College Football
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.

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