Backup linemen play well FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas offensive line, already down two starters when the game commenced, lost tackle Michael Aguirre to a leg injury on the first offensive snap of Saturday’s loss to Florida.

At that point, stalwarts Jonathan Luigs, Jose Valdez and Wade Grayson were joined by firstgame starter Grant Cook at guard and Grant Freeman at tackle.

Cook was filling in for DeMarcus Love, who suffered an ankle injury during the week of practice. Aguirre got the start because Ray Dominguez was allowed to return home to attend to his ailing grandmother. Freeman, who started the week as a thirdteamer, got the first significant action of his career.

The end result ?

Certainly not perfect, but not half bad.

Arkansas piled up 361 total yards, racked up 20 first downs, ran for 141 yards, hit 63 percent of its passes, and averaged 5. 7 yards per play, a considerably better figure than the 4. 0 yards per play vs. Alabama and the 3. 5 yards per play against Texas the previous two weeks.

“They held up in pass protection,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said.

“I think they did compete a lot harder and with some different guys,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “That’s good, because that lets you get some competition and the best thing to get guys to compete hard is to be able to sit them on the bench and play somebody else.” Cook, a redshirt freshman out of Jonesboro, found out for sure on Friday night he’d be starting for Love, who twisted an ankle on Thursday.

“It was a little nerveracking, but not after the first play,” Cook said. “After that it felt like practice.... I’m sorry that DeMarcus got hurt and all, but I had to step in there and do what I can do.” Cook and Freeman had a false start apiece on Arkansas’ first two series, but settled down from there. The Razorbacks allowed four sacks, but they only amounted to eight lost yards.

“It’s not to the point where you want to be, where you dominate up front and you knock people off the ball,” Bobby Petrino said. “They got themselves ready to play, they knew what they were doing and they gave us everything they had.” Paul Petrino enmeshed the restructured offensive line’s play with the general feeling after moving so successfully into Florida territory but not being able to cash in with points. “They did compete harder, so that’s a step forward,” he said. “We’ve just got to get another couple of steps forward so we can get that ball in the end zone.” Smoking Smith Tailback Michael Smith took over the SEC lead in allpurpose yardage after torching Florida for 133 rushing yards and 182 allpurpose yards Saturday.

Smith has compiled 600 yards in his four games. The junior’s average of 150 all-purpose yards per game ranks just ahead of LSU’s Charles Scott (143 ypg ), Florida’s Brandon James (135. 6 ), Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno (125. 8 ) and Ole Miss’ Mike Wallace (123. 0 ). “I think he’s giving it everything he’s got,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said of Smith. “He’s playing his butt off.” Quotebook “Our defense put us in a position where we had an opportunity to compete to win the game. Offensively, we’ve got to find a way to score points. You can’t drive the ball, get down to the 30 and not get points on the board. That hurt us.” — Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino on Saturday’s loss to Florida.

Cutbacks Arkansas coaches generally agreed that simplifying the game plan helped the Razorbacks play with more speed against Florida than they did in losses to Alabama and Texas. “When you saw the Texas game, you saw — and this happens with young players — [they would ] see something, but you don’t really believe it, so you hesitate and you don’t really go full speed,” Bobby Petrino said.

“So the idea was to cut back, shorten up our game plan, let’s get things we believe in and let’s see if we can’t get to playing faster and get running to the ball and get tackling.” Defensive coordinator Willy Robinson induced some laughs from the media with his reply when he was asked if the defense “looked better” against the Gators.

“Oh, yeah. Don’t you feel that way ?” he asked the reporter.

“We played so much faster. I’d look at the game and want to add but we stuck with our plan and we executed and we played fast. We just need more turnovers and believe in the second half we can win that football game.” Tackling D. J. You think the Arkansas coaches weren’t happy about a no-call on Florida linebacker Brandon Hicks’ “defense” against tight end D. J. Williams on a third-and-3 pass from the Gators’ 36-yard line with Florida ahead 7-0 early in the second quarter ?

Just listen to them.

Offensive coordinator Paul Petrino was asked if the Gators were “paying a lot of attention” to Williams.

“Yeah, they were,” he said. “Tackling him on one third down.” Arkansas fans booed the play, on which it appeared Hicks smacked into Williams from behind just before Casey Dick’s pass came in just out of Williams’ reach.

Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino was asked if he thought Williams was covered tightly.

“Yeah, they were even holding him a few times,” Petrino said. “Is that what you were going to say ? I saw that one, too. That’s a tough one not to get called.” Florida also had reason to complain, when it appeared Arkansas linebacker Jerry Franklin got away with contact on tight end Aaron Hernandez on an earlier play. Media relations move Arkansas’ media relations department is moving its offices this week to Barnhill Arena as part of the ongoing athletic department shakeup under new Athletic Director Jeff Long. Office phone numbers will remain the same for media relations personnel and the main number into the office will still be (479 ) 575-2751.

Franklin’s mitts Arkansas linebacker Jerry Franklin could have ended Tim Tebow’s streak of passes without an interception a lot earlier Saturday. With Florida on the move at the Arkansas 36-yard line in the second quarter, Tebow hit Franklin right in the hands after he had dropped into coverage in the middle of the field. Franklin, whose spearing penalty on Louis Murphy two plays earlier put the Gators in Arkansas territory, seemed upset with himself after the drop, which would have ended Tebow’s streak at 196 passes without an interception.

In the third quarter, Franklin got a second chance and leaped high to nab a Tebow pass underthrown for Percy Harvin. Franklin returned the interception 13 yards, snapping Tebow’s streak at 203 passes. The extra pass attempts allowed Tebow to move past Ole Miss quarterback Stewart Patridge, who threw 200 passes without an interception in 1997, and into third place on the SEC’s all-time list. Only Kentucky’s Andrew Woodson (325 passes, 2006-2007 ) and Georgia’s David Greene (214, 2004 ) had longer streaks in conference history.

Worth noting Arkansas took 13 of its first 28 snaps in Florida territory and 16 of its 37 snaps in the first half on the Gators’ side of the field. Linebacker-turned-fullback Jermaine Love got himself on the stat sheet in only his second game in the offensive backfield. Love ran a short route into the left flats on a third-and-1 snap from the Florida 32-yard line, caught a play-action pass from Casey Dick and brought it seven yards for a first down. Players of the game OFFENSE WR Joe Adams The freshman grabbed five passes for a team-high 68 yards against the Gators. His performance included a 31-yard catch down a seam late in the second quarter that put the Razorbacks in scoring range, and a 16-yard reverse on which Adams pulled off a 360-degree spin move to avoid a tackler. Adams ranks 11 th in the SEC with 3. 6 catches per game.

DEFENSE LB Wendel Davis The junior linebacker’s long road to the starting lineup reached its fruition Saturday. Davis played fast and physical, giving the Razorbacks some hitting and instinctive closing speed that has been lacking. Davis, who had knee ligament surgery in the winter, posted a team-high 11 tackles that included 7 unassisted stops.