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Location: WholeHogSports > Story     |     TAGGED:

Hogs’ dominance is put on display early

Published: Monday, October 01, 2007 PRINT E-MAIL

FAYETTEVILLE — There seemed to be no shortage of highlights.

Some Arkansas players further cemented their places in Razorbacks history Saturday. Others used a 66-7 victory against North Texas to record moments that will be memorable to few beyond themselves.

Coach Houston Nutt will remember the game for more than that. Nutt was most impressed with the resolve and focus the Razorbacks (2-2 ) displayed in dispatching a weak opponent on the heels of consecutive SEC losses.

Rather than muddle through the game, the Razorbacks made their point and scored their points early. Arkansas was up 24-0 in the first quarter and led 45-7 by halftime.

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“I’ve seen games like that where you flop around and you’re not focused,” Nutt said, recapping the game in his Sunday afternoon news conference. “That’s what I like about this team. We demanded a lot of focus, a lot of attitude.”

Arkansas proved its resolve early on the way to amassing 731 yards total offense, the secondhighest total in school history. It was the highest nonovertime point total since 1928, and the Razorbacks’ 66 points were the most in Nutt’s 10-year, 115-game tenure.

Tailbacks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones did what they always do, amassing enough yardage to move to second and 10 th, respectively, on the Razorbacks’ career rushing list. Each ran for more than 130 yards with two touchdowns and backup Brandon Barnett also topped the 100-yard mark. The Razorbacks dominated the line of scrimmage on the way to 446 rushing yards.

Wide receivers Robert Johnson and Lucas Miller had their first career touchdown catches. Junior Rod Coleman had his first career reception as quarterback Casey Dick passed for 210 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.

Arkansas showed great strides in its secondary play. Rarely did defensive backs lose track of the ball as they had in losses against Kentucky and Alabama.

Razorbacks defenders broke up 10 passes. Cornerbacks Michael Grant and Jerrell Norton each had interceptions. Norton ran his back 100 yards, leaving North Texas defenders and a recent demotion behind him on the way into the end zone.

“It was so good to see the smiles on the sideline, to see a celebrating locker room,” Nutt said. “That’s the thing you live for is to see an 18-, 19- 20-yearold that is happy and wet of sweat and congratulating his teammates on a great win.”

So much went right for the Razorbacks that it was hard to remember exactly what was wrong immediately after the game. That changed a bit on Sunday after coaches reviewed film and Arkansas shifted attention toward a Little Rock game against Chattanooga next Saturday and then to Auburn a week after that.

Building momentum in anticipation of six remaining SEC games will be the focus against Chattanooga, a Football Championship Subdivision opponent. Arkansas still can make up ground in the conference, and Nutt doesn’t want players losing sight of that fact.

“When you see a lot of big runs breaking off and you’re doing a lot of scoring, you think everything’s going good,” Nutt said. “But it’s really, there’s some things we have to get better at.... Everybody knows there’s room to improve.

“ Everybody knows they can get better. In all areas.”

Coaches will turn their attention on the areas that were less than perfect against the Mean Green.

Arkansas still struggled to stop the run, using athleticism, rather than proper technique, to make plays. North Texas eventually finished with 140 yards and its first rushing touchdown of the season as Razorbacks coaches continued to audition personnel on the defensive line.

Punt return was a huge source of improvement for Arkansas, but Nutt acknowledged there is a long way to go before he feels comfortable there. Reggie Fish and Norton combined to return three punts for 26 yards. Each had a return of better than 10 yards, quite an accomplishment for a unit that had been averaging a college football-worst of 7. 2 inches.

Continued improvement is a must for the Razorbacks, Nutt said. Chattanooga might be coming off a 41-16 loss to The Citadel, but Arkansas cannot afford a letdown.

“Let’s don’t be lackadaisical,” Nutt said. “Don’t go flop around. One thing I can’t stand is you take a game for granted and you get sloppy. That’s not the way you do it.”

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Baseball America Poll

Updated May 20

1. UC Irvine 40-12

2. LSU 41-14

3. Arizona St 41-11

4. CS Fullerton 38-14

5. Texas 38-12

6. North Carolina 41-14

7. Ole Miss 40-15

8. Oklahoma 40-16

9. Florida 38-18

10. TCU 35-15

11. Rice 35-15

12. Florida St 40-14

13. Clemson 39-17

14. Georgia Tech 34-15

15. East Carolina 41-15

16. Virginia 39-12

17. Kansas St 39-15

18. Alabama 37-17

19. Cal Poly 35-17

20. Louisville 40-14

21. Minnesota 35-15

22. Elon 37-14

23. Miami Fl 35-18

24. Missouri 32-23

25. South Carolina 37-19

Who is the best defensive lineman in Arkansas' history?


Dave "Hawg" Hanner

Wayne Martin

Jimmy Walker

Dan Hampton

Loyd Phillips

Vote

Arkansas Razorbacks' 2009 Baseball Schedule

Feb. 20

Washington St. (DH)

W 7-5

Feb. 20

Washington St. (DH)

W 4-2

Feb. 22

Washington St.

W 4-3

Feb. 24

Kansas

L 3-9

Feb. 25

Kansas

W 9-8

Feb. 27

Western Illinois

W 8-7

Feb. 28

Western Illinois

     6:00 pm

Mar. 1

Western Illinois

     6:00 pm

Mar. 3

Valparaiso

W 7-3

Mar. 4

Valparaiso

W 9-6

Mar. 6

California

W 5-4

Mar. 7

California

L 6-12

Mar. 8

California

W 13-3

Mar. 10

@ Centenary

L 3-8

Mar. 11

@ Centenary

     6:00 pm

Mar. 13

Florida

W 11-4

Mar. 14

Florida

W 8-4

Mar. 15

Florida

W 4-2

Mar. 17

Nebraska

W 7-3

Mar. 18

Nebraska

L 4-7

Mar. 20

@ Auburn

W 3-2

Mar. 21

@ Auburn

W 10-6

Mar. 22

@ Auburn

W 12-6

Mar. 25

Missouri St.

W 10-0

Mar. 27

Mississippi St.

W 20-9

Mar. 28

Mississippi St.

W 5-1

Mar. 29

Mississippi St.

L 4-12

Mar. 31

@ Missouri St.

W 2-0

Apr. 3

@ South Carolina

W 6-4

Apr. 4

@ South Carolina

L 1-9

Apr. 5

@ South Carolina

W 7-4

Apr. 7

Arizona St.

W 7-3

Apr. 8

Arizona St.

W 8-7

Apr. 10

Vanderbilt

L 0-9

Apr. 11

Vanderbilt

L 6-13

Apr. 12

Vanderbilt

     1:05 pm

Apr. 14

La.-Monroe

L 2-3

Apr. 15

La.-Monroe

W 10-9

Apr. 17

@ Georgia

L 3-4

Apr. 18

@ Georgia

L 3-4

Apr. 19

@ Georgia

W 2-0

Apr. 21

@ Oral Roberts

W 9-6

Apr. 24

@ Tennessee

W 9-3

Apr. 25

@ Tennessee

L 4-5

Apr. 26

@ Tennessee

W 15-8

Apr. 28

Oklahoma

W 8-7

May. 1

LSU

W 11-4

May. 2

LSU

L 0-5

May. 3

LSU

L 3-4

May. 8

@ Alabama

L 1-2

May. 9

@ Alabama

L 6-8

May. 10

@ Alabama

L 5-6

May. 12

Oral Roberts

W 3-2

May. 14

Ole Miss

L 5-7

May. 15

Ole Miss

L 3-9

May. 16

Ole Miss

L 3-16