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Little has gone according plan for Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette.
The same can be said for the Razorbacks' defense as a whole.
No. 10 Arkansas (5-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) entered the season expecting to join the SEC's elite defenses, fueled by an experienced group that led the conference in sacks.
Bequette led the Razorbacks with seven sacks last season, but a hamstring injury in the second game has kept him off the field at times. His absence - and the loss of several other key defensive players - has hurt: After finishing 36th nationally in total defense last season, allowing 348 yards per game, the Razorbacks have fallen to 67th at 389.5.
Arkansas also is dead last in the SEC with six sacks in six games.
As Arkansas prepares for its game next week at Mississippi, Bequette is among those who are hopeful the Razorbacks can parlay a pair of strong second-half performances in recent weeks into a strong second half of the season. Those include holding Texas A&M to three points in the second half of a 38-35 victory and holding Auburn scoreless through the final three quarters of a 38-14 win last week.
''We had very high goals coming into the season, and I think we got away from that in a couple of games,'' Bequette said. ''We've had some setbacks and some guys go down and some guys not play to their potential, but I think we got much better last week. ... I think we need to set the tone in this bye week and starting with the Ole Miss game get back to Razorback defense.''
Bequette missed three games after injuring his hamstring against New Mexico. He returned last week against Auburn, providing what Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said was an emotional boost.
Still, while the Razorbacks held Auburn to 104 yards passing, the Tigers ran for 309 yards one week after Texas A&M plowed its way through the heart of the defense for 386 yards on the ground.
Arkansas is currently ninth in the SEC against the run, allowing an average of 188.7 yards, and it's an area the Razorbacks have spent a good deal of time working on this week.
''It's a huge focus,'' Bequette said. ''We've given up way too many rushing yards the last 3-4 weeks as a team, and that's not acceptable. Our pass defense did a great job against Auburn, and I think we've established that we've improved in that category, but we've got to stop the run.''
Robinson said his defense has been too anxious to make plays in recent weeks, resulting in missed assignments. He said stopping the run has been a ''bug-a-boo'' for the defense.
''But the one thing that has picked up is the fact we've been playing physical, in our last two quarters at A&M and our last three quarters with Auburn,'' Robinson said. ''We've been playing physical, and we've been running to the football, and that can make up for a lot of mistakes.''
Despite the optimism about how Arkansas has closed out its last two wins, there's still the problem of the slow starts. The Razorbacks trailed Texas A&M 35-18 at halftime, and allowed Auburn to take a 14-7 lead in the first quarter before outscoring the Tigers 31-0.
Senior linebacker Jerico Nelson couldn't come up with a sole reason for the slow starts, though he did praise coaches' second-half adjustments in the last two games.
''We started off slow; we just have to end stronger,'' Nelson said. ''It's the second part of the season. We just have got to make sure we come out, prepare, know our schemes and communicate and make tackles.''
