Like it is

Hogs' victory lacked glamour but not grit

Arkansas freshman running back Rawleigh Williams tries to get around Tennessee senior defensive back LaDarrell McNeil on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
Arkansas freshman running back Rawleigh Williams tries to get around Tennessee senior defensive back LaDarrell McNeil on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

A victory over No. 1 Tennessee in 1998 might have propelled the No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks to the national championship game, but Tennessee got a bird's nest on the ground when the Hogs fumbled with 1:43 to play.

Travis Henry then carried five times for 43 yards and the 28-24 victory. It should be noted the Razorbacks led 21-10 at the half, thanks in part to two Volunteers turnovers.

A very flat, unemotional Arkansas team lost the next week 22-21 to Mississippi State, but the Hogs were not the same team they had been in their first eight games.

Tennessee went on to beat Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl and claim the national championship.

The next season, the unranked Hogs knocked off No. 3 Tennessee when Clint Stoerner hit Anthony Lucas in the back of the end zone for a 28-24 lead. A Vols beat writer said, "They left Tee [Martin] too much time.'

He was wrong.

The goal posts came down and they partied on Dickson Street, and the next week the UA was swamped with student applications, about 5,000 more than usual.

Last Saturday's 24-20 victory by Arkansas in Knoxville was important, but not as dynamic.

It was more a game of survival and it left Butch Jones firmly on the hot seat and allowed Bret Bielema a little breathing room because it may not have been official but some of the Arkansas fan base was getting impatient.

It really didn't help Bielema that after two conference victories last year, he was given an $800,000 raise by Athletic Director Jeff Long. That , as expected, increased expectations to win.

Arkansas spotted the home team a 14-0 lead and then held it to two field goals in its next nine possessions.

The Razorbacks' defensive coordinator, Robb Smith, deserved a game ball after making the right adjustments at the half with the score tied at 17-17.

In the second half, the Hogs' defense held the Vols to 4 yards rushing, including 1 yard on four attempts by Jalen Hurd, their starting tailback who had 89 yards on 15 carries in the first half.

Forced to pass, the Vols -- who had moved efficiently through the air in the first half, completing 14 of 22 passes for 146 yards -- struggled again, completing 6 of 15 passes for 86 yards.

With Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen struggling to get solid footing -- and he certainly wasn't the only one -- the Razorbacks went primarily to their ground game in the second half.

Allen threw 8 passes the final two quarters, completing 4, and he passed 3 times in the final quarter.

So the Hogs pounded the ground with 33 rushing attempts. Alex Collins carried 27 times for 154 yards, with 17 of those in the second half for 104 yards. Rawleigh Williams, who is improving weekly, toted the note 14 times for 100 yards, with 11 of the carries coming in the second half.

All of that resulted in one touchdown by Collins, but more important it kept Tennessee off the field.

The Razorbacks had possession for 10:45 in the third quarter, limiting the Vols to two possessions, and for 11:12 in the fourth quarter when Tennessee had the ball three times.

The Volunteers ran 46 plays in the first half but 24 in the second.

Both teams have struggled in the fourth quarter this season. Arkansas lost a last-quarter lead against Texas A&M and lost in overtime. The Vols had a 14-point lead on Oklahoma and 13-point lead on Florida in the fourth quarter, and lost both games.

Neither team scored in the fourth quarter last Saturday and the Hogs survived, thanks in large part to a great defensive effort.

Sports on 10/06/2015

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