BALANCED ATTACK

There will be those who won't be satisfied until they see Mustain hurl the ball around 25-30 times a game. After all he was the top quarterback in the nation last year coming out of Springdale and he didn't get the Gatorade Player of the Year award for handing the ball off the Damian Williams. He's a true passing quarterback. On his good days he's sensational; on his bad days...well, lets just say, "He is a freshman." But, he is undefeated as a starter so he hasn't done anything major to get the Hogs beat. Coach Malzahn has indeed introduced a balanced attack but it's not what we expected. Instead of stretching the field through the air, like he said they would do in the spring, he has decided to more or less widen the field. With McFadden, Jones, Hillis, and Smith all capable of hitting over 100 yards a game, the balanced attack now becomes rotating carries with the heavy hitters. If the defense sees 3 out of these 4 on the field at the same time, their job becomes even tougher. Who will they key on? Any one of the 4 has shown the ability to break a big play in the blink of an eye. The success of the running game, in the case of the Hogs, will create possibilities for the passing game instead of vise versa. The planets could not have lined up any better to help introduce Mustain to the SEC in his inaugrual year. With 2 All-Americans in the backfield to carry the load and a corp of others waiting for their turn, Mustain can gradually get a grasp on the speed of the game, and throw the less risky dump off and screen passes. He will end the year with more handoff efforts than passing attempts but his learning curve will flatten in the process. He is capable of throwing the long ball and can lead a successful drive like he did in his opening night performance against USC if necessary. Hogs are favored by 21 today and my pick to compliment that spread is Hogs over the Rebels, 31-10.  ¶ 7:50 AM