ANDY SHUPE Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas junior wide receiver Lucas Miller, left, hauls in a pass as Western Illinois sophomore linebacker Kyle Glazier defends during the fourth quarter of the Hogs' 28-24 win Saturday in Razorback Stadium.

A pall of disbelief hung over Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium with 10:34 remaining in Arkansas’ season opener Saturday night against Western Illinois.

Most of the 70,537 in attendance were incredulous. Only a small swatch of purple and gold fans brought into sharp belief by the sea of red surrounding them had accepted what was transpiring: A team from the Football Championship Subdivision, with 63 scholarship players, was beating an SEC team, with 85 scholarship players, 24-14 early in the fourth quarter.

The crowd’s astonishment soon gave way to relief as Arkansas rallied for two late touchdowns to stave off the upset-minded Leathernecks, 28-24.

Western Illinois interim head coach Mark Hendrickson said his team wasn’t satisfied with taking Arkansas to the brink. After leading for almost three quarters (44:34) of the game, the Leathernecks wanted to finish off their first win over an FBS school since a 34-12 victory against Eastern Michigan in 2003.

“I don’t know if the emotions were all that much different than leading any ball game,” Hendrickson said. “Late in the game, we want to hang on and win. There’s no question, at some point in time in the second half, we gained the momentum, which isn’t easy to do at the University of Arkansas.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Senior running back Herb Donaldson didn’t show the same disappointment as his teammates, many of whom registered their dismay by slamming their helmets on the turf after the game. He was all grins. The three-time Walter Payton Award finalists, given to the top offensive player in the FCS Division, had reason to be pleased.

He had just shredded an SEC defense for 157 yards on 35 carries. In addition to scoring on a 3-yard run, he also collected his first career touchdown reception. The 12-yard catch gave the Leathernecks a 17-7 lead with 9:42 left in the third quarter.

“That’s my first one,” Donaldson said. “I tell everybody I’m trying to be [Philadelphia Eagles’ running back] Bryan Westbrook. It was exciting.”

Donaldson said the Razorback defense’s over pursuit allowed him to expolit cutback lanes created by the Leathernecks’ zone-blocking scheme.

“They're fast, but we run that stretch, that zone,” Donaldson said. “You can’t overplay it. They got some young guys out there and they were kind of caught out of position by that stretch. We were reading it and we were trying to crease it and we were able to get some great blocks by our fullback, and our linemen did a heck of a job too.”

Donaldson wasn’t the only source of frustration for Arkansas. The Leathernecks unconventional defense confused the Razorback offensive line and led to four first-half sacks. Lining up over the guard, Will linebacker Jason Williams charged untouched into the Arkansas backfield for two sacks.

He and Sam linebacker Travis Cherry ran numerous stunts into the gap between the center and guard. Hendrickson, who also serves as the team’s offensive coordinator, said he knows how difficult the two players can be to block.

“Those guys crisscross quite a bit, and when they rush the quarterback in practice I get very tired of seeing that because it’s very tough for us to pick up and protect against,” Hendrickson said. “Jason Williams got to the quarterback in a hurry several times tonight, and he’ll do that all season.”