Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

For a good 26 minutes Saturday night at a red, white and blue War Memorial Stadium, the one edge Arkansas appeared to have over 36-point underdog New Mexico was all-purpose back Joe Adams. The senior from Little Rock made the running game go with a surprise appearance as the I back, and just his presence alone made the return game go. His freshman doppelganger, Marquel Wade, even showed Adams-like moves on an 85-yard kickoff return in the first half.

Take Adams out of the equation in those first 26 minutes and there's no telling how Saturday might have turned out, had the Razorbacks plodded along at the same pace on offense while allowing the Lobos to move the football they way they did for a quarter and a half.

That all changed in the final 3:56 of the half, when Arkansas quickened the pace. The Hogs' offense went to no-huddle, putting additional pressure on the Lobos and giving all those glorious weapons a chance to shine. The defense took the cue after one quick score and forced just the second three-and-out of the game. The Hogs eventually began running behind their surest blockers up front — the two guards and center — and suddenly a 17-3 game became 31-3 by halftime and 52-3 at the finish.

Even forced to play the second half without starting quarterback Tyler Wilson, who showed symptoms of a concussion in the locker room at halftime, according to UA Coach Bobby Petrino, the Razorbacks didn't miss a beat behind backup Brandon Mitchell for all but the final play of the second half. Mitchell led three scoring drives, and a likely fourth was halted by the first lost Razorback fumble of the year.

Arkansas' maligned running game, which managed 102 yards against a run-stunting Missouri State in last week's opener, churned for 259 yards on Saturday night against a much better defense. The Hogs averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Ronnie Wingo, who had just 9 yards on 5 carries at halftime, gained 64 on 7 runs in the second half.

Wilson scrambled 5 times for 46 yards and a touchdown, though some of that daring-do resulted in his headache. His 8-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter included bulling his way through two tacklers, and it was the last snap he took.

Until Mitchell's second-half effort Saturday, the risk of losing Wilson might have caused serious consternation among the Razorback faithful. Instead, the unsteady Mitchell of last week became a more polished third-year sophomore who ran for 59 yards on 5 attempts, including a 12-yard touchdown to finish the scoring, and completed 8 of 13 passes for 114 yards.

"I just relaxed and played football," Mitchell said.

His passing total included a 54-yard catch and run down the right sideline by junior Cobi Hamilton, once again bringing his "A" game to Little Rock. Hamilton starred as a freshman against Mississippi State here with two long touchdown receptions and then scored twice in last year's 31-23 upset of LSU that sent the Hogs on to the Sugar Bowl.

"I don't know what it is," Hamilton, the Texarkana, Texas, product, said afterward about his Little Rock performances. "We've got a lot of kids from Arkansas and a lot of guys from Little Rock. It's always good to go back home and play hard for those guys. We only play two games a year here so we want to make the best advantage of it."

Hamilton had 5 catches for 132 yards. Adams had 6 catches for 78 yards, and Jarius Wright had 5 receptions for 63 yards. The passing game clicked on the game's first drive and in those last 3:56 of the first half.

"The coaches said settle down and play Arkansas football. Jarius Wright is a big leadership guy, and we just took it upon each other to make plays and open the game up. We started getting in no-huddle and the two-minute drive, that was a fun experience," Hamilton said. "It was real fun for us to go out there and play."

He added of Mitchell's second-half performance, "We know Brandon's a heckuva player. We didn't have a disadvantage. We just told him to give us a chance and we'd make plays for him."