Chills replaced thrills
Hogs’ best often occurred early; end was a fright
FAYETTEVILLE — Two games into the 2016 season, the Arkansas Razorbacks seemed headed for a repeat of their white- knuckle run from the year before.
Arkansas opened with nail- biting nonconference victories by a combined four points.
Junior quarterback Austin Allen was clutch out of the gate, engineering a 67- yard touchdown drive to spark a fourth- quarter comeback in a 21- 20 victory against Louisiana Tech in the season opener.
Allen was even more impressive in the late going at No. 15 TCU the next week. Arkansas blew a 20- 7 fourth- quarter lead against the Horned Frogs to fall behind 28- 20. Allen went 6 of 7 for 86 yards the rest of the game, with two touchdown passes, a two- point conversion catch from Keon Hatcher and a game- ending 5- yard touchdown run in overtime.
Two games, two thrillers, 2- 0 for the Hogs.
Arkansas went 5- 6 the rest of the way in a season that — unlike 2015 — was nearly devoid of late- game drama.
The Razorbacks played only two games the rest of the season that were decided by less than 11 points, a 3430 home victory over No. 12 Ole Miss and a 28- 24 loss at Missouri in the regular- season finale. The other nine games were decided by an average margin of 27.8 points, including home routs against Texas State, Alcorn State, No. 11 Florida, and a 53- point loss at Auburn in the Hogs’ worst SEC defeat.
In 2015, Arkansas played
six games decided by a touchdown or less, and three of them resulted in overtime games that produced six total overtime periods.
The 2016 Razorbacks alternated victories and losses for 10 consecutive games, a streak that ended only after Arkansas blew a 24- 0 halftime lead in a 35- 24 loss to Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl. It was the worst blown lead in school history.
Here’s a look at some of the highs and lows from the 2016 season:
BEST VICTORY
Arkansas 31, Florida 10. The Razorbacks, coming off a 56- 3 loss at Auburn and an open date, were underdogs against No. 11 Florida. But they dominated from the outset, starting with Santos Ramirez’s 24- yard interception return for a touchdown on the Gators’ first snap, to notch their first SEC victory over Florida. The Gators would go on to win the SEC East, defeat LSU 16- 10 in Baton Rouge and stomp Iowa 30- 3 in the Outback Bowl to cap a 9- 4 season.
WORST LOSS
The Belk Bowl against Virginia Tech was painful, and the fall- from- ahead loss at Missouri was embarrassing. But they were just unattractive runners- up to Arkansas’ worst loss, a 56- 3 stomping at Auburn in which the Hogs yielded a school- record 543 rushing yards and were out of contention in the first quarter.
BEST CALL
A must- have two- point conversion, with the Hogs trailing 28- 26 with 1: 03 remaining, worked out in Arkansas’ favor at TCU.
Austin Allen handed off to motion man Drew Morgan running right, then slipped into the left flat. Morgan pitched to Keon Hatcher, who floated a left- handed pass into Allen’s hands at the sideline to tie the game.
WORST CALL
Trailing Missouri 28- 24 with a little more than four minutes remaining, the Razorbacks went for it on fourth and goal from the Missouri 5 instead of trying a 23- yard field goal. Aarion Penton intercepted Austin Allen’s pass on a crossing route for Dominique Reed in the back of the end zone on fourth down. The Razorbacks drove to the Missouri 9 on their final possession, which could have been the setup for a game- winning field goal, but because of the earlier decision, they had to score a touchdown. A holding penalty on Dan Skipper put the Hogs behind the chains, and Missouri held on downs for the 28- 24 victory.
BEST OFFENSIVE PLAY
On third and goal from the TCU 5 in the second overtime, offensive coordinator Dan Enos called a keeper over the right side by Austin Allen. A series of good blocks helped Allen reach the 1, where he was hit but kept his balance. The quarterback’s feet were off the ground as center Frank Ragnow pushed him across the goal line for a 41- 38 victory.
