1:45 p.m. — Speaking of not bright, punt returner D.J. Dean just did something even more stupid that any of the Alabama punt return gaffes here in this stadium two weeks ago. Dean decided not to field a punt, which has been typical of the Hogs all year and was waving people off. It took a bounce upfield and suddenly Dean decided he needed to field it after all, couldn’t get a grip on the ball and coughed it up to UAB’s Jimmy Jean at the Arkansas 26.
Again, I will beat this dead horse and say that Arkansas’ special teams, while looking good finally with placements, is in the gutter in every other area.
1:43 p.m. — The media is being polled for the winner of the annual Crip Hall Award, given to the top Razorback senior in the game. That it is so wide open who might win it and that there are no seniors in the key play-making roles (outside of maybe Trey Flowers at DE, who has had an OK game), says tons about the future of the Razorbacks. It’s bright.
1:39 p.m. 45-10 end of third — Arkansas outgained UAB 110-19 in the third quarter in total yards, but that yardage does not include a 100-yard kick return.
The coverages today will be the area of chief concern for Bret Bielema and his staff. While some of it revolves around either bad punting or line drive kickoffs and gaps in the coverage, they are the area that will have to be cleaned up before the trip to Starkville next week.
1:34 p.m. 45-10 Arkansas — Well, clearly Arkansas’s special teams have been a problem in some form or fashion for a few weeks now. If it’s not placements, it’s coverage. And on the ensuing kickoff after Sprinkle’s touchdown, Arkansas surrenders a 100-yard kickoff return to JJ Nelson through the left side and down the left sideline. Even McFain, who has made some saving tackles on other kick returns of late, hand no chance to lasso Nelson, who has exceptional speed.
Still, you could see a big kickoff return coming against Arkansas for some time now. There have been obvious gaps in coverage for a while, and this time the hole stayed open and a speedy man was able to get to the kicker level and then break it.
1:31 p.m. 45-3 Arkansas — Two things happened that got Arkansas back on track offensively: Sam Irwin-Hill’s big boot changed the field, and Arkansas’ defense pitched a quick three-and-out, playing the passing game exceptionally well.
Now, nobody is going to confuse UAB with even Texas Tech’s passing game, but can you imagine how far Arkansas’s defense has come in defending the pass from where it was last season.
Arkansas’ Brandon Allen then regained his touch, capping a 70-yard drive on the fifth play with a nice strike to Jeremy Sprinkle, a tight end who looked like a long wide-receiver on the play stretching up and out for the laser in the end zone from 15 yards out.