' points last year. To put it in perspective, A&M wouldn't be able to outscore Little as a team until the midway point of its season at the Aggies 20.6 points per game average :: Nelson Chenault/USA TODAY Images

Little literally kicked off a series of scores in last season's match-up with a 47-yard field goal that spurred Arkansas to a quick 17-0 lead early in the second quarter to put the game away early. That means fans might want to keep an eye on what might be the most beloved kicker since the record-setting Steve Little whose namesake doesn't not indicate relation.

If anyone wants to keep an eye on whether Little is getting loose on the side lines, simply look to the area where whichever half of the team that is currently on the field was positioned on the sideline minutes earlier.

"If the offense is on the field, I'll go warm-up on the offensive end," Little said during his weekly appearance on 103.7 The Buzz Thursday morning. "I prefer to warm up on that end because it's a little less cluttered over there and I get more room to warm up and kick it in the next." 

Little revealed that anytime the offense gets around the 50-yard line, he starts getting anxious about keeping his leg loose. 

"I'm staying ready, I'm getting ready," Little said. "I don't like to be not be warm during any time in the game. When I feel my legs starting to get locked up a little bit, I'll immediately go warm up in the net because I don't like the feeling of having tight legs."

That's not the only part of his routine. When former Arkansas Razorback and current "Morning Mayhem" co-host David Bazzel pointed out that he noticed Little walk onto the field to warm up during a timeout, Little said it's part of a habit he developed after a realization at LSU and Alabama his freshman year.

"When I was on away trips, there are a lot of TV timeouts in college football," Little said. "I learned that really quick my freshman year. During that timeout we're in the red zone, I want to get a feel for the wind, I want to get a feel for what I am about to go out there and kinda see if we kick a field goal. I am always thinking we're going to kick a field goal even though if we score the touchdown we're going to kick the PAT, I'm thinking two steps ahead. I like to go out there and get a feel for where I am kicking from, the wind, what it's doing out there and stuff like that."

There will be no wind at AT&T Stadium. It takes the rarest of perfect weather for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to open the roof, and for those who aren't familiar with Texas, when the rest of the nation converts to fall, the Lone Star state switches over to second summer. It was a cool 100 degrees Friday afternoon in the metroplex. 

There definitely will be no open roof. However, perhaps the worst feature of the stadium is the glass wall behind the end zone. 

This has cost the Dallas Cowboys so many yards from passes going unseen due to glare. Little keeping up his TV timeout habit could be the difference in the game if the sun is still pouring through and messing with his eyes on approach.

However, that kind of preparation is what gives Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, the players and the entire Razorback fan base confidence when Little hits the field.

That combination of coaching confidence and player preparation could be the key to many more in the Razorback world than Little dancing by Saturday evening.

HOGS FEED:

HOGS' DEFENSE NEEDS TO CONTINUE NATION TREND OF KEEPING A&M OFFENSE QUIET

WHAT A&M WRITERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ARKANSAS THIS WEEK

SATURDAY WILL PROVE IF ASSUMPTIONS ON HOGS ARE RIGHT

SEC ROUNDUP: CAN ANYBODY BEAT ALABAMA THIS SEASON?

IF HOG NAMED HEISMAN FINALIST, STROMBERG SHOULD GET TO RIDE SHOTGUN

FINALLY A MATCH-UP FALLS IN HOGS' FAVOR, DOESN'T GUARANTEE WIN THOUGH

SAM PITTMAN AND EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS WHAT HOGS HAVE TO FIX, AND SOON

SEC ROUNDUP: AUBURN COACH COULD BE LEADING CANDIDATE OUT WEST

SEC SHORTS TRIES TO SOLVE MURDER OF AUBURN TIGERS

THERE IS MUCH THE CURRENT STAFF CAN LEARN, STEAL FROM BOBBY PETRINO

SANDERS AVOIDS RUNNING INTO THE RAZORBACK RECORDS BOOKS SATURDAY AND THAT'S A GOOD THING

DESPITE EARLY STRUGGLES, HOGS FIND WAY TO MAKE IT 'SPECIAL' IN THE END

HOGS PLAY ROLE OF ORIGINAL APOLLO CREED, AVOID ROCKY II

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