Arkansas 44 Auburn 23
Clearly, Arkansas’ 44-23 vanquishing of previously undefeated and 17th-ranked Auburn (5-1) was its best overall effort of the season.
There were plenty of Hog heroes Saturday morning, but I will go with Michael Smith (offense), Elton Ford (defense) and Dennis Johnson (special teams).
Michael Smith–After putting up an All-SEC season last year, Smith, a senior tailback, has been under-utilized and underachieving in 2009. That changed Saturday, as Smith, a (5’7’ 176) Florida native, ripped off 145 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries and also had 1 pass reception for 12 yards that resulted in a first down.
Elton Ford–Ford (6-0 204) is quickly, and quietly, becoming one of the most valuable players on the Arkansas defense. That’s not too shabby considering he broke a bone in his neck in Arkansas’ loss to Mississippi last year in Reynolds Razorback Stadium. After rehabbing and getting medical clearance to play in the offseason, Ford’s lone remaining hurdles were getting back into playing shape, and more importantly, getting over the understandable hesitancy that comes from having ones life, our at the very least, ability to walk, flash before one’s eyes.
That was not an easy process for Ford, who has also dealt with a nagging ankle injury, and survived a scare in two-a-days when he was involved in a big collision, and laid on the turf for several moments before getting back to his feet and receiving a unique, but heartfelt ovation from his teammates.
Now that he’s back, Ford, a sophomore from Lithonia, Georgia, is producing in a big way. He logged 9 tackles on Saturday, and it was after he left the game with a sprained knee in the 3rd quarter that Auburn reeled off several scoring drives and, for a moment crawled back into the game. Ford returned in the 4th quarter and stabilized the Razorback secondary, which was gutted by 2 long plays in his absence.
Arkansas safety Jerico Nelson (10 tackles, including 3 for a loss, 1 sack and a forced fumble and the hit of the year, thus far) is more deserving of the nod based solely on Saturday’s performance, but given the mountain he has climbed, and how he has played the last few weeks, Ford is my pick.
Dennis Johnson–D.J. is 6th in the nation in yards per kickoff return (33.79), and he may have turned in the play of the game Saturday. After Auburn pulled to within 11 points at 34-23 thanks to 20 consecutive points in the span of just over 5 minutes in the 3rd quarter, Johnson bobbed and weaved for a 70-yard kickoff return.
The play gave Arkansas prime field position at the Auburn 30 and the Hogs capitalized shortly thereafter with a 3-yard Broderick Green touchdown run with 11;23 left in the game. While the field position was big, the momentum boost the kickoff return gave the Hogs and their fans was bigger as Auburn appeared poised to turn a laugher into a nailbiter.
Did you Notice–
–Arkansas was without two of its most productive offensive weapons for much of the game. Little Rock’s Joe Adams (5-11 177), the Hogs’ most dangerous receiving threat after he gets the ball in his hands, missed the game because he suffered a mild stroke (yes, you read that right) earlier in the week. Jarius Wright, a key big-play threat, suffered a concussion in the second quarter and did not return. It is too early to tell whether Adams’ stroke is season-ending or career-threatening. Wright is likely to play Saturday versus the #1 ranked Florida Gators.
–Auburn was on the short end of more than its fair share of calls that could have gone either way. The Tigers had a whopping 16 penalties for 106 yards. Arkansas was flagged 10 times for 90 yards.
–The Auburn defender that tracked down Dennis Johnson on his 70-yard kickoff return was Adam Herring, the son of former Arkansas defensive coordinator and current Dallas Cowboys linebacker coach, Reggie Herriing. The younger Herring started at linebacker in place of starter Eltoro Freeman, who was El-Hurt-O.
–It was a tough outing for Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who was the Hogs’ offensive coordinator in 2006 and is one of the rising stars in the profession. Malzahn inserted “Wildcat” QB and Fort Smith, Arkansas, native Kodi Burns on the Tigers’ second offensive play and it backfired with a 3-and-out and a slow start that resulted in the first scoreless quarter of the season for AU.
–The ESPN TV crew was less than stellar. Color man Bob Griese, who, when Bobby Petrino left the Atlanta Falcons to take the Arkansas job said, “It makes me sick”, started the game by calling the Razorbacks “Arizona”. Then, when given the opportunity by play-by-play man Dave Pasch to say something complimentary of Petrino, Griese could only muster, “he seems to be trying to change his image”. Pasch was not any better, taking several opportunities to crack back on Petrino and question how long he will remain at Arkansas. Spielman was the bright spot, bringing some insight to the game, and tamping down some of the nonsense.
Alabama 22 Mississippi 3
I was called a blind, Houston Nutt hating homer when, in the preseason, I picked Mississippi to go 8-4 despite national media expectations of a Top 10 season and BCS appearance. You see, I have seen this movie. I know how it ends. Historically, Nutt wows with low expectations and other coaches’ players, and then wilts under the glare of higher expectations.
This season, it was all supposed to change. He had a Heisman hopeful–QB Jevan Snead–a staunch defense, and a schedule brought to you by Hostess Cupcakes. A funny thing happened on the way to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game, though. Nutt and company lost at South Carolina a few weeks ago, and were so inept offensively Saturday versus Alabama that boos rained down from home crowd.
How bad was it? In the first half, Snead was just 2-12 for 14 yards with two interceptions and Nutt’s vaunted running game was held to five yards on the ground before intermission.
At this rate, the Hogs may not have to worry about Nutt at all when they travel to Oxford in two weeks. Nutt may just be in jail. It’s only a matter of time that he lands in the Pen after having killed so many quarterbacks. Add Snead to the long list.
Florida 13 LSU 3
Red Stick was rockin’ but the LSU offense wasn’t. The story wasn’t that the concussed and overly discussed College Football Jesus, Tim Tebow, returned from the most important injury in the history of the world. That, as everything else Tebow has ever done, was pre-ordained. The Gator defense was the story. It was dominant, and is the only reason I am not sure Alabama isn’t the best team in the country.
Cincinnati 17 Baltimore 14
The Bengals moved to 4-1 with a big road win, but more amazingly, Cincy defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer coached a mere three days after coming home and finding his 50-year old wife, Vikki, dead. Her passing was unexpected, and no details have been released. Some will question whether it was appropriate to make the trip but no one can question that it was a unbelievably difficult task for one of the toughest guys in a tough-guy league.
