This past Saturday the Arkansas Razorbacks took a huge step forward under Bobby Petrino. The Hogs found a way to beat a good South Carolina team and in doing so, beat an SEC team to match last seasons win total of five overall wins and two SEC wins with three games remaining in the season.
The Razorbacks have shown clear improvement in Petrino's second season and winning a game that was labeled a must win shows team leadership and maturity is growing.
People tend to forget the Razorbacks are one of the youngest teams in the SEC and early in the rebuilding process under Bobby Petrino. There are 11 freshman and sophomores starting for the Razorbacks and an even larger number of contributors.
In this crucial win for the Hogs, there were five keys to why the Hogs were able to get the victory.
Ryan Mallett
First has to be the play of redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Mallett. Everything starts with the quarterback in Bobby Petrino's offense and so naturally the same holds true here.
Mallett was 23-27 passing for 329 yards and 0 interceptions against the No.3 pass defense in the nation. He picked a part the South Carolina defense in his most impressive game as a Razorback to date.
That says a lot when Mallett has already had numerous huge yardage games and multi-touchdown games.
The reason for this success is Mallett finally has learned to take what the defense is giving him and that showed with his completion percentage. He set the Arkansas single game record with this percentage. I have to make a double take and mention again South Carolina bolstered the No. 3 ranked pass defense in the nation coming into the game.
Mallett was rewarded for his performance by being named SEC Offensive Player of the Week and most importantly, handed his team a win.
For the season Mallett is the No.1 rated quarterback in the SEC and the No.8 quarterback in the country with a rating of 156.7. He has thrown for 2,480 yards, 18 touchdowns, and only three interceptions.
DJ Williams
Second on the list, is the reemergence of tight end DJ Williams. There is not a more unselfish player in the country or a more deserving player out there.
Williams was a Mackey Award finalist last season. He entered the season as one of the top rated tight ends in the country, but the numbers have not been adding up so far this season.
However, don't tell Williams or his teammates he has been unproductive this season. Williams has focused on becoming a more complete tight end. That focus has been centered on improving his blocking. It was the talk from the coaches even before spring practices had begun.
Nothing tells this story better than Williams' comments following the Hogs win over the Gamecocks when he focused in on a few blocks that he missed over the big plays he made in this game receiving.
William's day included seven receptions for 137 yards, including a 69-yard play at the end of the first half that set up an Alex Tejada field goal that tied the game at 10 a piece going into half time.
If Williams continues to emerge as a more complete blocker and a threat in the passing game, the Hogs offense will be one of the most difficult to defend the rest of the season and into next year.
Arkansas' Red-zone Defense
The Hogs rank first in the SEC in red-zone defense and on Saturday, this was a huge key to the Hog's win.
On South Carolina's first scoring drive, Spurrier and the Gamecocks went for it on fourth down and converted inside the five yard line. The Hogs then proceeded to stuff the Gamecocks and force them into a field goal. Prior to getting down in the redzone, the Gamecocks were moving the ball both with the run and the pass.
South Carolina showed poor time management and had some costly penalties, but the Hogs success holding teams to field goals or no points in the red-zone for the season continues to play a crucial role in winning games.
Later in the game with the Hogs holding a slim 17-16 lead, South Carolina marched down the field and looked to score and regain the lead. In what was the biggest turning point of the game, Jarrell Norton turned on a Garcia pass to the end zone and came up with a momentum changing interception. The Hogs then marched 80 yards to score again and had the momentum the remainder of the day in going on to win 33-16.
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