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Location: WholeHogSports > Story     |     TAGGED:

Second quarter gets Hogs racing

Published: Sunday, November 18, 2007 PRINT E-MAIL

Arkansas offensive lineman Robert Felton couldn’t come up with words to describe the Razorbacks’ offensive output in the second quarter of their 45-31 victory against Mississippi State. So instead, he listed everything that was going right for the offense in that quarter.

It was a lengthy list.

“I don’t think satisfying is even the word for it,” Felton said. “It was like, finally, OK, yes, we’re rolling, we’re hitting people, we’re getting blocks, they’re running, they’re catching, he’s throwing. So many good things are happening.”

The Arkansas offense played its best quarter of the season Saturday when the Razorbacks outscored the Bulldogs 24-0 as they stepped on the throttle of a fastpaced game and never let up.

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Arkansas had 199 yards in the quarter and scored on four of five possessions to take control of the game. Quarterback Casey Dick threw three touchdown passes in the quarter.

“We got into a rhythm, and we just started going and going,” Dick said. “We just got a bunch of momentum rolling, and when momentum gets going, everything keeps clicking for us. It was fun. Everyone was relaxed and having fun.”

The Razorbacks trailed 7-0 entering the second quarter, but Alex Tejada kicked a 39-yard field goal on the first snap of the second quarter. They got the ball back after the defense forced a threeand-out.

That’s when Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee said he discovered the formation that would change the complexion of the game.

It’s not the WildHog, but it drove the Bulldogs crazy.

In a formation Coach Houston Nutt calls “Racehorse” and Lee calls his “RoJo” package, Darren McFadden lines up at quarterback in the Shotgun with Peyton Hillis and Michael Smith (subbing for an injured Felix Jones ) flanking either side, giving McFadden three options.

Hillis gained 11 yards the first time the formation was used, and then 13 on the next play. The third consecutive Racehorse run saw McFadden go for 17 yards before a stunned Mississippi State team called timeout.

“What opened the game up was when we put Darren at quarterback and ran the triple option,” Lee said. “To me, the turning point was when we went with our RoJo. That’s when the game opened up. That’s when they got on their heels. We needed to get something catalystic going, and getting Darren at quarterback was it.”

Lee calls it “RoJo” because receiver Robert Johnson calls the play in the huddle, but it’s clear who is the focal point of the formation.

With defenses keying on McFadden, the whole offense was loosened. Arkansas didn’t use the formation for the rest of the drive, but the damage had been done. While McFadden served as a decoy, Dick completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to backup fullback Farrod Jackson to give Arkansas a 10-7 lead it soon extended.

In the fourth quarter, McFadden completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Johnson out of the RoJo package.

“It’s all because of McFadden,” Mississippi State Coach Sylvester Croom said. “It’s all because of zeroing in on McFadden. There’s no question about that. They came out there with a little bit of that West Virginia package [the Racehorse ], when [Hillis ] kept popping some runs on us. That hurt us.

“ The second quarter was bad, and that was the turning point of the game.”

Arkansas got the ball back on the Bulldogs’ 47 after a Kevin Woods interception, and Dick hit Johnson for a 35-yard touchdown on the first play after the turnover.

The third touchdown drive of the quarter, which featured another Hillis 11-yard run out of the Racehorse, ended with a 19-yard fade pass by Dick to Marcus Monk in the corner of the end zone.

The pass came on third-and-16 and was almost never thrown.

“They were in Cover 2, and we were supposed to check out,” Monk said. “But [Dick ] looked over and [Lee ] told him to run it. He had confidence in me, and Casey threw a good ball. We want to score every time we touch it, easier said than done. Tonight, we were just clicking.”

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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?


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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