BEST DEFENSIVE PLAY
Tie. Brooks Ellis jumped a dump pass from TCU’s Kenny Hill and turned it into a 47yard interception return for a touchdown to put Arkansas ahead 13- 0 in the second quarter against the Horned Frogs. Safety Josh Liddell tipped Luke Del Rio’s slant pass for Chris Thompson on Florida’s first offensive snap, and safety Santos Ramirez returned it 24 yards for a tone- setting touchdown in the Hogs’ 31- 10 victory over the No. 11 Gators.
BEST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY
A no- brainer here, as Dan Skipper’s block of TCU’s 28yard field goal try in the closing seconds of regulation in a tie game was a game- saving effort. The Razorbacks would go on to win in double overtime.
WORST YARD MARKER
Against Texas A& M, Rawleigh Williams lost a fumble inside the 1 when it appeared he was headed for a touchdown,
and Austin Allen was ruled short on a third- andgoal sneak from the 1. The Razorbacks also didn’t score from the 3 early in the second half at Missouri, then reached the Tigers’ 1 before failing to score in the fourth quarter. Against Virginia Tech, receiver Drew Morgan was fighting for extra yardage at the end of a 74- yard catch- and- run but fumbled at the 1 on what was ruled a touchback, forcing the Hogs to accept a penalty that cost them 59 yards of field position. The play came with Arkansas leading 24- 7 when a touchdown there would have given the Hogs a 24- point lead early in the third quarter.
WORST QUARTER
How about the fourth? Arkansas was in position to take a 24- 17 lead late in the third against Texas A& M. Instead, a goal- line stand by the Aggies led to a 92- yard touchdown, then Texas A& M won the fourth quarter 21- 7.
BEST HIT
This shot came courtesy of special teamer Damon “Duwop” Mitchell. Florida kickoff return man Chris Thompson was apparently focused on avoiding Cody Hollister, who was bending around a block, when Duwop smashed into him, dropping Thompson to the turf in an immediate GIF sensation.
CONFLICTED EMOTIONS PLAY
Jeremiah Ledbetter and Deatrich Wise combined for a steamroll sack that took about three seconds against Louisiana Tech’s J’Mar Smith late in the fourth quarter. The thirddown sack clinched the game, but Wise broke his hand on the play. Wise gutted through a challenging senior season with a weakened hand.
TOP RECEIVING PERFORMANCE
Junior Jared Cornelius had himself a day against No. 1 Alabama with 5 catches for 146 yards, including a 57- yard grab in the Hogs’ 49- 30 loss. Cornelius became the third Razorback to notch three consecutive 100- yard receiving games, and his average of 21.5 yards per catch topped the SEC through six games.
TOP DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE
Cornerback Ryan Pulley at TCU. In his first start, Pulley blanketed and shut down heralded 6- 2 receiver Taj Williams. Pulley had four solo tackles, broke up three passes and allowed no catches by Williams, who had a touchdown catch in overtime against another defender.
TOP INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Rawleigh Williams enjoyed a career day at Mississippi State, with 205 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Williams scored on a 72- yard touchdown on the game’s second offensive play, and he added touchdown runs of 42, 7 and 33 yards — all in the first half. The sophomore from Dallas had 8 carries for 189 yards in the first half, an average of 23.6 yards per carry, and touchdowns on half of his touches.
TOP FRESHMAN
Running back Devwah Whaley by a nose over defensive lineman McTelvin Agim. Rawleigh Williams over cornerback Ryan Pulley.
TOP JUNIOR
Center Frank Ragnow over quarterback Austin Allen.
TOP SENIOR
Tie. Keon Hatcher and Brooks Ellis over Dan Skipper and Jeremiah Ledbetter.
SPECIAL TEAMS MVP
Punter Toby Baker ranked No. 13 in the FBS with an average of 44.4 yards per punt, put 22 of 57 inside the 20 and was a field- position force all season.
OFFENSIVE MVP
Rawleigh Williams over Austin Allen, Frank Ragnow and Keon Hatcher. Williams finished third in the SEC in rushing in the regular season and finished with 1,360 yards and 12 touchdowns.
DEFENSIVE MVP
Brooks Ellis over Jeremiah Ledbetter and Ryan Pulley.
TEAM MVP
Rawleigh Williams.