FAYETTEVILLE -- There is a lot to be said about Nicholls State.
It has a fine culinary school. It's Louisiana's only cooking school that offers a four-year bachelor's degree.
The athletic department also was smart enough to negotiate a big payday for playing the Arkansas Razorbacks, and the Colonels earned every penny of it. In fact, they should have earned a bonus Saturday.
It was a beatdown in a game that was virtually over when Keon Hatcher took an end-around 82 yards for a touchdown on the Razorbacks' first play of the game.
Nicholls State was about as threatening as a play date. Recess is more competitive.
Don't know if they were looking ahead to their game with Henderson State next weekend, but the Colonels had a horrific first half as they amassed only 55 yards on 44 plays while allowing 425 yards -- an average of 21.2 yards per play -- and eight touchdowns.
It would have been understandable if they had given up at halftime, trailing 56-0, but they didn't.
The Colonels had minus-9 yards rushing going into halftime and 64 passing. It would have been a little better, but they couldn't catch a cold during flu season.
By the time freshman Jared Cornelius took a shovel pass and went 37 yards for a touchdown on the Razorbacks' first possession of the second half -- and he has the speed fans have been asking about -- it was 63-0.
That drive was 48 yards in two plays and took 52 seconds. There was 29:08 still to play.
By then, half of the crowd that had braved early showers, overcast skies and the opening of dove season had headed out of the stadium.
That was OK. Every place was Hog Heaven on Saturday, and it was welcomed by Razorbacks Nation, which endured a 10-game losing streak that started too soon last season and lasted too long.
What was learned Saturday was that Arkansas can still thrash an inferior opponent, and it was obvious why Nicholls State had wisely chosen to never before schedule an SEC opponent.
Saturday should be the Colonels' last play date with an SEC foe.
It was impossible to really tell whether Arkansas had improved from its first game, because they were the golden Hogs against the team picked to finish ninth in the 11-team Southland Conference.
They breathed touchdowns.
It wasn't that Nicholls State didn't try. It did, but it was like yours truly taking on Joe Kleine in a game of one-on-one basketball to 21, playing make it, take it. That would result in a 21-0 victory for Kleine.
Every guy in a Razorbacks uniform looked all-conference, but it was relative to the competition, which gets much better when the Hogs travel to Lubbock, Texas, next weekend to take on Texas Tech.
As for Nicholls State, it also plays UCA. That could mean an 0-3 run against teams from the Natural State.
The Colonels could have asked for a mercy rule Saturday, and if both sides had agreed the clock could have run continuously, like it did last year when Louisville beat Florida International 72-0. Or the game could have been shortened like when Miami beat Savannah State 77-7.
After those events, Texas Tech Coach Kliff Kingsbury said he would never be for a mercy rule. He won't get that option next week.
It's not any clearer as to how improved the Razorbacks actually are, the fact is they played a good first half at Auburn and a full 60 minutes against Nicholls State.
It may have come against a cooking school, but Saturday was what the Razorbacks and their followers needed.
It was an easy victory with lots of offense and a very solid performance by the defense, and they should come away with a dose of confidence.
Sports on 09/07/2014