Second quarter penalties, Franklin ejection shift momentum

— Arkansas and Georgia combined to throw for 783 yards. But the quarterbacks weren't the only ones on the field getting an arm workout.

The officials were busy tossing a lot of yellow. The Arkansas Razorbacks committed 7 penalties for 78 yards in the second quarter alone. All that yellow had the Hogs seeing red after watching Georgia score 17 unanswered points in the second quarter to erase a 21-10 deficit and take a 27-21 edge to halftime in an eventual 52-41 triumph at Reynolds Razorback Stadium Saturday night.

Arkansas (1-1) was flagged 11 times for 100 yards for the game. While Georgia (2-1) was ticketed 14 times for 93 yards it was the 78 yards in second quarter penalties that prompted a 17-point swing and turned a potential blowout into a shootout. Only problem was that one miscue cost the Hogs' some defensive ammunition.

Two of those second quarter penalties were 15-yard personal fouls against Arkansas outside linebacker Jerry Franklin, who was ejected from the game following a Tramain Thomas interception of a pass from Georgia quarterback Joe Cox at the 14:28 mark.

"That hurt us because he's a good football player," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "I didn't see what happened but the official said [Franklin] pushed two guys in the facemask and then he bumped into the [official's] back. I asked [the official] if he saw [Franklin] bump into his back and he told me he didn't see what happened but he felt it. That's what upset me is that he kicked him out of the game for bumping him in the back but he didn't see what happened."

Thomas' interception had the Hogs set up first and 10 near midfield but Franklin's debacle backed Arkansas up to its own 15.

"That was a 30-yard swing in field position, and if we were able to take that ball down and score after an exceptional play by Tramain Thomas, there's no telling what would have happened," Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said. "That didn't just swing the field position, it totally swung the momentum."

The defense suffered without Franklin in the middle. On the Bulldogs' ensuing possession, Richard Samuel burst up the gut for an 80-yard touchdown to erode the gap to 21-17 with 10:56 left in the half.

"Losing Jerry was pivotal," Robinson said. "He's a guy who plays every down for us and is big for us ... when you lose a kid like that, you have to put a true freshman in there and that was too much for [Terrell Williams] to handle."

Watching the flags fly appeared too much for Petrino to handle. Petrino was also flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after consulting with an official about some of the calls in the second quarter.

"I asked him how come the flags came out when we got the lead," Petrino said. "He felt like I was challenging his integrity and threw a flag. We had way too many penalties and that obviously hurt us."

The Hogs committed just one infraction, a five-yard false start, in the first quarter before suffering a barrage of penalties in the second quarter.

Another five-yard illegal formation penalty on first and goal from the 8 pushed the ball back to the 13 and helped force a 23-yard, Alex Tejada field goal instead of a game-tying touchdown. The field goal cut the margin to 42-38 with 1:20 left in the third.

"Hey, Georgia had penalties, too," Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett said. "There's no one to blame but us, no penalties, no referees, no one but us... there's going to be penalties and we can't let that set us back."