Arkansas Razorbacks Football

Alex Collins fell back to Earth in Arkansas' loss to Rutgers on Saturday, rushing 16 times for just 63 yards and not moving the chains often enough to ice the Razorbacks' lead.

But in order to fall down to Earth, one must first get his feet off the ground. And in the first three games of his career, that is precisely what Collins had done.

Despite being, technically, the "backup" to sophomore Jonathan Williams, Collins rushed for 100 yards in each of the first three weeks, becoming the first-ever SEC freshman to accomplish that feat.

No other true freshman, in all of college football, had opened his career with three-straight 100-yard games since 2004, when a big, gangly, precocious 18-year-old broke out for the Oklahoma Sooners.

That man was Adrian Peterson.

Will Collins' career follow a similar track? It's not that crazy to think so.

Wild Recruitment

Collins was one of the most-prized prospects in the Class of 2013, and his recruitment—or at least the very tail end of it—was among the most bizarre in college football history.

An all-purpose back from South Plantation High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Collins was the No. 41 player on 247Sports' composite. The site's subjective rankings were even keener on his ability, ranking him No. 17 overall and the top available running back.

Here's what B/R's Michael Felder had to say after his commitment:

Before his official commitment, though, there was some uncertainty regarding whether or not Collins—despite his personal wishes—would ever suit up in Fayetteville.

Toward the end of Collins' recruitment, his mother, imploring him to stay closer to home and play at nearby Miami, confiscated his letter of intent. According to College Football Talk, she even hired an attorney to prevent her son from playing for the Razorbacks.

Eventually things got cleared up, and Collins made his way to Fayetteville without much further hassle. But that story will always follow him.

Perfect Fit?

On the surface, Collins always appeared to fit Bret Bielema's physical, run-first scheme. Collins runs low to the ground, has a compact frame and is capable of picking up yards in chunks.

Just four games into his college career, that surface-level assessment has proven remarkably true. And because of the opportunity Bielema's system provides, it could result in Collins becoming an all-time great college workhorse.

Look at some of the freshmen Bielema produced at Wisconsin:

*Still Active

The comparison to P.J. Hill sticks out, and it goes even deeper than totals. Just like Collins, Hill started his career with three consecutive 100-yard games in 2006. And just like Collins, he was stifled in the fourth game—his team's first loss—to the tune of just 54 yards on 20 carries.

His next four games, Hill went for 129, 249, 164 and 161 yards, putting to rest any doubt his critics might have had.

A failed performance at Michigan in Week 4 did not deter Bielema from leaning on his freshman workhorse; it emboldened him to keep pounding the rock.

Expect him to do the same with Collins, starting this week against a very soft Texas A&M defense.

Running Style

Collins isn't a "burner," per se, but he accelerates quickly and has enough jets to make an occasional big play. 

Look no further than this 55-yard run against Samford in Week 2, where he turned the corner, burst through a small hole and went streaking down the left sideline:

But his bigger impact isn't on huge gains like that. Collins' true elite skill is down-by-down production, especially in picking up yards after contact and finishing runs with instinctive authority.

Here are some highlights of Arkansas against Louisiana-Lafayette in Week 1:

On four separate occasions of that tape—the 2:23, 2:33, 4:36 and 6:48 marks of the video—Collins either makes the first man miss or bowls though the contact and falls forward.

This aggressive running style doesn't just endear himself to Bielema, it makes him highly effective in the coach's one-cut, downhill scheme. Because Collins picks up speed so fast, he's almost always the one initiating the hit; and that allows him to pick up yards where other, more timid backs might not.

Over the course of his career, that attitude will let Collins help Arkansas to brighter days. It may not be this year, when the not-quite-ready Razorbacks have a brutally tough schedule, but likely not far after.

Collins a very nice piece to build around. 

Saturday's loss to Rutgers was a hard pill to swallow for Arkansas. With a 24-7 lead in the third quarter, head coach Bret Bielema and his Razorbacks watched as the Scarlet Knights tacked on the next 21 points to win, 28-24.

Most of the time, blowing a 17-point lead in the final 23 minutes of the game would be considered a big collapse. But, taking certain factors into account and the Hogs self-destruction on key plays, the loss shouldn't surprise anyone.

Not to say the Razorbacks' loss wasn't a collapse. It was. And, not to say it wasn't a major disappointment. It certainly was that, too.

