LITTLE ROCK — TD pass at half criticalArkansas was on the verge of taking a two-touchdown deficit into halftime at Vanderbilt before the Razorbacks pieced together a critical two-minute drive for a touchdown with 5 seconds remaining.
Tyler Wilson’s 11-yard scoring pass to Jarius Wright was Arkansas’ only shot at the end zone because of time constraints. Had the play gone awry, the Hogs would have likely tried a field goal.
“That was huge,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “It looked a couple of times like the half was going to be over.”
The Razorbacks converted a fourth-and-10 from the Vanderbilt 41, with Wright battling to the Commodores’ 11 with :09 seconds left.
Wright stuff
Jarius Wright had 10 catches for 135 yards and 1 touchdown to take his career totals to 146 receptions for 2,526 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Wright, a senior from Warren, moved into third place on Arkansas’ career receptions list, behind Anthony Eubanks (153) and D.J. Williams (152), and into second place in receiving yards (Anthony Lucas, 2,879 yards) and is third in touchdown receptions behind Marcus Monk (27) and Lucas (23).
Wright ranks 17th nationally with 101.3 receiving yards per game.
Coming up
South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier, never one to mince words, offered up this brief description of Arkansas, his team’s opponent on Saturday, during his Sunday teleconference:
“They have not played their best the last two games, a little like us.
“They are happy to be back home. They are still alive for a lot of marbles out there for them. They are like us. They can still win their division. They can still win the SEC actually. They are still alive and we’re still alive, so it’s a huge game.”
Stat chat
Arkansas will be ranked No. 25 in total offense (452.9 yards per game) and No. 71 in total defense (396.1) when it takes on South Carolina for homecoming on Saturday. The Gamecocks, entering their second game without starting tailback Marcus Lattimore, are No. 64 in total offense (388.3) and No. 6 in total defense (266.1) after holding Tennessee to 186 yards in a 14-3 victory on Saturday.
South Carolina has allowed its last five opponents an average of 7.4 points per game.
That’s my man
Arkansas safety Eric Bennett was not fooled into automatic run support when Zac Stacy took a Wildcat snap and headed toward right end on the second play of the second half. The Razorbacks knew Vanderbilt’s tendency toward trick plays.
“They ran the same play on the play before and the tight end didn’t release,” Bennett said. “The second time the tight end released and we were in man and that was my man, so I just broke on the ball.”
Though Bennett appeared to be slightly behind Austin Monahan, he outmaneuvered the bigger Commodore and snared his third interception in the past three games.
Hayward hit
Vanderbilt cornerback Casey Hayward had a busy day with six pass breakups, at least two dropped interception chances and a critical mistake late in the first half.
Hayward took a step toward a shorter route and left just enough of a window over his left shoulder for Tyler Wilson to thread an 11-yard touchdown pass to a streaking Jarius Wright with 5 seconds left in the first half.
“We knew that spot on the field was open once we got down there in the red zone,” offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said.
“We watched a lot of film on him [Hayward] and we know he likes to cheat a little bit,” Wright said. “So we recognized that and Tyler ... found me open in the back of the end zone.”
Mitchell makes it
Arkansas reserve quarterback Brandon Mitchell made the most of his one snap, taking a keeper over left tackle for a 4-yard touchdown to cap the Hogs’ first scoring drive. Tyler Wilson drove Arkansas 84 yards on the sequence, but had to come out with a hand injury.
“I think I got stepped on right after a play, right on the hand, which swelled up pretty good on the left side,” Wilson said. “But it’s all right.”
Mitchell notched his second running touchdown of the season.
“We had a plan for Brandon coming in,” offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said. “We thought there was a weak spot. ... He had blockers in front of him. He’s a big, physical runner. We thought he could get on the perimeter and get the ball in the end zone.”
Kicking itself
Arkansas had personal fouls on the opening kickoff (Jerry Mitchell) and the second-half kickoff (Zach Hocker), and special teams returner Marquel Wade was ejected for a flagrant foul when he plowed into Vanderbilt’s Jonathan Krause on a punt return before Krause touched the ball.
“Certainly not happy that we had the penalties we had,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
QB Tyler Wilson
The junior stood solid in the pocket and once again absorbed pass-rush punishment. Wilson completed 27 of 43 passes for 316 yards and 1 TD. He also extended his streak of passes without an interception to 176 throws, dating to the first half against Alabama.
DEFENSE
LB Jerry Franklin
Franklin made the play of the game for the Razorbacks, scooping a Zac Stacy fumble at the Arkansas 6, breaking a tackle attempt by Stacy at the 9, and running 94 yards for his second career touchdown. Franklin, a senior team captain, led the Razorbacks with 10 tackles, 7 unassisted and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Sports, Pages 20 on 10/31/2011