Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

9/11/2011 at 9:28am

Image by Mark Wagner

Joe Adams fights for yards against a New Mexico defender on Saturday. He finished with 110 all-purpose yards for the Razorbacks in a 52-3 victory.

For a good 26 minutes Saturday night at a red, white and blue War Memorial Stadium, the one edge Arkansas appeared to have over 36-point underdog New Mexico was all-purpose back Joe Adams. The senior from Little Rock made the running game go with a surprise appearance as the I back, and just his presence alone made the return game go. His freshman doppelganger, Marquel Wade, even showed Adams-like moves on an 85-yard kickoff return in the first half.

Take Adams out of the equation in those first 26 minutes and there's no telling how Saturday might have turned out, had the Razorbacks plodded along at the same pace on offense while allowing the Lobos to move the football they way they did for a quarter and a half.

That all changed in the final 3:56 of the half, when Arkansas quickened the pace. The Hogs' offense went to no-huddle, putting additional pressure on the Lobos and giving all those glorious weapons a chance to shine. The defense took the cue after one quick score and forced just the second three-and-out of the game. The Hogs eventually began running behind their surest blockers up front — the two guards and center — and suddenly a 17-3 game became 31-3 by halftime and 52-3 at the finish.

Even forced to play the second half without starting quarterback Tyler Wilson, who showed symptoms of a concussion in the locker room at halftime, according to UA Coach Bobby Petrino, the Razorbacks didn't miss a beat behind backup Brandon Mitchell for all but the final play of the second half. Mitchell led three scoring drives, and a likely fourth was halted by the first lost Razorback fumble of the year.

Arkansas' maligned running game, which managed 102 yards against a run-stunting Missouri State in last week's opener, churned for 259 yards on Saturday night against a much better defense. The Hogs averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Ronnie Wingo, who had just 9 yards on 5 carries at halftime, gained 64 on 7 runs in the second half.

Wilson scrambled 5 times for 46 yards and a touchdown, though some of that daring-do resulted in his headache. His 8-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter included bulling his way through two tacklers, and it was the last snap he took.

Until Mitchell's second-half effort Saturday, the risk of losing Wilson might have caused serious consternation among the Razorback faithful. Instead, the unsteady Mitchell of last week became a more polished third-year sophomore who ran for 59 yards on 5 attempts, including a 12-yard touchdown to finish the scoring, and completed 8 of 13 passes for 114 yards.

"I just relaxed and played football," Mitchell said.

His passing total included a 54-yard catch and run down the right sideline by junior Cobi Hamilton, once again bringing his "A" game to Little Rock. Hamilton starred as a freshman against Mississippi State here with two long touchdown receptions and then scored twice in last year's 31-23 upset of LSU that sent the Hogs on to the Sugar Bowl.

"I don't know what it is," Hamilton, the Texarkana, Texas, product, said afterward about his Little Rock performances. "We've got a lot of kids from Arkansas and a lot of guys from Little Rock. It's always good to go back home and play hard for those guys. We only play two games a year here so we want to make the best advantage of it."

Hamilton had 5 catches for 132 yards. Adams had 6 catches for 78 yards, and Jarius Wright had 5 receptions for 63 yards. The passing game clicked on the game's first drive and in those last 3:56 of the first half.

"The coaches said settle down and play Arkansas football. Jarius Wright is a big leadership guy, and we just took it upon each other to make plays and open the game up. We started getting in no-huddle and the two-minute drive, that was a fun experience," Hamilton said. "It was real fun for us to go out there and play."

He added of Mitchell's second-half performance, "We know Brandon's a heckuva player. We didn't have a disadvantage. We just told him to give us a chance and we'd make plays for him."

In between that, there were a few problems. Wilson made his first bad decision of the year trying for a nearly impossible sideline shot to Wingo in which three Lobos were also in the vicinity. Trying to throw it over two Lobos, Wilson saw the pass tipped and picked. On the next possession, Wilson was slow in delivering passes to open receivers in the end zone and had thoses attempts deflected as well, leading to a Zach Hocker field goal and a 17-3 lead.

With players, coaches and fans no doubt restless, Arkansas quit messing around as the half was running out.

Adams, who had a 75-yard run for a touchdown nullified by holding, and who started the game with a 13-yard sprint to spark a four-play, 70-yard drive, got this one going with yet another darting run for 16 yards after a short pass. Without a huddle, Wilson found Jarius Wright for 19 yards, only to see that completion wiped out by penalty -- a receiver had lined up wrong and wasn't eligible. So, Wilson came right back to Hamilton for 23 yards, then 8 more to freshman sensation Wade, and 27 to Wright, who rushed it to the Lobos 1.

Designated scorer Kody Walker barreled the final yard, one of his two touchdowns on the night and four for the season.

The defense came with viciousness for the first time since the opening series, turning the ball back over to the offense with 1:49 left. Wilson and Arkansas covered 77 yards in nine plays and 1:32 of the clock.

While 52-3 was probably many Arkansas fans' pregame pick for the final score, it's hard to imagine anyone could see that coming with 3:56 left in the half -- probably just as no one saw the experienced, fast Arkansas defense failing to record a single sack against a team that suffered 10 last week in a loss to Colorado State.

Cantankerous defensive coordinator Willie Robinson gave a handful of reporters about a minute to take his view of the game, then he bolted. His defense probably wasn't up to last week's standards, and quick Lobos quarterback Tarean Austin had everything to do with that with his scrambling and some impressive catches by his receivers. But Robinson's defense held the Lobos to 95 yard rushing (3.4 per rush) and 297 yards total offense (4.5 per play, compared with Arkansas' 7.8 per play).

Still, the defensive front only hit Austin once when he was getting a pass off. And senior Jake Bequette limped off during the third defensive series with a possible hamstring injury.

"I was complaining to our defensive line coaches all night," Petrino said of the lack of sacks.

It really didn't matter, not on this special night when the university and 52,606 fans paid tribute to the heroes and victims of 9/11. Once Arkansas quickened the tempo and got the ball into the hands of all its speed, it was the offense's time to shine.

Award-winning columnist Jim Harris wasn’t around when Hugo Bezdek named the Razorbacks, it only seems that way. His acumen for UA football history is renowned and he has covered the Hogs and the state sports scene since 1976. He knows his way around music and food, too. Email: jharris@abpg.com, and follow Jim on Twitter @jimharris360

Tagged: Bobby Petrino, Tyler Wilson, New Mexico Lobos, Southeastern Conference, War Memorial Stadium, Joe Adams, Marquel Wade, Jarius Wright, Brandon Mitchell, Kody Walker, Jake Bequette, Willy Robinson, Cobi Hamilton