Averaged out over the entire game, Arkansas and Tech performed about how everyone was predicting, with the two disparate halves balancing out to match expectations.  I only spent time with two Arkansas games—a blowout loss to Auburn and a choke against Missouri—and that turned out to be enough to get a good read on them:

• Good at traditional tailback runs and stopping those runs
• Doesn’t run the QB and doesn’t stop the running QB
• A big, strong o-line that’s slow against stunts and blitzes
• A physical front seven that struggles versus spread and speed
• Makes their bones in the passing game off developing routes
• Vulnerable in the short passing game and deep developing routes, but fast enough to play fly/go routes versus Tech’s relatively slow receivers
• A QB who needs a clean pocket and clear reads to succeed
• Prone to shooting themselves in the foot

My only concern was how Tech would show up against the Arkansas running game. With Tech stopping the Razorback runners in their tracks, it seems like this game should’ve been a dominant Tech performance from the first quarter on.  What happened?  It’s easy to say Arkansas struggled in the second half as they had the past few games of the season, but why?

Probably the most unpredictable element here was that both teams were sloppy and mistake prone.  Loogie-loving #80 for Arkansas was the absolute worst in this regard—aside from his drops, fumbles, slips, and salivary projectiles, he looked like he messed up route spacing a few times, too.  If he had half a brain between his ears, he’d be dangerous.  But both teams messed up across the board.  Both sides let defenders go unblocked, both sides had drops, both sides had some dumb penalties. No one seemed immune—even Rogers and Cunningham, two guys who seem to be among the team’s smartest blockers, had a lapse on a double team that gave a 280-pound Arkansas DE a full-steam run at Evans. As it worked out, Tech front-loaded their biggest errors, while Arkansas kept most of theirs in the back pocket for the third and fourth quarters.  Add in some wind, and there was enough here to guarantee some oddity to the game.

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