However, it's not a shocker like Nebraska going up, 21-3, on UCLA in Week 3, only to watch the Bruins score the next 38 points to win, 41-21. What happened Saturday at Rutgers was inevitable.

The most important position on the field is the quarterback, and that is not debatable. A team's chances of winning a game on the road aren't nearly as high if the starter is out. With Brandon Allen unavailable due to a shoulder injury, the odds were already stacked against Arkansas from the moment the ball was teed up to kick off the game.

In fact, the biggest surprise was that the Razorbacks built a 17-point lead, despite struggling on offense as much as they did.

Arkansas went up, 24-7, with 8:38 left in the third quarter on a 21-yard touchdown pass from running back Jonathan Williams to tight end Hunter Henry. Leading up to Rutgers biggest deficit of the game, Gary Nova and the rest of the offense were out of sync. 

The first three drives resulted in two turnovers. Saying the first half of offense was bad for the Scarlet Knights would be a vast understatement. They did put up 244 yards, but it resulted in just seven points, two turnovers, a missed field goal and two punts. 

The third quarter didn't start good either. The first three drives of the second half resulted in another turnover and two more punts. Yet, Arkansas remained up, just 24-7, which shouldn't have sat well with anyone. 

The Razorbacks failed to widen the margin due to their own offensive ineptness.

The pressure was put on Derby to make plays with Rutgers shutting down the ground attack. He made a few nice throws, including a 17-yard touchdown pass to Javontee Herndon, but not nearly enough.

Sitting back watching the game, it should have been clear to anyone that if Rutgers could get going the Razorbacks were in trouble. All the Scarlet Knights needed was a big play to get the comeback started.

That happened when Janarion Grant returned an Arkansas punt 58 yards to cut the lead to 24-14. Still, the Razorbacks had plenty of chances to keep the Scarlet Knights from turning aspirations of a comeback into a reality. 

However, they indulged themselves in self-implosion, allowing Rutgers to steal the win. Two plays in particular changed the game and can be tabbed as huge reasons why the Hogs lost. 

The first came on Rutgers first touchdown drive. On 2nd-and-25, Nova had no one open and ran four yards out of bounds. However, instead of a 3rd-and-21, linebacker Jarrett Lake thought it would be nice to hit Nova two yards out of bounds, earning himself a 15-yard personal foul and awarding Rutgers with a first down. That, in turn, resulted in a 15-yard touchdown pass. 

The second came in a critical juncture of the game. Down, 24-14, with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and on a 4th-and-12, the Arkansas secondary gave up a 33-yard touchdown pass from Nova to Leonte Carroo. 

You can go ahead and add the special teams coverage lapse on the 58-yard punt return for a score to why Arkansas lost a game it could have easily won.

Three crucial mistakes led to 21 points by the Scarlet Knights.

Here, you can watch how Arkansas lost the game by giving up big plays to Nova and the Rutgers offense when the game was on the line:

Numbers don't lie. If the loss surprised you, take a look at the stat sheet, and your take on what happened might change. Arkansas rushed for only 101 yards, and it forced an inexperienced Derby into throwing. His impact was minimal, as he threw for a "buck-37" and the lone touchdown. 

Rutgers couldn't run either, but then again, they really didn't have to. The Arkansas secondary was shaky all afternoon, and his 176 passing yards in the first half, despite all the troubles, foreshadowed the Razorbacks' fate. They couldn't stop him in the first half, and as the second half unfolded, it became apparent they weren't going to slow him down at all.

The Hogs led most of the game, but stupid mistakes and poor play on both sides of the ball should have been a clear indication to fans that things weren't going to end well. Take away the Scarlet Knights' mistakes and the Hogs put up a blistering 10 points. 

On a day where the offense sputtered, the defense looked more like the 2012 version and mental lapses were abound, it's remarkable the Razorbacks could have came out unscathed, at 4-0, on the year. One of the the program mottoes is "never yield," but as SB Nation's Arkansas Fight noted, it did exactly that:

The Hogs looked very impressive in the previous three games, but Saturday's blown lead was a message. Arkansas has Texas A&M this Saturday, and if it wants to avoid getting embarrassed, Bielema and his team have a lot to address. 

Don't be surprised about their fourth-quarter collapse. Be surprised that, with as poorly as the Hogs played in just about every facet of the game, it took till the fourth quarter for them to lose it.

The SEC is looming, and if Arkansas continues to shoot itself in the foot in weeks to come, fans won't have to wait until the fourth quarter to know if the Razorbacks will lose.

