Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

FAYETTEVILLE — Dennis Johnson averaged 20.0 yards per carry for Arkansas in the season opener. His seven-yard run over left end provided the team’s first touchdown after a sluggish start and highlighted Johnson’s strength and speed as a runner.

Later, the Texarkana native burst up the middle 49 yards and with his first carry of the second half nearly matched the Razorbacks’ entire first half output. They managed just 51 yard on 13 carries in the opening two quarters and Johnson’s run seemed to provide a spark.

How was Johnson rewarded for his efforts? Did he get praise from his head coach? Did it move him into the No. 1 spot on the crowded running back depth chart?

Not exactly.

Johnson’s performance earned him a spot on the sidelines — more specifically, in Bobby Petrino’s doghouse — as the final 18 minutes, 33 seconds of Saturday’s 44-3 victory against Tennessee Tech ticked off the clock.

“Dennis kind of made me mad when he carried the ball in one hand. So his carries ended right then,” Petrino told reporters on Monday. “We have got to carry the ball properly.”

Johnson is the latest example of just how detail-oriented Petrino is. He wasn’t happy with Johnson or the Arkansas offense as a whole after the game.

Petrino wasn’t praising the 44 points. There was no celebration over scoring 44 points and racking up 508 yards of total offense. He didn’t care that Johnson continues to be the most productive back on the team when allowed to be on the field.

Quarterback Ryan Mallett completed 85.7 percent of his passes. Mallett now ranks second all-time in the SEC for single-game completion percentage.

None of that really mattered to Petrino when evaluating Saturday’s game.

Petrino was fixated on the sort of stuff most fans would ignore. Heck, many coaches would let a bad series or a reckless carry slide if the end result was positive.

Not Petrino.