Bobby Petrino on Texas' standout players and the importance of this game in Arkansas

Arkansas interim head coach Bobby Petrino has been in Austin leading the Razorbacks before.

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In 2008, his first season as head coach of Arkansas, he brought his team to the 40 Acres to face Colt McCoy and the No. 7 Longhorns. Texas scored 31 first-half points as part of a 52-10 win where the only Razorback touchdown was an 80-yard fumble return in garbage time. McCoy was 17-for-19 for 185 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for two scores. Cody Johnson rushed for a touchdown. Jordan Shipley had two touchdowns and Quan Cosby had one as well. Aaron Williams added a pick-six to put 52 points on the board for the Longhorns.

“I remember looking up at the scoreboard towards the end of the first quarter and going ’28 times four is what?'” Petrino said Monday. “It was bad. They just really got us. They had a really good quarterback who had a phenomenal year and against us he hit everything.”

Petrino, who took over as the interim coach for Arkansas after Sam Pittman was fired in late September, understands the rivalry and what it means for the Razorbacks as they head to Austin this Saturday. Between Fayetteville and Little Rock, there’s plenty of disdain for Texas in the Natural State.

However, Petrino spoke to the fact that because of increasingly mercenary nature of college football, some players might not have the same aversion for Texas as Razorback players of old. Petrino even mentioned that during his first stint as head coach, former Arkansas players would return for a “fantasy camp” and tell tales of games with Texas. Petrino said the losses stuck out more to the former Razorbacks than the wins.

Petrino didn’t specify which players told him about games with the Longhorns. However, he identified the upcoming rivalry game as one he would teach his players about and emphasize the importance of this contest to the entire state of Arkansas.

“We’re going to do some things to make sure they understand it,” Petrino said. “It’s always been a big deal. The first time I was here, it was always a big deal about the Arkansas-Texas rivalry and the big game. We’re going to try to put a few things together for them, make sure they understand it, and know how important it is to the state of Arkansas.”

Petrino was very complimentary of Texas’s defense.

“They’ve got those two edge players that are really good, a linebacker that’s a special, special player in No. 0,” Petrino said in reference to Colin Simmons, Ethan Burke, and Anthony Hill. “(Hill) played against us last year. He knows the game. They’ve got one of the best corners in the country (Malik Muhammad). They’ve got really good players. They’re well-coached. They do a lot of different things, and they mix it up on you. Looking back at last year, we did some really good things against them at times and they got to our quarterback. We’re going to have to protect the quarterback.”

Petrino then discussed what he’s seen out of Arch Manning.

“He’s a really good, talented player,” Petrino said. “Lot of time as a quarterback, I always tell our guys it’s an occupational hazard. When things aren’t going as well as they should do, you’re going to take more blame than you probably should take. A lot of times when you execute well and play well at quarterback, it’s because all 10 other guys out on the field are doing a great job and doing their job. It’s a hard position to play. You’re certainly going to be the one that takes the criticism. You have to have big shoulders and understand ‘I chose to play this position’ and that goes with it.”

About the Texas coaches, Petrino noted that he’s followed Steve Sarkisian since his days at USC as Pete Carroll‘s offensive coordinator. Petrino said he was impressed by Texas’ prolific screen game and said his players need to be ready for the deep passes that play off of those line of scrimmage throws.

He also complimented Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Pete,” Petrino said. “He’s been doing it for a long, long time. I think he goes back to Boise State, I remember that. He’s a really good defensive coordinator. Has a great package, does a nice job of mixing it up on you. We’ve got to be on top of it. We’ve got to do a good job of communicating up front.”

Despite the Razorbacks’ 2-8 record and 0-6 mark in Southeastern Conference play, Sarkisian spoke Monday about how he believes Petrino is bringing a dangerous team to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

“I think it’s a very scary game because this is a very dangerous Arkansas team,” Sarkisian said Monday. “We addressed that with the team this morning. You put up the last five games, the score of all those games.”

“You turn the tape on, it catches their attention real quick,” Sarkisian said. “The other side of it is, we’re restoring a great rivalry. It’s the first time for Arkansas to be back in DKR for quite some time. I know our guys are excited about that too. They’ve had to go there twice now, and they know what that environment was like. For them to come here and play in DKR, I know our guys are excited about the opportunity. We need to be careful. I’ll definitely say that.”

Texas welcomes Arkansas this Saturday at 2:30 p.m.