FAYETTEVILLE -- There was never any doubt, not from start to the very end, why the University of Arkansas and Vanderbilt were winless in the SEC.
That played a big part in the reason almost 15,000 tickets went unused and only 41,800 were in attendance at Razorback Stadium on Saturday.
The teams are average, and while the game had a lot of points, it was by the cellar dwellers in the SEC. The best of the two was Vanderbilt, which won rather easily 45-31. The Razorbacks' final score came with 14 seconds to play.
It doesn't matter how close the Commodores played Notre Dame or that the Razorbacks scored 31 on mighty Alabama. Both most likely are finishing last in their division.
Vanderbilt relied on big plays, some due to strategy and some because of a lack of coverage by the Hogs.
Both teams had good running backs, especially Vandy's Ke'Shawn Vaughn who rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns. He still might be running if the game hadn't mercifully run out of time.
It hurt the Hogs when they stopped Vandy in the third quarter but were hit with a holding call that gave the 'Dores a first down and eventually a field goal. The Hogs are not talented enough to endure penalties or fall for a screen pass on second and 19, which went for 23 yards to lead to an eventual touchdown and 31-17 lead.
On Vanderbilt's next possession, another screen went for 19 yards and a first down to keep the touchdown drive alive. Vaughn scored his third touchdown on a 3-yard run for a 38-24 edge.
No doubt fans expected more from the Razorbacks, who were coming off their first win since the season opener. Instead of seeing more progress, which had been evident the past few weeks, it was Vanderbilt who seemed to play with passion and desire.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the fans started looking elsewhere for entertainment. After Vaughn's second touchdown, many had seen enough so they missed Arkansas' 75-yard drive in just six plays that made it 31-24 with 9:25 to play. And they missed the Commodores' final two touchdowns.
The Razorbacks officially are eliminated from bowl eligibility, although it would have taken a miracle to sweep the last four games to get to the six-win requirement.
Now the Hogs get two weeks to think about losing to the academic giant of the SEC.
They are off next Saturday, a much-needed break for everyone. And if fans did care to learn more about the team, they won't. It was announced earlier in the week there would be no media availability during the bye week.
Morris better hope the fans are just disappointed because apathy is becoming as apparent as the 34,000 empty seats each of the past two Saturdays.
The first half set the tone for the Hogs, who were good enough to take a lead but quickly found themselves chasing the Commodores on the scoreboard.
On the first possession of the game, the Hogs passed on the first play for 16 yards to Cheyenne O'Grady. The visitors were on their heels for the next eight plays, and Arkansas took a 7-0 lead on Rakeem Boyd's 5-yard run. The Commodores answered with a 63-yard touchdown run by Vaughn, then took a lead after Ty Storey threw an interception.
Arkansas tied it again when Chase Hayden capped a 92-yard drive with a 38-yard run up the middle, but Vandy got a 40-yard touchdown pass for a 21-14 halftime lead.
The second half was more of the same in a good way for Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt easily won the battle of cellar dwellers.
Sports on 10/28/2018