FAYETTEVILLE — On the heels of a 35-7 loss to Alabama on Saturday, the mostcomfort Bobby Petrino's Arkansas Razorbacks can take is that they don't have to play the Crimson Tide again until next year.
Alabama bullied the Hogs into submission so thoroughly that the Crimson Tide bypassed two scoring opportunities late in the fourth quarter like they would a buyin opponent.
Don't call Crimson Tidecoach Nick Saban greedy. He knew his squad had proven their point even if they had not taken advantage of all of their scoring opportunities early or late.
There was no reason to further rub the Razorbacks' snouts in the mess. Though the Hogs competed through the first third of the third quarter, they knew Bama had them whipped when Greg McElroy's 80-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Maze put the Tide up 21-7.
In one throw and catch, McElroy and Maze rendered the Razorbacks' lone meaningful drive of the day ineffective.
From that point on, the Hogs seemed to be playing just to get the game over.
That's a shame because the third quarter started with promise for Petrino's Porkers.
Arkansas' defense force a three-and-out on Bama's first drive of the second half, and a kick interference penalty on the ensuing kickoff set the Hogs up with great field position at their own 45.
Ryan Mallett and his receivers appeared ready to play some ball. After a 2-yard gain by Ronnie Wingo, Mallet hit Joe Adams for 7 yards and followed it up with a 23-yard shot to tight end D.J. Williams. Two plays later Greg Childs leaped for a touchdown catch in the end zone, and Alex Tejada came on to pull Arkansas within 14-7 with 10:45 left in the third quarter.
But the Hogs' touchdown drive proved to be the bee sting that work up the sleeping giant.
McElroy and Maze's 80-yard play deflated Arkansas' defense that had competed up to that point, and it seemed to drive home the point to Arkansas' offense that no matter what the unit did, it wasn't going to catch up.
But that's what great teams do to inferior opponents, and despite big summertime expectations of some Hog fans, the Razorbacks are not ready for prime time in the second season of Petrino's regime - at least not in the Southeastern Conference.
That being said, the Razorbacks clearly are a better football team than at this time a season ago. Alabama had the Hogs beaten down last year in Razorback Stadium in less than a half.
The Razorbacks are more potent offensively than a year, and the linebackers and defensive front are also better.
But, being better doesn'talways translate into more victories. If the Razorbacks don't continue to improve from where they are today, they could be staring down another 5-7 season - or worse.
Arkansas' schedule is brutal and offers very little breathing room even with a couple of nonconference games left to be played.
The Razorbacks must learn to compete for 60 minutes no matter the circumstances because while Alabama may be among the top one or two teams in the SEC, they aren't the only one capable of delivering a couple of stunning blows in a contest.
If the Hogs continue to have a glass chin, the season has a chance to turn really ugly.
Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.
Sports, Pages 10, 8 on 09/27/2009