Hampton,Holmes team up

ROBERT YATES
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The era of me, me, me hasn't rubbed off on Robby Hampton and Brandon Holmes.
After a 17-10 upset victory over Mississippi State in overtime Saturday afternoon at Scott Field, Arkansas' unlikely heroes were all about team, team, team.
Hampton, the 24-year-old sophomore quarterback, came off the bench to complete 5 of 13 passes for 48 yards, directing the Razorbacks to all their points.
Because of a sprained right throwing shoulder, Hampton was Plan C after freshman Zak Clark and junior John Rutledge.
Holmes was Plan B, but he spent much of the dreary day watching sophomore tailback Fred Talley duck and dart through one of the nation's top run defenses.
Talley was nearing his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game when he injured his right knee early in the fourth quarter.
Enter Holmes, who had been on the backburner the past month with the emergence of Talley as a home-run threat.
But the true freshman responded with a career-high 95 yards (all in the fourth quarter and overtime) and two touchdowns, including the game-winner from 7 yards in overtime.
Hampton has started eight games this season but battled a sore shoulder in recent weeks. He was listed as "probable" Saturday, but yielded the starting spot to Clark, sufficiently recovered from a sprained ankle. Rutledge, the recent flag football recruit, was second in line Saturday.
Clark struggled in the first half, and Rutledge struggled even more on Arkansas' first series of the second half.
Enter Hampton, who wasn't even sure if he would play.
"At halftime, they told me to be ready," Hampton said. "[My shoulder] was pretty stiff. There toward the end, I was the glad the offensive line was doing such a good job and the running backs were running so well because it was really tough for me to throw the ball."
Two of Hampton's passes were intercepted.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, a throw in the flat to sophomore fullback Adam Daily was underthrown and intercepted by junior safety Shawn Byrdsong at the Arkansas 46.
On Arkansas' next possession, senior cornerback Fred Smoot won a battle between two of the SEC's premier trash talkers, outfighting senior Boo Williams in the end zone for his 10th career interception.
"The one in the flat, I just needed to put a little more air on it," Hampton said. After Smoot's interception with 6:53 remaining in regulation, Hampton attempted only three more passes.
Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said following the game that he believed Hampton's injury limited his effectiveness to throws of 15 yards at best.
Didn't matter.
Holmes, who pounded the middle time after time on counter plays, helped send the game into overtime on a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:02 remaining in regulation.
"We were doing that because we were having success with it," Hampton said of the strategy. "Why change it? I don't look at myself being a hero. Our defense played an outstanding game. The offensive line had a great day. I really didn't do much other than hand off the ball, and that's the honest truth."

This article was published on Sunday, November 19, 2000

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