Too Much Time For Hogs
Last updated Saturday, October 18, 2008 11:23 PM CDT in Columns
By Harry King
The Morning News
LEXINGTON, Ky. — What happened to Arkansas is a between-the-eyes reminder why coaches hammer the cliche about playing 60 minutes.
With five minutes to play, Arkansas had the ball, a 20-7 lead, and a positive storyline that included big plays by Michael Smith, important no-gain plays by Casey Dick, and stops by the defense.
Poise? Arkansas lost it.
Kentucky coach Rich Brooks accurately described his team’s 21-20 victory as a “very, very strange game.”
The Kentucky rally was so out-of-nowhere that the Wildcats’ faithful — the ones that didn’t bail early in the fourth period — departed the stadium talking about quarterback Mike Hartline and needing one more victory to be bowl eligible. Booed earlier, Hartline was the trigger man on two two-play touchdown drives that made them momentarily forget Patrick Patterson, Jodie Meeks and the Ramon Harris flush that won the slam dunk contest on Oct. 10 in front of 23,000. Tickets for Big Blue Madness and a peek at Billy Gillispie’s second Kentucky team were sold in 40 minutes.
Every week, there has been a question about what Arkansas would do if Smith was injured. Coaches always talk about something to hang your hat on, a play or a series that is odds-on to be a positive, such as handing it to No. 21. With Smith on the sideline with a possible concussion, Arkansas didn’t have such a thing and couldn’t make a first down late. In fact, the Razorbacks managed only 27 yards on 22 plays in the fourth period.
“When we needed him in there to make plays, we didn’t have him in there,” said center Jonathan Luigs.
Subbing for Smith, De’Anthony Curtis fumbled at the Arkansas 41 and the Wildcats scored in two plays — Hartline to Randall Cobb for the final 32 yards after Cobb lost Matt Harris.
Then, it got worse. Expecting Kentucky to try an onside kick, Arkansas had 10 players on the Wildcats’ side of the UA 45. Kentucky kicked deep and London Crawford, unprotected, only got back to the 17.
Dick’s first-down throw, properly tossed out of bounds, stopped the clock at 4:04. On second-and-long, Bobby Petrino tried to fool the Wildcats by asking Dick to run, but they were not as gullible as Auburn was last week. On third down, Arkansas lined up with four wide receivers, but Kentucky played run and ganged up on Curtis.
Randall Cobb, who showed flashes at quarterback in the second quarter, returned the punt 14 yards to the Arkansas 35 and Hartline had an easy throw to Cobb for the final 21 yards with 2:21 to play.
On the ensuing kickoff, Dennis Johnson ran through Elton Ford’s stop sign like a baserunner ignoring the third-base coach and only got back to the 13. Arkansas’ final four plays were forgettable.
Although Smith had another monster night with 192 yards on 35 carries — that’s 70 totes in two weeks — he also fumbled on his third try from the 1 when he stuck the ball out, tempting the guys in blue. That was one of four turnovers by Arkansas; Kentucky matched that number. The officials contributed to the bizarre night with more than 20 penalty flags, including 18 that were enforced.
At 20-7, I thought back to Sept. 27 — the day of Texas 52, Arkansas 10, and Ole Miss 31, Florida 30 — and wondered who could have projected a 4-3 Arkansas against a 3-4 Ole Miss. Now, it’s 3-4 vs. 3-4 and both are desperate.
Harry King is sports columnist for The Morning News. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
About this columnist
The dean of Arkansas sports writers, Harry King updates his column five days per week with the latest on the Razorbacks. A 35-year veteran of The Associated Press, King joined the Arkansas News Bureau in May of 2002. He's covered the Razorbacks since the Arkansas-Texas game dubbed the Big Shootout in 1969.
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