About a month ago, Paul Petrino stood in front of a contingent of reporters and told them that Arkansas had a chance to grow up in its next four games.

Coming off back-to-back and disheartening losses to No. 1 Florida and Ole Miss, the Hogs needed a break and some room for growth. And what better way to do that than in your own house?

Arkansas put up impressive numbers, out-scoring teams 194-84 during the four-game winning streak. Now, with a road game approaching, Nov. 24 — Paul Petrino addresses mediathe big question is how will the Hogs react on the road? After all, they still haven’t won a road game all season.

“Hopefully we can really start playing,” said Petrino, Arkansas’ offensive coordinator. “We’re young, we play better at home and we’ve done that. I think we’ve grown up now.”

Listen: Nov. 24 — Paul Petrino addresses media (MP3)

Confidence is high, and apparently it’s none higher than with sophomore tailback Dennis Johnson. Johnson rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries last season.

But hat game shouldn’t be the only one giving him confidence. The tailback, also the SEC’s top kick returner, has plenty to draw upon from his 107-yard rushing performance against top-ranked Florida earlier this season. It was the first 100-yard rushing performance allowed by the Gators since 2008, when the Hogs’ Michael Smith broke the 100-yard barrier against the Gators.

And without Smith, whose career ended Saturday because of ongoing hamstring injuries, Johnson may just get another shot at making a big splash this weekend against LSU. At least on the depth chart, it’s shaping up to be a lot like last season, when Smith was sidelined due to a hamstring injury and Johnson stepped in.

“I hope to have a better game than I did last year,” Johnson said. “I gained a lot of confidence coming into this season to make big plays.”

Arkansas hasn’t necessarily been turning heads with its running game, but what the Hogs have been able to do is run the ball effectively in the red zone and during the fourth quarter.

Still, that’s not good enough for senior lineman Mitch Petrus. Arkansas rushed for 83 yards in its 42-21 win Saturday against Mississippi State.

“Well, that ain’t good,” Petrus said. “I don’t like you bringing it up because that reflects on me. We need to have an individual player over 100 yards every game. So we definitely have to get that up.

“A lot of times when you can’t run the ball, you can’t win the game. Because when you are up in the fourth quarter, you’ve got to run the ball. … This week at their stadium we’ve got to run the ball, because when you make checks in the passing game, you aren’t going to be able to hear it.”

Make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more coverage. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates via @bmarcello and @wholehogsports.

— Brandon Marcello