Like it is

Arkansas solves mystery of Florida's worth

Arkansas running back Devwah Whaley carries the ball during a game against Florida on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Fayetteville.
Arkansas running back Devwah Whaley carries the ball during a game against Florida on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- For weeks, it has been debated whether the Florida Gators were overrated.

Was their early schedule too soft to determine where the Eastern Division leader really deserved to be ranked?

The answer was crystal clear Saturday: Yes, they were overrated.

The beast of the east was Arkansas, which plays in the SEC West, which is now 8-1 against its little sisters.

The No. 11 team in the College Football Playoff poll -- and before Saturday the No. 2 overall defense in all of college football -- was dominated by the Arkansas Razorbacks from start to finish.

The 31-10 victory made Arkansas bowl eligible, and the last time that happened this early in the season Bobby Petrino's motorcycle didn't have a dent in it.

Incidentally, with Texas A&M's loss to Mississippi State and Louisville's pounding of Boston College, Petrino's team is edging closer to those playoffs. Petrino is a great football coach.

Saturday, though, Bret Bielema took another step forward.

There were more questions about Hogs football the past two weeks than a month's worth of Jeopardy!.

Arkansas was coming off a 56-3 shellacking by Auburn and had to live with it for two weeks before getting back on the field, and it was facing a Gators team that came in allowing just 239.9 yards per game.

The Razorbacks took the field dressed in their anthracite uniforms and shiny new helmets to match, and they played their best game of the season, and they did it against a ranked team.

They had 267 yards at halftime and held Florida to 104 yards of total offense. When time expired, Arkansas had passed for 243 yards and rushed for another 223, making a mockery of the Gators' defensive reputation.

Rawleigh Williams ran for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Austin Allen completed 15 of 26 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown.

The Arkansas defense, tweaked during the past two weeks, had six tackles for lost yardage, including 3 sacks, and the Gators offense didn't get into the red zone until 3:35 remained. They still couldn't get a touchdown.

From the start, it appeared the Razorbacks were going to turn Florida into Gator bait.

Josh Liddell broke up a pass on the Gators' first offensive play and it bounced right into Santos Ramirez's arms. The sophomore took aim at the corner of the end zone 24 yards away and went in untouched for a 7-0 lead.

The Hogs defense held the Gators and took over at their own 9, then drove 91 yards in eight plays for a 14-0 lead with 5:56 to play in the first quarter. Allen completed one pass on the drive, a get-rid-of-it dump pass to Devwah Whaley, who turned it into a 43-yard gain.

It wasn't apparent then, but it would become obvious that Allen still was slowed by the beating he took in the Auburn game two weeks earlier.

He threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and later he had four consecutive incomplete passes. Some credit must go to the smothering Florida defensive secondary.

Allen was 4-of-12 passing when Arkansas got the ball with 4:15 to play in the first half, and he loosened up with tight end Jeremy Sprinkle.

Three completions to Sprinkle accounted for 51 of the 87 yards on the drive, and Allen was 5 of 5 on the drive after he hit Drew Morgan in the end zone for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead at the half.

Allen completed 11 of his next 14, and the Razorbacks cruised to victory in front of a loud and proud crowd of 74,432.

Saturday, it wasn't close. The best team, from the best division, won easily.

Sports on 11/06/2016

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