Chris Bahn: Arkansas 44, Auburn 23 Report Card

ARKANSAS 44, Auburn 23
REPORT CARD
OFFENSE: A+
HIGHLIGHTS: Want balanced offense? How about a season-high 221 yards to go with 274 passing yards? Coach Bobby Petrino did a superb job of mixing pass and run against the Tigers as Arkansas scored 40 points for the fourth time in five games. Tailback Michael Smith looked like himself again, running for 145 yards on 19 caries with a touchdown. Every trip inside the red zone resulted in points for the Razorbacks, who converted 6 of 6 chances from the 20 and in. Only once did the offensive line allow a sack. Quarterback Ryan Mallett managed to impress with his feet, picking up a first down with a nine-yard run and scoring from four yards out another time. We could go on and on with highlights after Saturday's performance, but won't.

LOWLIGHTS: That Ryan Mallett interception could have been avoided. Arkansas was called for a chop block, another avoidable mistake. Going 0-for-2 on fourth downs seems like a bad thing. Mostly just nit-picking here after what was the most complete offensive performance of the season, possibly the Bobby Petrino era.
WHAT WE LEARNED: This offense is even deeper than we imagined. Arkansas played the entire game without Joe Adams (stroke) and a good portion of it without Jarius Wright (concussion), but still averaged 11.4 yards per reception. D.J. Williams reemerged as a pass-catching threat at tight end, Lucas Miller and London Crawford came back from broken collarbones to provide some big catches. Broderick Green does have some ability on the goal line, scoring two of the three times he was asked to in short yardage situations.

DEFENSE: A-
HIGHLIGHTS: Auburn entered Saturday's game as one of the nation's top offenses. Arkansas entered as one of the nation's worst defenses. How? The Razorbacks did a great job of keeping the Tigers in check, holding them nearly 20 points below their scoring average. Safeties Jerico Nelson and Elton Ford were active throughout the day, finishing with 10 and 9 tackles, respectively. There were relatively few penalties on the defense, which kept Auburn quarterback Chris Todd confused much of the day. Freshman tackle D.D. Jones performed well in his first start.
LOWLIGHTS: Where'd the defense go in the third quarter? Sure, safety Elton Ford was out for a stretch because of injury, but surely one guy didn't make that much of a difference. Auburn's Ben Tate ran for 140 yards on 11 carries as the Tigers pulled from 34-3 within 34-23. Tate and Terell Zachery each had 60-yard runs.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Given the right matchup this defense isn't bad. All that questioning of Willy Robinson on the message boards and radio shows can cease. Arkansas is clearly improving.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B+
HIGHLIGHTS: In a league full of dangerous kick return specialists, Dennis Johnson continues to make a case for best in the SEC. Johnson averaged 48.3 yards per return. He didn't score, but set up a score with his 70-yard return to end the third quarter. Punter Dylan Breeding averaged 41.0 yards per punt and landed one that was downed at the one by Lucas Miller.
LOWLIGHTS: Was it a bad snap that caused a missed extra point? Was it blocked? Does it matter? Alex Tejada was credited with a missed extra point for the second consecutive game. That's not a problem in a 21-point victory, but they won't all be this easy. Whatever is causing the issue needs to be corrected. Surely, Arkansas can muster more than what was sadly a season-best 6.0 yards per punt return.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Arkansas special teams are getting better. There are still some potential game-costing mistakes that need to be eliminated.

OVERALL: A
WHAT WE LEARNED: Each week the Razorbacks are improving. They're not quite talented enough to beat elite teams like Alabama and probably Florida, but they can compete with most of the SEC.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME
OFFENSE: Coach Bobby Petrino knew Michael Smith hadn't been running like himself. So he had Smith watch highlight tapes of 2008 when the senior tailback ran for more than 1,000 yards. The result was a vintage Smith running performance as he accumulated 145 yards and 1 touchdown on 18 caries. Smith averaged 8.1 yards per carry and was never stopped for a loss.
DEFENSE: Safety Jerico Nelson drew plenty of ohs and ahs from the crowd with his second-quarter hit on Auburn receiver Mario Fannin. Nelson delivered a crushing hit to blow up a screen play and the two players got their facemasks tangled up. Nelson shook himself free and ripped Fannin's helmet off. But Nelson didn't stop impressing there, though. He finished with a team-high10 tackles, including 3 for loss, plus forced a fumble.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Auburn was threatening to post a fifth come-from-behind victory this season until Dennis Johnson did what Dennis Johnson does. His 70-yards kick off return put the Razorbacks in position to score and they turned an 11-point lead into a 21-poitn victory. Johnson finished with 145 yards on 3 returns, an average of 48.3 yards per.