By Harry King
FAYETTEVILLE — Mostly, the out of sync malady that infected the Arkansas football team was under control after a little more than a quarter.
Penalties were the lingering side effect.
Maybe it was the lowly opponent. Maybe Vanderbilt’s new offensive coordinator put in some wrinkles. Maybe it was the big game with South Carolina on the horizon.
Explanation pending, the Razorbacks took a while to get around to the expected ho-hum result.
One quarter deep, Vanderbilt had 130 yards and 14 points. The Commodores’ next 23 plays netted 14 yards and they trailed by 35 points early in the fourth quarter.
For fans, 49-14 is quite acceptable. For Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, there are plenty of talking points.
Evidence of Arkansas’ early ailment begins with two of the most reliable components of this Razorback team — PATs and Petrino.
Perfect in 29 attempts this year, Zach Hocker’s first try against Vanderbilt got about as high as a bladed wedge after deep snapper Rhett Richardson skipped the ball to holder Austin Tucker.
At the end of the first quarter, Arkansas faced fourth-and-1 at the Vanderbilt 25. While the teams switched ends, Petrino sent in a play action pass. As the play developed, a receiver was open deep, but an official stepped in with the word that Arkansas had called a time-out.
A confident and extremely competent play-caller, Petrino changed his mind and went with a Knile Davis run for 7 yards behind an overloaded left side.
The first time the Arkansas defense was on the field was an abomination. Damario Ambrose jumped offside at the Vanderbilt 13 and most of his teammates watched as Warren Norman reversed his field and made 51 yards. Jerico Nelson sniffed out a short pass for a loss, but Ramon Broadway was nailed for a personal foul 25 yards away. From the Arkansas 21, a reverse fooled the Razorbacks.
Vanderbilt’s second possession, mostly Larry Smith running and throwing, covered 55 yards. Anthony Leon was too late to prevent an 8-yard touchdown pass.
Leading 14-13, Vanderbilt decided to sit Smith and put in Jared Funk. The new quarterback’s third play was a pass that Nelson deflected and Rudell Crim intercepted. From the 15, Ryan Mallett delivered one of those downhill strikes that has so much zip the linebacker cannot react. Jarius Wright was on the receiving end.
Mallett to Wright worked again from the same distance midway through the second quarter for 29-14 and Wright got the ball to an official via jump shot.
Despite being thigh on a couple of throws, Mallett broke his school record with 409 yards passing. He attempted a career-high 44 and completed 27. Vanderbilt did pressure him, particularly in the first half, but the Razorbacks stopped themselves far more often than the Commodores’ defense.
In the first half, Arkansas had seven penalties for 70 yards, detracting from 317 yards total offense. It was more of the same in the second half and quite a smorgasbord — chop blocks, holding, offensive pass interference, 15 yards because D.J. Williams departed the field through the end zone, and 15 more for Nelson’s swan dive into the end zone after an interception.
Arkansas totaled 130 yards in penalties and Vanderbilt turned down one holding call. The Razorbacks can get by with that against the outmanned Commodores. South Carolina is a different deal.
——-
Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
