By Harry King

FAYETTEVILLE — Horse properly in place before the cart, the principal dates
and sites to know are Jan. 2 in Memphis, Dec. 28 in Shreveport, and Jan. 2
in Dallas.

The all-clear to speculate about Arkansas’ bowl destination occurred at
9:15 p.m. Saturday.

At that point, the Razorbacks were ahead 42-20 and home free against a Troy
team that should be complimented for continuing to compete despite trailing
28-7 and 35-13. Like many, I believed that the best of the Sun Belt
Conference would stay in touch with the Razorbacks until early in the
fourth quarter. Instead, the Trojans trailed by 29 with 1:50 gone in the
period.

Ryan Mallett’s fourth touchdown pass of the evening, a 9-yard slant to
Jarius Wright, completed a fourth zippy TD drive by the Razorbacks late in
the third quarter and expanded the lead to 22. The six-play, 80-yard march
began with a tackle-breaking 46-yard run by Dennis Johnson.

As advertised, the Trojans were vulnerable in the secondary.

Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett was not quite as sharp as he was a week
earlier against a better defense, but he was still very good, particularly
floating instead of firing throws to receivers running free. When the 56-20
decision was final, he had completed 23-of-30 for 405 yards
For a brief moment in the second quarter, the Trojans were within a score,
completing a 69-yard drive that narrowed the Arkansas lead to 14-7. The
Razorbacks responded quickly, looking every bit a team confident of its
superiority. The 58-yard drive started with Mallett to D.J. Williams for 7,
followed by a 13-yard run by Ronnie Wingo, Williams’ sliding catch for 22
yards, and concluded with a 16-yard TD run by Wingo.

Two plays later, Levi Brown’s rare throw into the middle of the field
bounced off intended receiver Tebarius Gill and was plucked out of the air
by Jerry Franklin at midfield. Like the preceding possession, this one was
quick and decisive. A first-down blitz left Joe Adams uncovered and he
grabbed one for 25 yards in front of the safety. Three plays later, Mallett
rolled right and threw to Greg Childs uncovered in the end zone.

The other Troy semi-threat occurred in the third quarter when the Trojans
reached the Arkansas 32 trailing 35-20. Wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan took
a direct snap and quickly decided that making a bad pitch was better than
taking a big hit. Tenarius Wright recorded a sack on second down and a
little dump pass to DuJuan Harris was engulfed by Jerico Nelson.

Both Brown and Mallett threw interceptions, ending the two longest streaks
in the country.

Brown, who missed on a couple of deep lobs on Troy’s first possession,
tried again the next time the Trojans had the ball. This time, Matt Harris,
doing what a centerfielder does, made the pick, ending Brown’s streak at
265. Mallett’s streak ended at 141 when his deep throw was too deep just
before half.

Memphis is most likely for an Arkansas team that finishes 7-5. At 8-4, the
Razorbacks would be courted by the Cotton Bowl, particularly since Auburn
lost to Georgia and fell to 7-4 despite leading 14-0 in the first quarter.

At 6-6, Shreveport makes sense.

The destination is secondary for Bobby Petrino’s second team. Simply
getting to 6-4 is an accomplishment for a team that was in a 3-4 hole after
a very ordinary outing at Ole Miss.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau.
His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.