LITTLE ROCK — QUARTERBACKS
Casey Dick was 4 for 6 for 36 yards beforeleaving with a concussion, and backup Nathan Emert was more than adequate in relief. Emert was 13 for 25 for 154yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions. Florida International quarterback Wayne Younger was exciting at times and ran 14 times for 124 yards, mainly on scrambles after busted plays. But he ran much better than he passed, finishing 9 for 26 for 93 yards with 5 interceptions. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
RUNNING BACKS
What was more exciting than Darren McFadden's four short touchdowns was the 7-yard run late in the first half that ended in a collision that knocked the helmet off an FIU defender. Once again, Felix Jones eclipsed McFadden in total yards, finishing with 89 on 17 carries and 1 touchdown compared with McFadden's 61 yards on 19 carries and the touchdowns, the longest of which was 3 yards. Backup Michael Smith broke a late 81-yard touchdown run. Senior fullback Peyton Hillis was the most impressive in the flats, leading Arkansas with six catches for 77 yards. Other than Younger, no Golden Panther rushed for more than 23 yards. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
RECEIVERS
Neither team's receivers will be challenging for the Biletnikoff Award this season. Arkansas' best receiver, by far, was a fullback (Hillis), and only three true receivers caught passes. But one of them was Marcus Monk, who caught a touchdown pass, and received a loud ovation for making his first true return to the field. Florida International was never a threat in the passing game. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
OFFENSIVE LINE
Younger was scrambling for his life mostof the game, as a smaller, mismatched Golden Panthers offensive front had trouble holding blocks most of thegame. Arkansas did allow Dick to get hit hard and knocked out of the game, but the Razorbacks' front five also led the way for 249 rushing yards, and an average of 5.9 yards per rush, and allowed no sacks. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
DEFENSIVE LINE
It didn't take Arkansas' line long to get intothe game, as Adrian Davis recovered a fumble on the second play of the game. The Razorbacks got three sacks, and fivetackles for loss and generally controlled the game defensively. Concerning for Arkansas, however, was the number of missed sacks the linemen had in the first half. Younger ran seven times for 110 yards in the first two quarters, mainly on scrambles after avoiding sacks. Still, the Golden Panthers got no consistent pressure and allowed a ton of rushing yards. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
LINEBACKERS
The Arkansas linebackers made a lot oftackles on Younger after he broke through the front line on scrambles, and they kept most of the plays from being even bigger. Weston Dacus had a sack and seven tackles and generally controlled the middle of the field. Scott Bryant had 11 tackles for the Golden Panthers. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Arkansas dominated this category RaMatteral Richardson recovered one and cornerbacks Jerell Norton and Michael Grant each intercepted a pass. All told, the secondary came up with all five of the Golden Panthers' interceptions, with backup Rashaad Johnson getting two. Only a long FIU touchdown pass on fourth down, past a beaten Grant, dimmed an otherwise stellar day for the Razorbacks secondary. ADVANTAGE Arkansas SPECIAL TEAMS Alex Tejada came back strong from hiszorbacks defensive backs accounted for four turnovers in the first half alone, when Matt Hewitt caused a fumble,first shaky game of the season last week. He kicked three field goals, including a 42-yarder, and was perfect on seven extra points. Arkansaspunter Jeremy Davis had little work, while FIU punter Chris Cook struggled. Jerell Norton had a nice punt return for Arkansas. One bit of concern for Razorbacks fans - McFadden fumbled twice on kickoff returns, losing one. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
Sports, Pages 36 on 10/28/2007