Karma will bite you in the butt if you do something stupid. 

Bret and Jen Bielema, welcome to "something stupid." 

The whole story starts after Wisconsin loses to Arizona State last week in an extremely controversial fashion. Jen put out a brilliant tweet that angered the entire Wisconsin fan base:

And it completely made no sense based on how Bret left Wisconsin. As Bleacher Report's own Ian Kenyon succinctly put it:

Jen tried to defend her tweet by saying that Badgers fans were rude to her and her husband when they left Wisconsin. But that's still no excuse for saying that a controversial loss is karma.

Now, the Bielemas have their karma. After leading the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 24-7 before a 58-yard punt return touchdown with 2:14 left in the third quarter by Janarion Grant.

The Arkansas Razorbacks allowed one of the best comebacks of the young 2013 season, with an eventual 28-24 loss.

After the game, the tweets came rolling in for both Jen and Bret Bielema. However, the stuff that was sent to Jen more than made up for her Karma tweet last week. Let's just take a look at some of the best responses to her Karma tweet:

And the best one:

Don't poke the bear. Or in this case, don't poke the Badgers or Big Ten fans. Because #karma hits you when you do. For more #karma and Jen Bielema fun, here's the link to the twitter search for both.

Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, NFL and NFL draft. He also runs DraftFalcons.com.

Follow @ScottCarasik

Arkansas lost its first game of the Bret Bielema era on Saturday, blowing a 24-7 lead on the road at Rutgers before falling by the score of 28-24.

On the surface, a game like this may not appear to have enough data from which to make bold declarations. After all, there were plenty of mild caveats.

Starting quarterback Brandon Allen was deemed inactive before kickoff, putting the game in the hands of AJ Derby, whose college career up to that point had consisted of six pass attempts.

And Rutgers isn't exactly a pushover. The Scarlet Knights took Fresno State to overtime in Fresno earlier this year, and now the Bulldogs look like a BCS spoiler.

Perhaps this loss doesn't portend doom in the Razorbacks' future?

Never mind. Yeah it does. 

Regardless of quarterback play, any team that needs to draw moral victories against Rutgers cannot hang in America's best conference. That doesn't necessarily make Arkansas a bad team—because it isn't. 

It just means it's in for a world of upcoming hurt.

The Razorbacks don't just play in the SEC, after all; they play the SEC's hardest schedule. Saturday's loss is followed in rapid succession with games vs. Texas A&M, at Florida, vs. South Carolina and at Alabama. The two remaining road games after that are at Ole Miss and LSU.

Arkansas might have looked good for most of the Rutgers game, but the thoroughness with which it sputtered at the end spoke volumes. And it wasn't just that it choked, but how it choked that was so indicting.

There was nothing fluky about the way Rutgers marched down the field for its final two touchdowns. The Scarlet Knights genuinely looked like the better team.

Not too much can be drawn from the performance of the Arkansas offense on Saturday, even if the previously prolific running game struggled. Without Allen in the lineup, Rutgers was able to stack the box and dare the Razorbacks to pass.

If and when he comes back, there should be a little more room to run.

But a defense that can't stop a quarterback like the Scarlet Knights' Gary Nova (and a special teams that allows a momentum-changing punt return touchdown) is not a unit that can hang in the SEC. Ten years ago, it might have stood a chance. But in 2013, the year of the Southeastern offense, it's pretty hard to fathom.

Rutgers picked Arkansas' defense apart when the game mattered most on Saturday. If the Razorbacks let Nova look like John Elway, how astronomically hopeless will it look against Johnny Manziel and AJ McCarron? How will it get a fourth-quarter stop against Connor Shaw and Zach Mettenberger?

How will it contain Bo Wallace, or even Auburn's Nick Marshall?

Bret Bielema has this program on the right track, and the current iteration of the team might be able to surprise some opponents and hang for four quarters in certain games. When a team can run the ball like Arkansas—especially at home—it always stands a chance of controlling the clock.

But the defense showed against Rutgers that expectations need to be tempered. This is still a work in progress. Say what you will about SEC talent, but Bielema's Wisconsin teams would never have allowed this comeback to happen. His footprint was embedded on the DNA of the Badgers defense.

He hasn't had enough time to imprint that attitude on his new program.

