Without Smith, wheels fall off
Posted on Sunday, October 19, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Michael Smith continued to ignite Arkansas’ offense on a chilly Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, when Smith ran out of juice in the fourth quarter, Arkansas couldn’t find a backup power source.
“He gives us energy, and when he’s out, we’ve got to find it somewhere else,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “We’ve got to get energy from other players... and we’ve got to do a better job as a coaching staff when he’s not in there.” With Smith in the game, Arkansas built a 20-7 lead with 10: 00 to play. The 5-7 dynamo of a tailback was responsible for much of the Razorbacks’ offense, rushing 35 times for the second consecutive week and gaining a career-high 192 yards with 1 touchdown.
Smith also had 3 catches for 33 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown, which meant he was responsible for more than 68 percent of Arkansas’ total offense before leaving with what Petrino said is “probably a concussion, which is scary because I’m not sure how long he’ll be out with that.
“ It’s a shame. He was playng his heart out, doing a great job of running with the ball and catching the ball.”
The rest of the Razorbacks ’ offense, in contrast, sputtered for most of a night that ended in a 21-20 loss.
Quarterback Casey Dick completed just 11 of 29 passes for a season-worst 94 yards with 2 interceptions to go along with the touchdown to Smith. Freshman DeAnthony Curtis replaced Smith and gained 16 yards on 9 carries, and also lost a fumble that led to the first of Kentucky’s two fourth-quarter touchdown drives.
“It’s unfortunate that he put the ball on the ground, but that was definitely a team loss,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said of Curtis’ fumble. “We all made our mistakes. It’s definitely not one guy. It’s all of us that have to take the blame for that one.”
Arkansas’ passing woes weren’t limited to Dick, who also was the victim of a handful of dropped passes.
“At times we didn’t get open, and at times when we were open, we didn’t hit them,” Paul Petrino said. “You just can’t be what we were in the passing game, especially when Mike’s out of there... and come away with a win.”
Even when Smith was in the game, particularly in the first quarter, Arkansas’ offense failed to make the most of its scoring opportunities.
The Razorbacks were inside the Wildcats 40-yard line on their opening drive when Dick threw his first interception, and Smith fumbled later in the quarter — with Arkansas leading 7-0 — on third-and-goal from the Kentucky 1.
Arkansas also had to settle for a field goal, and a 17-0 lead, after getting a first-and-goal early in the third quarter. The Razorbacks also had a touchdown negated by penalty in the fourth quarter, and ultimately settled for another field goal.
Paul Petrino said those turnovers and stalled drives were what “really killed us.”
“You can’t do that against good teams or it comes back to haunt you,” Petrino said.
“We had enough chances to put them away, we didn’t do it, and that’s how we got ourselves beat.”
It also didn’t help that the Razorbacks were forced to finish the game without Smith, who has established himself as the team’s go-to offensive player.
“We’re not pointing fingers by any means,” center Jonathan Luigs said, “but it would’ve been nice to have Michael out there.”
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
