Saturday, January 1
Arkansas defense manhandles Texas
Associated Press
DALLAS -- Bobby Allen added a highlight to his resume
Saturday in the Cotton Bowl.
Allen was the interim Arkansas defensive coordinator who called
the plays when the Razorbacks overwhelmed Texas 27-6. The Longhorns had
minus-27 yards rushing -- a Cotton Bowl record for ineptitude. The
previous record of minus-14 was set by Tennessee in 1953 and tied
by Navy in 1964.
Arkansas recorded eight sacks -- a season high -- and only one shy
of the Cotton Bowl record by Miami in 1991.
"I probably won't do anything until next week," head coach
Houston Nutt said Saturday evening. "But Bobby, he's got the lead.
"It's hard to not just want to give it to him," Nutt said.
"Bobby Allen is very, very capable. We just want the best fit and
the best chemistry."
Allen became the coordinator when Keith Burns left as secondary
coach-coordinator to become head coach at Tulsa in early December.
At that time, Nutt also drafted Louis Campbell out of the
administration to coach the secondary in the bowl game. Nutt said
Saturday he would talk with Campbell about rejoining the coaching
staff. Campbell, who coached defensive backs at Arkansas from
1990-97, became director of football operations when Nutt was hired
as head coach in 1998.
Nutt said Campbell is excellent as director of football
operations. "I don't want to lose him either there or on the
field," Nutt said. "Louis Campbell did a great job for us. He
brought in a couple of things that really helped our coverages. I
want to visit with him about it because he's an awfully good
football coach."
When Burns left, Nutt said it would be awkward to name a
coordinator immediately and that he would make a decision after the
Cotton Bowl.
"Nothing has changed," Allen said in the melee that was the
on-the-field celebration after Arkansas' victory. "Let's just
get the best fit. I want Houston to get the best people he can get
so we can keep on moving forward and, hopefully, some day we'll be
playing for it all.
"Again, it's about getting a good fit," he said.
Allen was Nutt's defensive coordinator at both Murray State and
Boise State before following Nutt to Arkansas.
After the game, Nutt called Allen "an unsung hero throughout
the year," but Allen refused to take the credit for the defensive
performance.
"The kids played hard," he said. "That's all you can ever ask
is go out and play hard. They came every day when Keith left. I
knew it had to hurt a little bit. But they came every day and gave
us a chance."
He said the Razorbacks did not change their defense after Kwame
Cavil -- who caught 100 passes during the year-- was suspended by
Texas coach Mack Brown.
"They have such a well-balanced offense anyway you couldn't go
in and say, `Hey, we had to take away this guy.' Obviously, them
not having Kwame had to hurt them. But that's football."
Allen was still working hard on the sidelines even when the
clock showed under five minutes left in the game. With the Arkansas
offense on the field, he paced and consulted a play sheet.
Texas got the ball back and reached the Arkansas 7. Stationed on
the 25, Allen bent, hands on knees. Defensive line coach bill
Keopple was beside him, in the same position.
A pass fell incomplete, but there was no time to celebrate.
Allen relayed the second-down defense to a helper and patted his
hips with his hands, signifying a particular coverage. Twice more,
Texas threw incomplete.
A fourth down pass failed and Allen thrust both arms into the
air, then again for emphasis.
Finally, he could relax.
Nutt said Saturday night that Allen had been unselfish.
"Keith has gotten a lot of credit and he deserved it," Nutt
said. "He's a great football coach and we're gonna miss him. But
as you can tell today, Bobby had a lot to do with it, too."
Keopple said Allen called a great game.
"You study their protections and come up with a few new
wrinkles," Keopple said. "We came up with a new wrinkle in
coverage they had not seen from us. It's just doing your
homework."
Keopple, Clifton Ealy, Allen and Campbell sat down and worked
out the game plan.
"But the bottom line, when it goes from that sideline to the
field, he's (Allen) making the final call," Keopple said. 
