Hogs eager to go double or nothing

SCOTT CAIN
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

LAS VEGAS -- In the humbling moments after Arkansas' 31-14 loss to UNLV, several players wanted a rematch.
Because of a scheduling coincidence, they'll get one.
Arkansas and UNLV had agreed to play Sept. 1, 2001, in Little Rock, long before they were matched in the Las Vegas Bowl.
What the players previously would have considered a random nonconference game now carries a revenge theme and no guarantee that the Razorbacks will win.
The Rebels ran and passed through Arkansas for 476 yards Thursday night, including 259 yards rushing. Only Tennessee battered the Razorbacks for more rushing yards (290) this season.
Offensively, Arkansas scored twice early and then sputtered the rest of the way when UNLV shut down the running game. With receiver Boo Williams neutralized by double coverage after the first half, quarterback Robby Hampton and the other receivers could not compensate.
Hampton completed 18 of 40 passes for 183 yards, missing open receivers several times.
Things fell apart even though Arkansas did not commit a turnover.
Coach Houston Nutt said he was disappointed with the loss that gave Arkansas a 6-6 record, but he added "there's a lot to be thankful for, and we're playing without a lot of weapons. And it's going to be real fun to get those guys back."
Nutt was referring to 11 players who suffered season-ending injuries. In fullback Adam Daily's case, it was a career-ending injury.
By fun, Nutt meant getting those players back for the UNLV rematch.
"Absolutely," Nutt said.
Among the players Nutt should have next season who could not play Thursday are tailbacks Cedric Cobbs and Fred Talley, tight end J. Strain and cornerback Harold Harris.
But it was Cobbs and Talley that Arkansas missed most. Without them, the running game was limited. True freshman Brandon Holmes provided solid relief duty but lacks their big-play speed.
Holmes rushed for 99 yards against UNLV, but he averaged just 3.8 a carry.
Watching from the sideline was frustrating, said Cobbs, who had surgery to repair a separated shoulder almost three months ago.
"I saw a couple of things that I could have taken advantage of, but I'm sitting on the sidelines and wasn't able to do anything," Cobbs said. "The team needed somebody to make a big play to get them excited, and we didn't do any big plays. We just had to suffer on through.
"That was really frustrating, not only for me not to be able to play but we had several people that I think could have helped a lot. But we'll see what we can do and put together next year."
Whatever plan and effort the Razorbacks use next time, they'll need to be better than what they showed Thursday.
Arkansas looked sluggish and unable to help itself. It looked like a team that had spent five days in the entertainment capital of the world, three of the evenings without a curfew. Many players arrived a day earlier than required and had four nights without curfew.
Not every player stayed out late every night he had the chance to, but many did.
Asked if Las Vegas' distractions were a factor, defensive coordinator John Thompson said: "I don't know. It was something. [UNLV] played real good. They kept getting better as the game went on, and we kept getting worse."
Arkansas scored on two of its first four possessions, then failed to score on the last nine. Three series ended on failed fourth-down plays when the Hogs were trying to rally.
One third-quarter drive ended on a missed 29-yard field goal attempt by Brennan O'Donohoe.
"I felt real good until about the end of the third quarter -- when they got up seven, got up 10 -- and we missed a field goal," Nutt said. "I think that really took a lot of air out of us. We could have went up right there by three. If we go up, we've got a different game. Our defense [would be] playing with a different mind-set."
It did turn into a different game, but not the way Nutt wanted. Big plays started to pour for UNLV and dry up for Arkansas.
In the first half, each team made four plays of 15 yards or longer. In the second half, UNLV made seven and Arkansas made two.
The Rebels threw deep several times and that opened up their running game, a combination of counters and misdirection plays that the Hogs could not solve. Quarterback Jason Thomas completed 12 of 17 passes for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns.
And the Razorbacks could not catch a break, either. UNLV fumbled six times and lost only one.
A potential seventh fumble was not allowed and the no-call was damaging. Officials ruled that punt returner Troy Mason's knee touched the ground before he lost the ball on a second-quarter return when replays showed it should have been a fumble. Arkansas had recovered.
That led to Thomas throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Nate Turner to tie the score at 14 at halftime.
The way UNLV ran over Arkansas' defense all night, it might not have mattered if the punt return had been ruled a fumble.
After jumping up early, it appeared the Razorbacks started to ease up as the Rebels' intensity grew.
"We just got overconfident," junior guard La'Zerius White said. "We didn't let the game come to us. We have to play every down. We can't expect things just to happen. They kept playing and we didn't."
The letdown sent 14 senior lettermen out on a down note.
"We've had a great group of seniors, not very many in number, but I'm just real proud of what they've accomplished," Nutt said. "I'm not going to let this one game put a lot of cold water on what these guys have done for our program."
Senior receiver Boo Williams had some advice for the returning players.
"To the young guys, I say to them they've got to work hard in the off-season," Williams said. "Just remember this game, just remember you've got to have some payback after this."
The Razorbacks might want to be careful what they wish. UNLV has beaten them once -- thoroughly -- and another team from the West, Boise State, blew into Little Rock this season and came within a whisker of winning that game.
Still, several players said they would keep UNLV fresh on their minds for the next nine months.
"It's good to go into the off-season with a chip on your shoulder," White said. "You'll have better things to look forward to. I think we're on a mission for next year."
"I think we'll be better," Hampton said. "We'll have everybody back. It will be a fun game. I think we'll be very motivated."

Information for this article was contributed by Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

This article was published on Saturday, December 23, 2000

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