FAYETTEVILLE -- After a defeat, it inevitably sounds like sour grapes for players to say: "They didn't beat us, we beat ourselves."
However, it wasn't merely grapes of wrath for last year's Arkansas Razorbacks to say they beat themselves during their 1-3 September.
It was seeded in truth.
In successive nonconference home losses to Toledo, 16-12 in Little Rock, and 35-24 to Texas Tech in Fayetteville and losing the SEC opener, 28-21 in overtime to Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Razorbacks penalized themselves to oblivion.
The Razorbacks were penalized nine times for 85 yards to Toledo's eight for 55 penalty yards.