PISCATAWAY, N.J. - When cornerback Tevin Mitchel returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, it marked the first points by the Razorbacks on defense in 17 games. Their last defensive touchdown came on Alonzo Highsmith’s 47-yard fumble return against LSU on Nov. 25, 2011.
Faking ‘em out
Punter Sam Irwin-Hill completed a pass for deep snapper Alan D’Appollonio for a 24-yard gain to the Rutgers 24 on fourth-and-6 from the Arkansas 49 near the end of the first quarter.
The fake field goal set up a 41-yard field goal by Zach Hocker that gave Arkansas a 3-0 lead.
Big block
Arkansas true freshman offensive tackle Dan Skipper figured to do some blocking this season, but maybe not on field-goal attempts by the other team.
Skipper is 6-10, though, so it was a pretty smart move to put him on the field goal defense team as the Razorbacks did Saturday.
Lined up in the middle, Skipper jumped and extended his arms to get a piece of a 32-yard field-goal attempt by Kyle Federico. The kick fell short of the goal post to keep it a scoreless game.
No 100s
Arkansas tailbacks Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams each had rushed for more than 100 yards in the first three games, but they weren’t able to keep that streak going Saturday against a Rutgers defense that came into the game yielding 59.3 rushing yards per game.
Collins, who came in averaging 139.3 rushing yards, was held to 63 yards on 14 carries. Williams, averaging 131 yards, had 12 carries for 25 yards.
Strong leg
Zach Hocker boomed the ball 85 yards into the end zone for a touchback when he had to kick off from the Arkansas 20 after a celebration penalty was called on defensive end Trey Flowers following Tevin Mitchel’s interception return for a touchdown.
It was the second touchback for Hocker this season after a celebration penalty. He had a touchback against Samford on a ground hugging kick that bounced into the end zone after a celebration penalty was called on tailback Alex Collins.
Hocker also had a 77-yard punt in the first half, the longest by a Razorback since 2002 when Richie Butler had a 79-yarder against Alabama.
Upon further review
A fumble return for a touchdown by Rutgers linebacker Quentin Gause was overturned by replay official.
It looked to be the right call as receiver Julian Horton didn’t appear to have possession of the pass from AJ Derby.
If the touchdown had stood, Rutgers would have pulled to within 24-13 with 6:45 left in the third quarter pending an extra-point attempt.
Gragg stops by
Former Arkansas tight end Chris Gragg, a rookie with the Buffalo Bills, watched Saturday’s game from the Razorbacks’ sideline. The Bills play the New York Jets today in East Rutherford, N.J., so Gragg made the short trip to the Rutgers campus.
Gaines back
Arkansas strong safety Rohan Gaines played off the bench after missing the previous two games because of a knee injury.
Alan Turner made his fourth start at strong safety.
He started there in opener against Louisiana-Lafayette when Gaines started at nickel back.
Who?
Rutgers sophomore tight end Tyler Kroft had more receiving yards (133) Saturday on 6 receptions than in his 14 combined games previously (8 for 112).
Special Knights
Janarion Grant’s 58-yard punt return in the third quarter was the third touchdown scored by Rutgers on special teams this season, and the second by Grant.
Grant returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown against Fresno State, and Quron Pratt had a 99-yarder for a touchdown against Eastern Michigan.
The crowd
The announced crowd for Saturday’s game was 51,969, the fifth-largest in Rutgers’ history.
Two and done
Arkansas and Rutgers completed a home-and home series that was quickly arranged before the 2012 season to fill a nonconference void on the Razorbacks’ schedule when Texas A&M moved to the SEC.
The Scarlet Knights won 35-26 at Fayetteville last season.
Arkansas will begin and home-and-home series with former Southwest Conference rival Texas Tech next season, when the Razorbacks play at Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech will play at Arkansas in 2015.
Conference call
Rutgers is in the midst of playing in three conferences in three seasons.
The Scarlet Knights played in the Big East last season, are in the American Athletic Conference this season and will be in the Big Ten next season.
The AAC is a mixture of Big East teams that didn’t move to the Atlantic Coast Conference and newcomers that came from Conference USA.
In addition to Rutgers, the AAC also will lose Louisville, which will move to the ACC next season.
Good start
The Razorbacks outscored Rutgers 10-0 in the first quarter and have outscored their opponents 38-7 in the first quarter this season.
Sports, Pages 32 on 09/22/2013