Fourth Quarter Woes

Arkansas turned in, arguably, its best effort of the season during the first three quarters of the 38-7 loss to Florida last Saturday.

But the performance soured in the fourth quarter, where the Razorbacks were outscored 21-0.

So what happened? Defensive end Adrian Davis shared his theory during Monday's press conference.

"I think in the fourth quarter some people felt that we couldn't win this game," Davis said. "So they just kind of put their heads down and didn't finish the game strong. ... I could just sense it, people walking around with their heads down like they were disappointed. You could just tell on the sidelines."

It's an alarming claim. One the Razorbacks (2-3, 0-2 in Southeastern Conference) hope to fix during Saturday's game at 20th-ranked Auburn (4-2, 2-2).

Arkansas was outgained 246-63 in the fourth quarter last Saturday. It put a damper on an otherwise solid day for the Razorbacks, who were trying to erase the disappointment of back-to-back blowout losses.

Instead, Florida's 21-point fourth quarter ensured the Hogs of their third straight loss by 30 points or more.

"You could see that players weren't flying around as much after we got that interception and we went down and didn't score," tight end D.J. Williams said in reference to linebacker Jerry Franklin's interception with Arkansas trailing 17-7. "That was a really big dagger right there. Momentum kind of shifted and everything started going downhill."

So Williams said winning the fourth quarter should be an emphasis in practice this week. He and Davis said Arkansas has a chance to knock off a ranked team if the Razorbacks turn in a better performance late in the game.

"We've just got to be there for each other. ... ," Davis said. "They've just got to keep their heads up and we've got to still fight."

O-Line Status

Arkansas unveiled a new offensive line against the Gators with Grant Cook and Grant Freeman playing in place of injured and absent players. And coach Bobby Petrino said Monday it was unclear what the offensive line will look like against the Tigers.

Starting tackle Ray Dominguez has rejoined the team after leaving to be with his sick grandmother last week, but Petrino said he and Freeman will fight for the starting spot. Michael Aguirre, who started in Dominguez's place, will not be available after suffering a sprained knee and ankle on the first play Saturday.

"Whether that's one week, two weeks or three weeks I'm not sure yet," Petrino said. "But you just have to wait and see how quickly he can come back from it."

It's also unclear if guard DeMarcus Love will be ready after suffering an ankle injury in practice. But Petrino did say he expects Cook to start once again.

"I think Cook played well and I anticipate him having a good week of practice and being the starter there," Petrino said. "But that's still yet to be seen."

Norton Update

Petrino said the Razorbacks will be playing without cornerback Jerell Norton for an unknown period of time. The junior -- who had hamstring and hernia surgery in the offseason -- was sidelined by another hamstring injury last week.

"It's probably going to be a while," Petrino said when asked about his return. "I'm not sure how connected the three of them are. He was doing real well. It's a shame. I liked the way he was playing. I liked the energy that he gives us, but it's not a good injury."

With Norton out, Petrino said running back Michael Smith will continue to return punts for the Hogs.

Ranked Again

Arkansas will be playing its fourth consecutive ranked team when it travels to Auburn, which fell to No. 20 in The Associated Press top 25 poll this week.

It is the first time in school history the Razorbacks have played ranked teams four straight weeks. But Williams said the Razorbacks are gaining confidence.

"I think for some reason, every time we have come out of a game, we have been, 'They put on their pants just like we do,'" Williams said. "We have never played a schedule like this. Especially me. I've never played a role against teams like this. But I get out there and know that we can do everything just like they do and we can beat teams like this."

Racking Up YAC

Petrino complimented his receivers for piling up yards after the catch last Saturday.

He said the Razorbacks gained the most yards after the catch against the Gators, especially crediting freshman Joe Adams and junior London Crawford.

"You have to have that as an offense is being able to throw the ball short and have somebody make a play after the catch," Petrino said. "...It's still not as much as we want. We'd like to see them break the long one, but it got better between Joe and London getting yards after they caught the ball."