This expose was bound to happen sooner or later. Even if Arkansas had held on against Rutgers, it probably would have been (and still will be) exposed by Johnny Football and Texas A&M next week. And with the schedule ahead, even after a 4-0 start, making the postseason might have been a pipe dream.

Now it's just a bigger one.

After leaving last Saturday's game against Southern Miss in the first quarter with a bruised right shoulder, the status for sophomore starting quarterback Brandon Allen remains uncertain this weekend at Rutgers. 

Allen injured his shoulder diving for a touchdown, forcing backup A.J. Derby to play the majority of the game. Luckily for Derby, he didn't have to do much with Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams each running for more than 100 yards for the third straight game.

Bret Bielema told the Associated Press, via Fox Sports, he isn't going to make the mistake of playing him when he's not ready. Matt Jones, editor for WholeHogSports, said that, though Allen has nothing broken, it will depend on how fast his shoulder heals: 

The situation is eerily similar to 2012, when Allen came in against Louisiana-Monroe after Tyler Wilson went down with an injury, and Allen also started the following week versus Alabama. 

It comes at an inopportune time, as the Razorbacks have their first road game of the season this weekend at Rutgers. However, the Scarlet Knights are also uncertain whether their head signal-caller Gary Nova can play after sustaining a concussion last week. 

So, what kind of impact will this have on the game if Allen can't go?

It will put a heavy load on the legs of Collins and Williams, though Bielema said they would "unleash" Derby if he starts. He is inexperienced, and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney was hesitant to let him throw against Southern Miss. He attempted just six passes, completing four of them for a modest 36 yards. 

It would be a much bigger deal if Collins and Williams weren't running over everyone in their paths. Regardless, if Allen isn't able to play, it could slow down the run game. Rutgers will more than likely commit to loading up the box and forcing Derby to make plays with his arm.   

It also brings concerns for the weeks after, as the Razorbacks' next four games include Texas A&M (Sept. 28), at Florida (Oct. 5), South Carolina (Oct. 12) and at Alabama (Oct. 19). With that set of games, you'd like for Allen to get as many snaps as possible to keep progressing.

He showed flashes of a promising future and vastly improved his accuracy in the first two games, completing 61.5 percent of his passes compared to just 42.9 percent in 2012. He gives the Hogs the potential to stretch the opponent's defense and keep them honest, while it's unclear whether Derby can as well.

Bielema was obviously playing his cards close to the chest when talking about Allen's status for this weekend. Even if he did know if he was going to play, it works to his team's advantage to not let Rutgers know. 

"So, to me, there's a certain gamesmanship or element to, you know, you don't have to show everything that you've got," Bielema said. "Just kind of show the things that you need to."

Derby will practice with the first team this week in case Allen can't play. It isn't an ideal situation for the Hogs with their first road game looming, but then again, overcoming adversity is a part of football. 

With murderer's row ensuing the next four weeks following this Saturday's matchup at Rutgers, it's better to be safe than sorry with Allen.

True freshman running back Alex Collins had another big game for Arkansas on Saturday, rushing for 115 yards and a touchdown against Southern Miss. Three games into his college career, he now has 418 yards and two touchdowns on 70 carries.

Collins has also topped 100 yards in every game this season, which, as ESPN's Brett McMurphy pointed out, puts him in some elite company:

Collins doesn't have Adrian Peterson's size—not many backs go 6'1''—but he does have a similar combination of power, speed and vision. It's hard to predict the future, but on talent and talent alone, there's no reason he shouldn't eventually become a blue-chip NFL prospect.

What makes his early dominance a little surprising, though, is opportunity. Sophomore Jonathan Williams won the starting job out of camp and has also found success on the ground this season. It seemed he might be a roadblock to Collins' touches.

But new head coach Bret Bielema is famous for his multiple-back ground attack, which he crafted and mastered at Wisconsin. Just last season, three Wisconsin backs—Montee Ball, James White and Melvin Gordon—rushed for over 600 yards, combining to total almost 3,300.

Bielema has brought that system to Fayetteville, and Collins has been an immediate beneficiary. He was the No. 17 player and No. 1 running back in 247Sports' rankings, so he's one of the most talented prospects Bielema has ever worked with.

Collins' mom, who tried to run away with his Arkansas Letter of Intent, might not agree, but this is a marriage made in ground-and-pound heaven.

Williams, who has topped 100 rushing yards in each game, will continue to get touches, but, eventually, Collins should become a true No. 1 back.

When he does, will he be able to replicate Peterson's success?