FAYETTEVILLE — The choices were easy when it came to picking the best and worst of Arkansas’ 2016 football season. The last half of the last regular season game is everyone’s choice for worst.
The way Arkansas finished the last two quarters of the 28-24 loss to Missouri is everyone’s worst. It’s the kind of finish that makes you want to get back on the field to get a bad taste out of your mouth.
That will be the goal when the Razorbacks get to Charlotte for the Belk Bowl. Virginia Tech awaits for the game at 4:30 p.m.Thursday.
In some ways, the Missouri game was a lot like the opener against Louisiana Tech, a 21-20 Arkansas victory, except that the Hogs made a few plays by a matter of inches. In Columbia, Mo., they failed by a matter of inches.
Those two games are a good place to start with quotes from junior quarterback Austin Allen that sounded similar, but came after vastly different plays in the fourth quarter.
In the opener, Allen was able to connect with Keon Hatcher and Jeremy Sprinkle for big plays to finish a game-winning drive in the final quarter. Allen just missed both on a chance at a go-ahead touchdown in the loss to Missouri that gave the Hogs a 7-5 regular season record.
First, here’s the summation from Allen after the Tech game, “It was a game of inches. We got just the right bounces. That’s how close this one was, just a few inches here and there.
“I know the pass to Jeremy made it to him by about one inch. I know that’s how close the field goal they missed had to be. Keon stayed up by an inch. We made an inch at the end.
“Give Louisiana Tech credit. That’s a good team and we got it by an inch here or there. But it’s huge to get a win. Huge. Resolve, determination is what we had. That’s all you have to win by, 1 inch.”
Then, after the loss at Columbia when the Hogs came away empty on three red zone scoring chances in the second half to blow a 24-7 lead, Allen said, “It was a game of inches. We were down there. We couldn’t put it in, by inches sometimes.
“It was a tale of two halves and we missed too many opportunities. We had our chances and we let them get away. It’s kind of disgusting.”
There was other disgusting moments in a roller coaster ride in 2016. There were incredible highs like the comeback victory over Tech to open the season, then the double-overtime thriller against TCU, a 41-38 Arkansas victory. There were great moments in victories over Ole Miss and Florida. The 31-10 thumping of the Gators was probably the most complete game for the Hogs.
Among the low points, a 56-3 loss at Auburn when the Hogs allowed a school record 543 yards on the ground. Some of the numbers were low points, too. Arkansas gave up a school record 36 rushing touchdowns.
Let’s get into some of the specifics of the 2016 season, our annual Best and Worst list of assorted categories.
Best Play, Part 1 – There were lots of choices from week two, the overtime victory over No. 12 TCU at Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs has won 14 in a row in Amon Carter Stadium before the Hogs averted an epic collapse with an epic comeback. They were up 20-3 and knocking at the door with a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line. Ultimately, they needed to erase a 28-20 deficit in the final 2:05, then block a field goal at the end of regulation. Allen would handle that, then win it with a 5-yard keeper for a touchdown to end the game. Operating out of the shotgun, Allen circled his right end, then got a shove from Frank Ragnow and Dan Skipper for the final couple of yards.
Best Play, Part 2 – Maybe it was also from the TCU game, the two-point play with 1:03 left in regulation for the tying points. It was a double reverse pass. Jared Cornelius took a flip from Allen going right. Hatcher got it coming from the other direction. He circled his left flank, then flipped to Allen in the end zone.
Worst Play, Part 1 – There are lots that make the final list, but it one of the big mess-ups came at the end of the first half in a loss to Texas A&M. Trevor Knight, the Aggie quarterback, went through the middle of what coaches called a “prevent defense” for a 48-yard touchdown on a draw with 13 seconds left. It tied the score, 17-17. The Aggies would win, 45-24.
Worst Play, Part 2 – Auburn wide receiver Eli Stove went in motion from the right side, took a handoff from the quarterback then circled the left Arkansas flank. He split cornerback Jared Collins and safety Santos Ramirez for a 78-yard touchdown. It came on Auburn’s first snap.
Biggest Defensive Play – Believe it or not, there are lots of choices here. The Arkansas defense did come up with three pick six plays. Brooks Ellis, Ryan Pulley and Henre’ Toliver all returned interceptions for touchdowns to help the Hogs beat TCU, Texas State and Alcorn State. But the highlight defensive play came when Ramirez blasted the ball away from a scrambling Chad Kelly to secure the victory over Ole Miss.
Biggest Special Teams Play - Also from the TCU game, Dan Skipper blocked a field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter after Arkansas tied the game 28-28. The block sent the game into overtime and was the seventh of Skipper’s career, easily a school record.
Best Quote, Part 1 – To set the stage, you need to know that Ryan Pulley, sophomore corner, loves Batman. He came to the interview room in preseason sporting a Batman T-shirt. He said he generally has an article of Batman clothing on most days. There are even Batmen PJs in his collection. So after his pick six against Texas State a reporter informed Pulley that it was National Batman Day. Did he honor his hero with anything Batman? “I wore a half shirt last week at TCU, a Batman tank, under my jersey,” Pulley said. “Not tonight. I’ll have something on next week. National Batman Day? I didn’t know.”
