Early TD gives Hogs nice boost

AUBURN, Ala. — Lou Holtz famously cracked jokes to loosen up Arkansas’ 1977 team before it went out and stunned Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

Some players try to take the edge off their nerves by pulling on a pair of headphones and retreating to another dimension before kickoff.

But there’s nothing like grabbing an early lead to put everybody at ease.

Arkansas did that Saturday. Marcus Monk turned in a 50-yard catch-and-run touchdown that put the Razorbacks ahead 10-0 in the first quarter of an eventual 27-10 victory over No. 2 Auburn.

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The touchdown subdued the crowd of 87, 451 at Jordan Hare Stadium, with the exception of about 3, 000 Arkansas fans. Auburn fans had been revved up early on.

“It just set us up and gave the defense more confidence because they had a bigger cushion,” Monk said.

Quarterback Mitch Mustain threw what amounted to a jump ball as Auburn safety Aairon Savage drilled him. Monk, 6-6, who was behind cornerback Jonothon Wilhite, plucked the ball and took off as Wilhite hit the ground.

Monk and Wilhite had contact but no penalty was called.

Monk said he leaped over Wilhite to make the play. Wilhite said Monk pushed him to get to the ball.

Cornerback David Irons, who watched the play unfold from the other side of the field, said the Auburn defense rarely gives up such a big play.

“It shocked me,” Irons said. “It should have been offensive pass interference but it wasn’t [called ].”

Mustain never saw Monk finish the play.

“I’ll give that one to Monk,” Mustain said. “I threw it and... I thought I underthrew him and I almost did. He did a great job getting around that guy and taking off. I thought it was incomplete. I got tackled, looked up and he was gone.

“ I think that was real big. That kick-started us.” First strike

This is how to stop an offense: Stuff ’em on first down.

Auburn gained 11 yards each on its first two first-down plays, both passes. Arkansas then held the Tigers to zero or negative yards on 16 of 20 first-down plays the rest of the game.

One Auburn first-down run went for 19 yards. The other nine called run plays on first down totaled minus-5 yards. And counting

Jeremy Davis’ first-quarter field goal extended Arkansas’ streak of games without being shut out to 126, a school record. The previous record of 125 happened from 1973-1983. The last time Arkansas was shut out was Nov. 18, 1995, 28-0 at LSU. Same team

After Mitch Petrus drew a personal foul for hitting Auburn linebacker Karibi Dede late, Arkansas teammate Stephen Parker gave Petrus more than a slap on the hand, chucking him and knocking him to the ground.

“It’s just emotions,” Parker said. “He got a 15-yard penalty when we were moving the ball and it was just one of those things. I kind of snapped.” Through here

Darren McFadden might want to give center Jonathan Luigs and guard Stephen Parker a couple of Gatorades. They delivered jarring blocks to spring McFadden for his 63-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Undefeated

Mitch Mustain became the first Arkansas true freshman quarterback to win his first four starts. “I’m not worried about that,” Mustain said. “The fact that we’re 4-1 right now, undefeated in conference, that’s the biggest thing I care about.” Flagged down

The stats won’t show it but Arkansas assistant coaches Mike Markuson and Reggie Herring each made a tackle.

In the jubilation immediately after the game, they spotted guard Robert Felton on the verge of planting the Arkansas flag in the end zone. One coach grabbed Felton and the other grabbed the flag to prevent a potential incident.

The Big Ten fined the head coaches for Illinois and Michigan State last week after their teams scuffled. It started after an Illinois player planted the school flag in Michigan State’s field.

Michigan State did the same thing to Notre Dame last year.

When Arkansas won at Texas in 2003, De’Arrius Howard planted the Razorbacks flag in the end zone but it didn’t cause any trouble. Back for a while

Cornerback Darius Vinnett entered on the first play of the second quarter, marking his first game action since Sept. 17, 2005, when he played part time against Southern California.

Vinnett had surgery on his patella tendon and missed the rest of the 2005 season. He had to have the same surgery on the other knee in August.

A third-quarter collision with Auburn running back Kenny Irons knocked Vinnett woozy and sent him to the sideline. Did you notice ? One of the reasons Arkansas snuffed Auburn’s fourth-down try in the second quarter was because freshman cornerback Jamar Love covered up receiver Rodgeriqus Smith, who had tried to slip into the flat under the coverage. That forced quarterback Brandon Cox to scramble, and he was tackled short of the first down.

Auburn took advantage of Arkansas trying to cover receiver Courtney Taylor with linebacker Sam Olajubutu to convert a second-quarter third down.

Arkansas’ Marcus Monk made his 50-yard touchdown catch against cornerback Jonathan Wilhite, who was playing for the first time in three weeks after injuring his hamstring against LSU.

Arkansas won the coin toss for the fourth consecutive game. Sidelines

Arkansas broke a streak of five losses in SEC games after open dates.

Sports Illustrated writer Austin Murphy was at the game for Kenny Irons but ended up in Arkansas’ locker room.

Arkansas cornerback John Johnson (ankle ) did not play.

Both head coaches and former Arkansas defensive line coach Bill Johnson, now an assistant with the Atlanta Falcons, visited on the field before kickoff. Thumbs up

To Arkansas’ offensive line for paving the way to victory.

To Arkansas’ run defense, which had been beaten up at times this season but shut down Auburn.

To Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt for weathering immense criticism in September and emerging with the SEC West’s first-place team. Thumbs down

To the voters who had put Auburn No. 2 in the polls. Overrated. And that was evident before Saturday’s loss.

Auburn’s run defense. A lot of hype and not much substance Saturday.