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Jerry Franklin remembers the losses, particularly the blowouts.
The Arkansas linebacker remembers allowing 49 points to Alabama in 2008, followed by 52 points a week later to Texas. The Razorbacks gave up 52 points to Georgia last year, a performance made even worse by the fact their offense scored 41 in the loss.
''It was very frustrating, looking back on that and watching all that stuff happen,'' Franklin said. ''Especially when your offense is doing great, but your defense is giving up plays to other teams.''
Things have changed this season defensively for No. 12 Arkansas (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference). No longer do the Razorbacks have to rely on their high-powered offense to win games. Instead, it's been the defense that's carried its share of the load, including holding Texas A&M to three second-half points last week in a 24-17 win.
''It became a `How do you use the clock, how do you change the field' type of game, which we're not real used to here,'' Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. ''But it was a way to win a game.''
The Razorbacks allowed 31.2 points per game during Petrino's first season in 2008, finishing 5-7. Last season, the defense improved as the season went along, but Arkansas still allowed an average of 25.1 points and finished 8-5.
This season, the Razorbacks have allowed an 15 points a game and rank third in the SEC in total defense. It's a trend Arkansas needs to continue as it prepares to face the conference's offensive leader, No. 7 Auburn (6-0, 3-0), on Saturday.
''I think if you go back and look at last year at the improvement of (Arkansas') defense, it's night and day,'' Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. ''They're playing with great confidence. They're very physical.''
Franklin was one of several freshmen to play during Petrino's first season at the school. Another underclassman at the time, senior cornerback Ramon Broadway, said a lack of experience hurt the team at the time, but their maturity this season ''has gone to a different level.''
Broadway also said three years in defensive coordinator Willy Robinson's system has finally paid off.
''We've been here for about three years, working together,'' Broadway said. ''I think that's the key thing in this whole deal, (with our) defensive success that we have had and giving up the few touchdowns we have the past few weeks.''
Franklin said while the defense talked about improving in the past, he truly saw a change in attitude during the summer. It's an attitude Franklin said has turned into belief as the defensive success has continued this season.
''We've grown up together, you can say, from freshmen until now,'' said Franklin, who leads the team with 37 tackles. ''We all believed we could be better, and we feel like now once the offense gets the lead, we feel like if we lose, it's on the defense.''
Despite the early success this season, Arkansas junior defensive end Jake Bequette said the defense isn't satisfied with what it's accomplished so far. That said, he did admit the A&M win - spearheaded by the defense - is one he'll remember.
''That's the kind of game we've been waiting for for a long time, just a game where the defense really came through,'' Bequette said. ''We've been playing solid this year, but we're still waiting on that complete shutdown game, and hopefully we can do that in the next couple weeks.''
