Defense can't quite get grasp on things

ROBERT YATES
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

AUBURN, Ala. -- For most of the day, Arkansas clamped down on Rudi Johnson. The Razorbacks also intercepted two Ben Leard passes.
But it was the time they missed Johnson and missed a chance to intercept another Leard pass that helped Auburn escape with a 21-19 SEC victory Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Johnson, the Tigers' junior running back, needed 29 carries to gain 114 yards. His long run, however, just happened to be a 23-yard touchdown burst with 2:26 remaining in the first half and gave Auburn a 14-7 lead.
"All I could do was hear the crowd,'' Coach Tommy Tuberville said of the play run away from the Auburn bench. "I saw Rudi on the Jumbotron. He just continues to amaze me. ... The guy's phenomenal.
"He breaks tackles at the line of scrimmage. He never gets knocked backwards, and that's a sign of a good running back.''
On this first-down play, Johnson dazzled the crowd of 83,642 by following the lead block of junior fullback Heath Evans on an innocent toss sweep to the right.
Johnson then looked like a 230-pound pinball.
First, he spun out of a tackle by senior middle linebacker Quinton Caver and fought off several other defenders down the sideline to score.
"He spun around, and I think almost everybody on that side of the field got a hand on him,'' senior weakside linebacker J.J. Jones said. "He made some moves, though. He's an All-SEC caliber back. What can you say? They've got scholarship players, too.''
Johnson's performance equaled the single-season school record of eight 100-yard games set by Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson in 1985.
But normally more productive in the third and fourth quarters, Johnson had only 33 yards on 16 carries in the second half Saturday. His longest run in the second half was 9 yards, and a rare fumble with 1:43 left to play gave the Razorbacks their last realistic chance to win.
"He's an exceptional back,'' Jones said. "He has very good balance and can keep his feet moving for a big guy. We didn't wrap up real well on him in the first half, but in the second half we came together and tackled him pretty well.''
Auburn was clinging to a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter when a missed tackle didn't haunt Arkansas, but a pass breakup by junior Corey Harris did.
Harris could have just as easily intercepted Leard's pass intended for senior "H'' back Clifton Robinson at the Auburn 35 and returned it for a game-tying touchdown. Instead, the ball fell to the turf with 9:13 remaining and went down as one of the rover's two passes defensed.
"[Robinson] got his hand in there and knocked it down,'' Harris said. "I actually had the ball, and he raked down on it and got it. It was just one of those things.''
Defensive co-coordinator John Thompson agreed.
"Our guys did everything we asked them to do,'' Thompson said. "They did everything we asked of them.''

This article was published on Sunday, October 29, 2000

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