Noah Igbinoghene fielded the Arkansas kick at the 4, made two people miss him, and at midfield the Auburn receiver turned cornerback was gone. No one was going to catch him.
He also forced a first-quarter fumble that was returned to the University of Arkansas' 2.
But it was the kickoff return that brought back the memory of Christian Kirk. He returned a lot of kicks and punts in which no one was going to catch him the last 50 yards. He was a dangerous receiver, too.
The good news is if the Razorbacks can somehow get the Texas A&M Aggies into overtime this year, they won't have to worry about Kirk. He's busy catching passes for the winless Arizona Cardinals.
Kirk beat Arkansas twice in overtime. During his freshman season, it was a 20-yard touchdown reception. Last season, the Hogs had no answer for him.
He scored the Aggies' first touchdown on an 81-yard catch and run.
In the fourth quarter, Austin Allen hit Jonathan Nance for 44 yards and a touchdown that gave the Razorbacks a 36-33 lead with 5:21 to play.
With 5:10 to play, the Aggies were ahead 40-36 because Kirk went 100 yards on the kickoff return.
The Hogs regained the lead on a 4-yard run with 3:39 to play, but an Aggies' field goal tied it with :04 left.
In overtime, Kirk caught a 10-yard, game-winning pass from Kellen Mond. He finished with 5 catches for 110 yards and 246 all-purpose yards.
If somehow the Hogs can get the Aggies into overtime for the fourth time in the past five seasons, the odds have to be in the Razorbacks favor with Kirk playing on Sundays.
***
In the first four games, the Aggies have been great against the run, even holding Clemson to 115 yards on the ground and Alabama to 109.
The No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation each got two rushing touchdowns, but that's all the Aggies have allowed. Four opponents were held to a combined 370 yards.
However, they have allowed 1,168 yards and eight touchdowns through the air.
Not sure that really plays into the Razorbacks' hands, but the Hogs have struggled to gain yards on the ground against quality opponents.
Arkansas had some early success against Auburn throwing under the coverage, but adjustments by the Tigers made those yards harder to come by.
On paper and on the odds board, the Aggies are clearly the better team, but if the Hogs' defense improves off last week in a very hostile environment, it will be a better game than an 11 a.m. start time indicates.
***
The Hogs now have back-to-back 11 a.m. starts, with the second being when Alabama comes to Fayetteville on Oct. 6.
This may be more about the Tide than the Razorbacks.
Understand, early kicks are not for the better teams in the SEC. Everyone has to play one every once in a while, and this was the golden opportunity for the SEC to get the Tide in that time slot.
The experts say an 11 a.m. kick favors the home team, but this time the home team is playing the best team in the country.
***
While watching Paul Finebaum on the SEC Network -- shortly before being on the show Tuesday via telephone -- Finebaum questioned an Associated Press voter who put Clemson at No. 1 instead of Alabama.
Finebaum pointed out the Tigers beat Texas A&M by two and the Tide beat the Aggies by 22. The exchange got heated, but it was good TV.
The reason this is brought up is to save anyone from doing the research. Yes, yours truly said that this may be the worst Razorback football team covered in an almost 40-year career.
Sports on 09/27/2018