Arkansas' Passing Game Versus Memphis

Arkansas came up short in their matchup with Memphis, but one area that stood out was their ability to move the ball through the air. Bobby Petrino’s offense threw for 325 yards and mixed standard concepts with creative wrinkles. One in particular was something I haven’t seen before. This breakdown will take a closer look at how the Razorbacks attacked Memphis, what they leaned on schematically, and where they found success in the passing game.

Shallow Variation

Arkansas ran a version of the classic shallow concept multiple times against Memphis. One wrinkle they added was using motion across the formation to create a natural pick for the shallow route. That small adjustment helped the receiver uncover faster and added stress to the man coverage Memphis leaned on throughout the game. The Tigers spent a lot of time in Cover 1, so tight bunches, rubs, and quick exchanges were an effective way to create space underneath.

On this rep, Arkansas goes back to the shallow concept, but this time they hit the dig route on the backside. Memphis drops into a Tampa 2 look, and the quarterback does a good job getting off the shallow and working to the intermediate window. The seam route clears the pole runner, opening space for the dig to settle behind it. Shallow is one of those day-one install concepts that gives the quarterback a clean progression. Here he works it just like you want. Low to high. Under to dig.