Best Quote, Part 2 – It was from sophomore guard Johnny Gibson, from Allen, after the Florida game. Gibson made his first start against the Gators, clearing the way for a big day on the ground as the Hogs pounded the Gators, 31-10. He was in mash mode at the start, throwing a big block on a 9-yard gain to open the game. Allen said, “Johnny came back to the huddle and said, ‘I just pancaked the linebacker.’ He flat out blocked them all day. They have great linebackers. (Jarrad Davis) is special. They are so fast at linebacker, but our line got to the second level on them all day.”
Best Quote, Part 3 – It has to go in this list, but it followed one of the worst performances the loss at Auburn. After teaching everyone about “setting the edge,” after both the Alabama and Auburn losses, Bielema said, “When you don’t have an edge, you don’t have a defense.” That was a good summary for what happened in many games.
Best Blocker – Frank Ragnow would impressive all season. The junior from Victoria, Minn., started at right guard last season to take over at center after the graduation of Mitch Smothers at center. He did play right guard against Texas State, but played center in the other 11. He was good in all situations, but was particularly good on pulling plays. Ragnow delivered some massive blocks on pulling plays into the boundary against Florida, clearing the way for both Rawleigh Williams and Devwah Whaley on sweeps.
Best Player – Ragnow could win that award, too, but it has to go to Allen, probably a candidate for toughest, too. Following his brother Brandon, Austin showed grit and determination in surviving shaky protection all season. Allen completed 227 of 370 for 3,152 yards. He had 23 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
Best Performance by a Quarterback - Austin Allen vs. Texas A&M: With a struggling offensive line and one of the nation’s best rushes, Allen managed to have one of his best games against Texas A&M. He completed 28 of 42 passes for 371 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss to the Aggies at AT&T Stadium. Allen’s numbers are more impressive when you factor in that he was hit more than 20 times.
Best Performance by a Running Back - Rawleigh Williams at Mississippi State: Half of Williams’ first-half runs went for touchdowns. He scored on runs of 72, 42, 7 and 33 yards, and finished the first half with 191 rushing yards. Williams finished the game with a career-high 205 yards rushing and also passed for his first career touchdown.
Best Performance by an Offensive Lineman - Frank Ragnow vs. Florida: Ragnow didn’t allow any pressure in 32 pass block attempts and made multiple key pull-blocks in the run game, according to ProFootballFocus.com. Ragnow was successful on 89.8 percent of his block attempts.
Best Performance by a Wide Receiver - Jared Cornelius vs. Alabama - Cornelius became only the third Razorback to record three consecutive 100-yard receiving games when he caught 5 passes for 146 yards against the nation’s best defense. Among his highlights that night was a 57-yard catch.
Best Performance by a Tight End - Jeremy Sprinkle vs. Louisiana Tech: Sprinkle had bigger games statistically, but he made a pair of fourth-quarter catches that saved the Hogs’ bacon in the season opener. He had a 3-yard catch on a third down and a game-winning 4-yard touchdown reception on fourth down in the closing minutes to help the Razorbacks escape with a 21-20 win.
Best Performance by a Defensive Lineman - Jeremiah Ledbetter vs. Ole Mis: Ledbetter disrupted the interior of the Rebels’ offensive line, allowing Arkansas to put considerable pressure on Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly for much of the game. Ledbetter finished the game with five tackles, including a sack and another half-tackle for loss.
Best Performance by a Linebacker - Brooks Ellis vs. TCU: Ellis recorded 13 tackles, including three for loss, and returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown. The defensive score wound up being one of the plays of the game in Arkansas’ double-overtime win.
Best Performance by a Defensive Back - Ryan Pulley vs. TCU: In his first start, Pulley shut-down talented TCU receiver Taj Williams, who finished with only one reception and none when defended by Pulley. Pulley had three pass breakups, including one intended for Williams in the end zone.
Best Performance by a Special Teams Player - Toby Baker vs. TCU: The punter continually put TCU in poor starting field position. He had six punts against the Horned Frogs and averaged 50.9 yards, including a long of 59 yards.
Best Coaching Job - The Razorbacks thoroughly whipped the SEC East champion by a final score of 31-10. The Gators didn’t score an offensive touchdown and finished the game with only 12 rushing yards on 14 attempts. Arkansas amassed 466 total yards against the nation’s No. 2 defense at the time and scored a defensive touchdown on Florida’s first offensive play from scrimmage.
Worst Coaching Performance - Arkansas looked unprepared in all facets during a 56-3 loss at Auburn. The Tigers out-gained the Razorbacks by more than 400 yards and rushed for an SEC-record 543 yards on 57 carries. The 53-point loss was the worst SEC loss ever for the Razorbacks and tied a 70-17 loss at Southern Cal in 2005 as the Razorbacks’ worst loss of the modern era.
Best Crowd: vs. Ole Miss - Surprisingly, the only game Arkansas didn’t sellout in conference play was the loudest. The stadium registered 117 decibels in the fourth quarter, which is equivalent to the sound of a police siren or a jackhammer. Before Ole Miss’ final offensive play, ESPN announcer Joe Tesstore said, “You can actually feel Razorback Stadium shaking under our feet right now.”
Worst Crowd: at Missouri - Either the Tigers’ poor play or the Black Friday TV designation - or a combination of both - has wreaked havoc on the attendance for that game the past two seasons. The Faurot Field attendance was announced as just more than 51,000 (tickets sold) for Missouri’s 28-24 comeback win over Arkansas in the regular-season finale, but couldn’t have been more than about 30,000 on a frigid day in Columbia. The teams played to a half-empty stadium on a rainy day at Arkansas last year.