Williams has best game yet
FAYETTEVILLE — After failing to catch a pass for the first time in the previous week’s game at Kentucky, Razorbacks tight end D. J. Williams was back in a big way Saturday night against Ole Miss.
Williams, a sophomore from Little Rock, had career highs of 10 catches for 129 yards in the Razorbacks’ 23-21 loss to the Rebels. His previous career bests were six catches (vs. Florida ) and 124 receiving yards (vs. Louisiana-Monroe ).
“He had a great week of practice,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “He came back and practiced real fast. I think his health was better, his speed was better.
“ He’s a guy that has the capability of making a lot of plays for us.”
While Williams has started every game this season, he was slowed by a knee injury.
“I think what you saw was a more healthy D. J. tonight because he was breaking tackles and making yards after the catch,” Petrino said. “He really had his quickness back.
“ A week ago he was playing on toughness.”
Williams set the tone for his big game on Arkansas’ third offensive play, when he caught a short pass from Casey Dick, broke two tackles and turned it into a 41-yard gain.
Smith starts A week after being unable to finish the game at Kentucky because of a concussion, Arkansas tailback Michael Smith started against Ole Miss. Smith rushed 19 times for 129 yards and 1 touchdown and caught 3 passes for 31 yards. “He looked pretty good,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “You can’t say enough about how big his heart is and how tough he is.” Smith said he didn’t know until Friday night that he’d ready to play. “My legs felt fresh because I didn’t do much obviously this week,” Smith said. “But there was maybe a little confusion out there.
“ I just need to go back home and get some rest and I think I’ll be better next week.” Hotty Toddy, Houston
After Ole Miss went ahead 23-14 on a field goal with 1: 45 left, the Rebels fans in Reynolds Razorback Stadium began chanting “Houston Nutt ! Houston Nutt !”
That was their way of backing their first-year coach, who held the same job at Arkansas the previous 10 seasons before resigning under pressure.
Arkansas fans responded to the Nutt chant by booing and chanting for their new coach, Bobby Petrino. After Arkansas pulled within 23-21 and recovered an onside kick, the Ole Miss fans stopped chanting Nutt’s name. But they resumed the chant in the final seconds when the Rebels had possession and ran out the clock.
Silent treatment It’s traditional for head coaches of the opposing teams to chat briefly at midfield during pregame warmups, but Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino and Ole Miss’ Houston Nutt didn’t meet up. They did shake hands after the game, but didn’t appear to exchange many words.
Big crowd Saturday’s attendance was announced at 74, 168, the fifthlargest in Reynolds Razorback Stadium history. The largest was 76, 728 against Tennessee on Nov. 11, 2006. “The crowd was great,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “Our fans have been great [all season ]. “ That’s one thing I’ve been totally impressed with, all the support that they’ve given me, all the support they’ve given our players, how positive everybody’s been. “ I know these are tough losses on the fans, too. Everybody wants to win, but I’ve been very, very impressed at how much Razorback fans have been behind us.” Another early miss For the third time this season, the Razorbacks missed a field goal on their first or second possession of the game that would have given them a 3-0 lead or tied the score. Alex Tejada missed attempts against Louisiana-Monroe and Texas, and Shay Haddock missed a 34-yard attempt Saturday night.
Nutt boys Ole Miss Coach Houston Nutt was joined on the Rebels’ sideline by all three of his brothers: Danny, Dickey and Dennis. Mitchell back Arkansas senior defensive tackle Ernest Mitchell played off the bench after missing the previous three games recovering from knee surgery. Mitchell’s last game had been at Texas. Freshman Zach Stadther made his fourth consecutive start since replacing Mitchell.
Coaching ties Houston Nutt wasn’t the only coach who returned Saturday night to familiar territory. Ole Miss assistants who played at Arkansas included James Shibest, Kim Dameron and Ron Dickerson Jr. Shibest also was one of four former Razorbacks assistants who now are on the Ole Miss staff along with Mike Markuson, Tracy Rocker and Chris Vaughn. Another Ole Miss assistant, Derrick Nix, worked for Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino last season with the Atlanta Falcons.
Thumbs up To Michael Smith, who again carried the Arkansas offense with 160 combined rushing and receiving yards. To sophomore linebacker Aaron Fenton for recovering an onside kick at the Arkansas 47 with 1: 07 left to give the Razorbacks a chance to win the game. Thumbs down To Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick for throwing an interception that handed Ole Miss a field goal on the last play of the first half. To Shay Haddock for missing a 34-yard field goal on the opening drive that would have given the Razorbacks a 3-0 lead. Information for this article was contributed by Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
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