Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

11/25/2011 at 7:05pm

BATON ROUGE, La. — Willy Robinson, Arkansas' defensive coordinator, said he couldn't remember LSU's lightning-like scoring drive late in the first half, covering 66 yards in five plays and requiring just a minute, that gave the Tigers the lead for good Friday.

"It's all a blur," was all Robinson would offer.

The plays that turned Friday's No. 1 vs. No. 3 showdown toward LSU in Tiger Stadium definitely were blurs: Tyrann Mathieu's 92-yard punt return when he darted through four Hogs seemingly primed to tackle him inside his 20, and then the 66-yard drive following a Razorback fumble in which Jordan Jefferson passed the entire distance — four darts and one incompletion against Arkansas' overly cushioned secondary. The Hogs were determined to keep the talented LSU receivers in front of them, so the Tigers took what was there, including a 9-yard quick-slant pass from Jefferson to Russell Shepard for the go-ahead score.

There was nothing quick and sudden about LSU's dominance in the second half, though it might have left Arkansas' defense and Hogs quarterback Tyler Wilson a bit blurry.

LSU ground out 210 yards rushing after just 76 in the first half. Jefferson, who had only passed 41 times all season — he missed the first four games while being investigated for stomping on a bar patron before LSU's opening game, a charge later reduced to a misdemeanor, and he just became the full-fledged starter last week — threw 29 times Friday, completing a Wilson-like 18 of them for 208 yards.

And, just like they did against Alabama in a 38-14 loss on Sept. 24, the Razorbacks gave up nearly 500 yards of offense against a team that mostly relies on its defense and a power offense designed to limit mistakes.

Both teams had their miscues Friday, but Arkansas' were more pronounced after LSU overcame the Hogs' early 14-0 lead.

"Our turnovers were the difference," offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said.

Arkansas had some semblance of defense in the first half, mostly thanks to Dylan Breeding's precision punting that placed the Tigers inside their 10 twice. LSU's Michael Ford also coughed up the ball on a big hit from Hogs safety Tramain Thomas that Alonzo Highsmith grabbed in midair and returned 47 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

But even that edge with its punter was soon erased for Arkansas when Mathieu fielded another punt inside his 10 and took this one the distance. Once Mathieu had weaved through the four Hog defenders who had the returner hemmed in, he had all his blockers in front wiping out the rest of the Hogs. Even Breeding didn't have a shot at Mathieu.

Then the sophomore Mathieu, whom LSU fans dubbed the "Honey Badger" and who has been a difference-maker since LSU's opening-game romp over then-No. 3 Oregon, ripped the ball loose from Dennis Johnson at the LSU 39 and Ron Brooks recovered at the 34, setting up the go-ahead drive. Late in the game, Mathieu ripped the ball clean away from UA tight end Chris Gragg after a catch and run.

Arkansas had one threat in the second half, a march to the LSU 8 — sparked by a 60-yard run by Cobi Hamilton off a 5-yard reception, plus a 20-yard pass to Gragg and a roughing the passer on LSU on the play. But then Petrino decided to get creative with backup quarterback Brandon Mitchell. The "Mitchell package," used in a pinch once against Vanderbilt for a touchdown and mostly in mop-up situations lately, backfired.

"The snap was bad and he didn't catch it," Petrino said later. Mitchell recovered it, though, and one incompletion by Wilson on third down led to Zach Hocker's 29-yard field goal to pull Arkansas within four, 21-17.

LSU then dominated the clock with its power game and some timely completions from Jefferson. Arkansas was the team backed up from that point, and the Tigers defensive ends came charging.

"Yeah, they did get to him," Petrino said of Wilson, "particularly in the second half. I think that caused him to not look down the field sometimes and certainly made a difference in the game."

Wilson was sacked five times in the game, four times in the second half. Johnson, Arkansas' top running threat, began dropping to the turf before being hit. Jarius Wright, who's 13-yard catch over the middle and stretch over the goal line put the Hogs up 7-0 late in the first quarter, dropped a pass at midfield on third down in the second quarter that preceded Mathieu's backbreaking punt return.

"We were trying to get the ball punted to the sideline but [Breeding] mis-hit it a bit and punted it to the middle of the field. We had guys right there, and he made a tremendous run. He made a great cut and made us miss at the point of attack. He made a great play."

Johnson's fumble came as Arkansas was trying to answer the punt return, and it eventually turned into 7 points the other way against a stunned defense.

"That was a huge turning point in the game," Petrino said.

Coincidentally, in Arkansas' loss in late September to Alabama, the turning point was Marquise Maze's 87-yard punt return, perfectly blocked to let him run right up the gut, to give the Tide a 24-7 lead early in the third quarter in Tuscaloosa.

By the fourth quarter Friday, Robinson's defenders were spent and couldn't bring down LSU runner Spencer Ware on a simple dive play; he barreled in for a 7-yard scoring run. Then, when Wilson was intercepted for the first time by Morris Claiborne at midfield, the defense was nowhere to be seen in the middle of the field as Jefferson raced 48 yards untouched, pushing the LSU lead to 38-17.

Drew Alleman kicked a 37-yard field goal to set the final margin at 24 points, the same difference as in Arkansas' loss at Alabama to the No. 2 Crimson Tide.

Petrino was in no post-game mood to compare the two teams. He only offered what he'd said after the kicking in Tuscaloosa, where Alabama had Arkansas outclassed in all three phases of the game.

"We got beat by a better football team," he said. "We were where we wanted to be in the first half. We had a chance to drive it, take the lead. Then we had the fumble. But in the second half we really didn't execute well at all on offense."

For a few hours this week, Petrino's program was in the national championship discussion — tons of "what ifs" if Arkansas had beaten the top-ranked Tigers. The Hogs won't have to worry about any of that now.

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, Willy Robinson, Jordan Jefferson, Tyler Wilson, Dennis Johnson, Chris Gragg, Jarius Wright, Dylan Breeding, Tyrann Mathieu, Russell Shepard