Whetting the appetite

SCOTT CAIN
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

What started the week as little more than an amusing thought might have prolonged Arkansas' season.
As the offensive coaches tossed around game plan ideas, they didn't have many options. Brandon Holmes was just about the last running back standing because of injuries to the rest, and the only mystery was how often to supplement his runs with something else.
"On Sunday, they said, 'Let's give it to him 25 times,' and I said, 'Let's give it to him 35 times,' " running backs coach Danny Nutt said. "They started laughing. I told them the more you give it to him the stronger he gets."
It worked for Holmes. And Arkansas' defense.
Holmes, a true freshman making his second start, ran 42 times for 143 yards and 1 touchdown in a 14-3 victory over 24th-ranked LSU on Friday at War Memorial Stadium. And the defense squeezed harder as the game wore on, not allowing a touchdown for the second consecutive game.
Since bottoming out in a 63-20 loss at Tennessee on Nov. 11, the Razorbacks (6-5, 3-5 SEC) have upset nationally ranked teams on back-to-back weekends and might have salvaged a bowl trip. The league has nine bowl-eligible teams for seven spots, so Arkansas' holiday plans likely will fall into the hands of a non-SEC bowl in Houston or points west, if at all.
"Last year we were hoping to play here or here or there and the year before I guess they were doing the same thing," tight end Nathan Ball said. "This year we'll be thankful for anything we get into."
Losing kept LSU (7-4, 5-3) from claiming a share of the Western Division title in Coach Nick Saban's first season and damaged its Cotton Bowl hopes.
On a raw day before an announced crowd of 43,982, both teams played it simple, which was about all the steady rain would allow them to do. They hunkered down with their running games and loaded up in the box defensively, then stared each other down.
LSU blinked twice.
Linebacker Quinton Caver returned a Josh Booty interception 33 yards for a touchdown on LSU's first possession, and Domanick Davis fumbled a punt that was recovered by Jermaine Petty to set up the offense's only touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Arkansas won the turnover battle 3-0 and Holmes pounded out the second-most rushes in school history. Only Madre Hill, who ran 45 times for 186 yards against Auburn in 1995, has carried a larger load in a game.
Holmes never fumbled and seemingly never tired.
"He seemed like he was the same person," receiver Richard Smith said. "It seemed like their defense was more tired than he was."
Holmes was playing because Fred Talley tore up his knee Nov. 18 against Mississippi State. Holmes entered that game in the fourth quarter and ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns in a 17-10 overtime victory, but he didn't have the luxury of fresh legs in the late going Friday.
"When I feel myself getting tired, I push myself harder because I don't want to show any weaknesses," Holmes said.
Power runs are Holmes' forte because of his 215-pound frame and straight-ahead running style. But Coach Houston Nutt estimated he called the zone play for Holmes about 20 times, where the linemen push the defense to one side or the other and the back chooses a hole and turns on his speed.
Holmes scored his touchdown on the zone play when he rumbled around the right end 11 yards and pulled through defensive end Kendrick Allen's grasp the last 3 yards with 12:47 to play.
With Richie Butler dropping five punts inside the 20-yard line and the offense converting eight third downs, Arkansas controlled field position (average start at the 44) and time of possession (12-minute advantage).
When the Razorbacks did deviate from the run, they worked senior security blanket Boo Williams against LSU junior cornerback Robert Davis for short completions and spread a few passes to the tight ends. Williams finished with 7 receptions for 60 yards with 3 of them converting third downs.
"We had watched film and knew that he didn't have the best hips [for turning in coverage]," Williams said. "We made mismatches. They didn't adjust. So we kept using it to our advantage."
The only time Arkansas came close to breaking its conservative bent, Williams set a pick on Davis that sprung Richard Smith for a 17-yard reception on fourth-and-8 from the LSU 28. Holmes scored his touchdown on the next play.
"We rubbed shoulders," Williams said of Davis, "and that's all Richard needed."
Williams, who dislocated his shoulder Oct. 14, felt it pop out six plays earlier. He had it popped back in and re-entered in time to line up and hear quarterback Robby Hampton changing the play at the line from a run to the pick pass.
Arkansas had shelved the play since Sept. 16 when it resulted in an interception against Boise State.
Arkansas outgained LSU 253-149 and led 7-3 at halftime.
"They played a good game," LSU Coach Nick Saban said. "They played it close to the vest. They ran the ball and didn't make a lot of big runs but ran it well enough to keep going. We had two third-and-less-than-1s and didn't make either of them; they had two or three of them and made them and kept the ball. Those are the little things that make the difference in the game."
The weather and Arkansas' pressure kept the Tigers from throwing downfield but twice. One was overthrown and the other was intercepted by cornerback D'Andre Berry in the third quarter. The only pass that Booty completed in his first 13 attempts of the second half was the interception.
"They played good defense," Booty said. "And that was the name of the game in the wet weather today."
Once the Hogs worked past the first few plays of the fourth quarter, the formality of throwing every once in a while was thrown aside and they ran 20 times to put the game out of reach.
Holmes carried each of those times except when Hampton took a knee on the final plays to run the clock down. Holmes ran almost as many times in the fourth quarter as he might have expected to carry the whole game.
"But once I saw the weather conditions, I knew I'd have to carry the ball more," Holmes said. "I expected to and the offensive line gave me confidence. Now hopefully we'll get a chance to go to a bowl game."

This article was published on Saturday, November 25, 2000

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