Razorback Report

— Another 2nd-half shutdown

Somewhat forgotten in Arkansas’ 29-24 victory over Ole Miss was the Razorbacks nearly shutting out a second consecutive opponent in the second half.

If not for a thirdand-11 conversion, then two fourth-down runs by Randall Mackey, the Razorbacks would have stopped Ole Miss’ late touchdown drive and preserved a second half shutout.

Arkansas blanked Auburn for the final three quarters in its 38-14 victory two weeks ago, and held Texas A&M to three points in the second half of its 42-38 victory over the Aggies.

The Razorbacks missed on prime chances to bury the Rebels. A failed fourthand-1 at the Ole Miss 49 in the first half could have swayed the momentum, then Dennis Johnson fumbled at the 1-yard line in the third quarter, and the Razorbacks had poor red-zone execution on a couple of drives, preventing Arkansas from pulling away.

The Hogs’ 12-point margin after Jerry Franklin’s safety and a Zach Hocker field goal following the free kick left room for anxiety.

“When you looked at the board and saw the [12-point] difference in the game, you worry,” Bobby Petrino said. “You worry. You play the scenarios in your mind and you definitely are worried about it.”

Mackey ran for first downs on a fourth-and-8 and a fourth-and-7 in Arkansas territory, then he lofted a 4-yard touchdown to Donte Moncrief with 1:23 remaining.

“I thought if we got one stop there we would have been able to run out the clock,” Petrino said. “The quarterback made a great run there and they got it down there and they got a touchdown.”

Moving down

Arkansas moved up in the human polls, stayed at No. 8 in the computer rankings but dropped from No. 9 to No. 10 in the BCS standings after beating Ole Miss.

The Hogs moved ahead of Wisconsin, which fell from No. 6 to No. 15 in the BCS after losing to Michigan State. But Oklahoma, which lost to Texas Tech, stayed ahead of Arkansas. The Sooners dropped from No. 3 to No. 9 while Kansas State and Oregon leapfrogged Arkansas. Kansas State’s No. 5 computer ranking helped it jump over Arkansas while Oregon, No. 12 in the computers, moved from No. 9 to No. 7 in the Harris poll and from No. 8 to No. 7 in the coaches’ poll.

Arkansas, which is 6-1 for the first time since 2006, moved up two notches to No. 8 in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches’ polls and one spot in the Harris poll. The AP poll is not part of the BCS formula.

Fourth-down faith

Bobby Petrino wanted points early in the third quarter, and a fourth-and-7 from the Ole Miss 37 was not going to slow him down.

The move paid off when Tyler Wilson found tight end Chris Gragg running free over the middle for a 19-yard gain that set up Zach Hocker’s 33-yard field goal four plays later.

“We were in a position where you’re in-between a field goal, the punt,” Petrino said. “We needed to have something positive happen.

“Tyler did a really nice job reading what they did and Chris Gragg ran a great route, caught the ball and ran with it.”

Fourth-down fail

When a reporter asked about the fourth-down conversion in the third quarter, Bobby Petrino misinterpreted the question and thought he was being asked about a failed fourthand-1 run by Broderick Green that followed a stuffed third-and-1 run by Ronnie Wingo at the Ole Miss 49 in the first quarter.

“Yeah, now it’s a stupid call,” Petrino said. “When you go for it on fourth down and you don’t make it, it’s a bad call, and it was a bad call because we didn’t make it.”

No TD pass

Arkansas had its streak of 23 consecutive games with a touchdown pass end at Ole Miss.

The Razorbacks last went without a touchdown pass in a 33-16 victory over South Carolina in 2009.

Sack attack

Arkansas posted a season-best three sacks for 36 yards in losses, including a 23-yarder credited to linebacker Alonzo Highsmith, who was the closest player to Ole Miss quarterback Randall Mackey when he was flagged for intentional grounding in the fourth quarter.

True freshman Trey Flowers also posted a fourth-quarter sack, an 11-yarder that preceded Eric Bennett’s 46-yard interception return. Senior Jake Bequette had a 2-yard sack on the Rebels’ first offensive possession.

Tyler for two

Tyler Wilson had two 1-yard rushing touchdowns for the Razorbacks in the third quarter.

It is the first time an Arkansas quarterback had scored twice on the ground since Casey Dick did it in a 28-24 victory over Western Illinois in Coach Bobby Petrino’s debut for the Razorbacks in 2008.

Punt wars

Arkansas junior Dylan Breeding averaged 43.8 yards on 4 punts against the Rebels to move ahead of Ole Miss’ Tyler Campbell to second in the SEC and 14th nationally with a season average of 44.7 yards per punt. Campbell (Little Rock) averaged 37.7 yards on six punts but dropped three inside the Arkansas 20.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE

TB Dennis Johnson

In his first appearance as Arkansas’ featured back since the Florida game of 2009, Johnson performed. The junior out of Texarkana rushed 15 times for 160 yards, an average of 10.7 yards per carry. Johnson’s 52-yard touchdown late in the first half pulled the Hogs within 17-7.

DEFENSE

LB Jerico Nelson

Nelson, a senior team captain out of Metairie, La., had perhaps his best game of the season. Nelson posted 5 unassisted tackles and 9 total tackles to tie for second on the team. The 5-10 “jack” linebacker registered a team-high 2.5 tackles for 8 yards in losses.

Sports, Pages 20 on 10/24/2011

Upcoming Events