By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino wasn’t concerned about a letdown, confident the Razorbacks were mature enough to take care of Vanderbilt on Saturday night.
The first quarter made the announced crowd of 70,430 in Razorback Stadium a little uneasy. But with quarterback Ryan Mallett healthy and completing passes to a variety of receivers, and with a defense that buckled down remarkably after a rough start, it didn’t take long before Arkansas proved Petrino was right in a 49-14 win.
Mallett, who had been knocked out of the previous two games, led an offense that piled up 555 yards by completing 27 of 44 passes for a school-record 409 yards and three touchdowns. Arkansas’ defense scored nine points of its own and suffocated Vanderbilt after a rocky 15 minutes, holding it to 23 yards in the final three quarters.
It all culminated in Arkansas’ most lopsided win in Southeastern Conference play under Petrino and it’s biggest since a 44-8 win at Ole Miss in 2007.
“It challenges your maturity,” Petrino said of Arkansas’ ability to handle the Commodores. “It challenges your ability to focus and not have letdowns. I felt all week long we didn’t have that. We have a mature team that has great leadership from within and it was good to come out (Saturday) and take care of business.”
Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4 in SEC) looked capable of pushing the 19th-ranked Razorbacks (6-2, 4-2 in SEC) to the limit in the early minutes. Especially on offense, with the Commodores playing its first game with Des Kitchings working as coordinator.
The Commodores, who scored seven points in their previous two games combined, got a 21-yard touchdown run from receiver Johnathan Krause on the first possession to take a surprising 7-0 lead. But that wasn’t it. After Arkansas scored, Vanderbilt marched downfield and scored on Larry Smith’s eight-yard pass to Brandon Barden to make it 14-6.
Vanderbilt’s rejuvenated attack gained 130 yards in the first quarter.
“I thought we did an excellent job moving the ball,” Smith said.
But Vanderbilt’s momentum faded when the Commodores made a peculiar move. After an Arkansas touchdown cut the lead to 14-13, backup quarterback Jared Funk trotted onto the field in place of Smith for Vanderbilt’s third series.
“We hadn’t seen that backup QB until the end of their games,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said. “Maybe that was part of their thought, and their offense didn’t change very much. We weren’t surprised about it.”
Funk didn’t enjoy the same success. His second pass was tipped by Arkansas linebacker Jerico Nelson and landed in the hands of safety Rudell Crim. The senior returned the interception — which was his third of the season — to Vanderbilt’s 20.
Arkansas scored three plays later when Mallett found receiver Jarius Wright for a 15-yard touchdown to give the Razorbacks a 20-14 lead.
“We kept saying, ‘It’s just a minor setback.’ It’s a minor setback,” Crim said of Arkansas’ early problems. That’s all we kept preaching to each other.
“We’ve got to stick together, stay calm, don’t panic.”
Arkansas didn’t flinch. Vanderbilt unraveled.
Smith returned, but it was clear the tide had turned. Linebacker Jerry Franklin sacked Smith, knocking the ball out of his hands. A Vanderbilt lineman fell on it in the end one to prevent a touchdown, but a safety gave Arkansas a 22-14 lead.
The Commodores never scored again. In fact, Vanderbilt didn’t do anything the rest of the way. The offense gained 23 yards and has one first down the final three quarters.
“We made some mistakes in the first quarter,” Petrino said. “But after that, I thought we played real well. We shut them down completely in the second half.”
Said Vanderbilt coach Robbie Caldwell: “We started off like game busters, got after them pretty good and made some things happen and unfortunately had some bad things occur.”
Arkansas’ offense, which played without receiver Joe Adams, had no such problems.
Mallett completed passes to eight different receivers, showing no signs of soreness from last week’s shoulder injury. Not only did his passing total set a school record, Mallett’s 44 attempts also was a career high.
Junior Jarius Wright was Mallett’s top target, catching six balls for 87 yards with two touchdowns. Running back Knile Davis gained 82 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
“We wanted to have our best game,” offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said. “That was a big emphasis. We still didn’t feel like we put it all together as an offense.”
The Razorbacks netted touchdowns on three straight possessions after punting on its first drive. Arkansas scored 32 points in the first half, which was its biggest total of the season. The 49 points was a season-high, eclipsing the 44 scored in the opener.
“We wanted to come out and just have a great game and perform really good and we were kind of uptight,” Mallett said. “I think after that first series we settled in.”
Arkansas was 10 of 19 on third downs Saturday night, while Vanderbilt was 1 of 11. The Razorbacks didn’t commit a turnover and forced two. It included Nelson’s 39-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, which capped the scoring.
It wasn’t a perfect night. Arkansas committed 13 penalties for 130 yards, which frustrated Petrino. And there was a late injury to leading receiver Greg Childs.
Childs — who left last week’s game with an ankle problem — had to be helped off the field after suffering what appeared to be a knee injury in the fourth quarter. Petrino said he didn’t know the extent of the injury and neither did teammates.
But it didn’t keep Petrino from calling Saturday “a good win” for the Razorbacks, who scored 43 unanswered points after trailing 14-6.
“I was happy for our team,” Petrino said. “We won the game the way we should win it.”
