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Halftime Quick Take: Arkansas dominates first half against Nicholls State, leads 56-0
By Drew Laing
Published:
This one hasn’t even been close, folks.
Arkansas leads Nicholls State 56-0 at the half in an absolute blowout.
The big story has been the Arkansas offense, which has racked up 425 yards, including 326 rushing yards. The scoring starter early for the Hogs, who reached pay dirt on both of its first two plays. Wide receiver Keon Hatcher blew open a reverse play on the first snap, running largely untouched for 82 yards.
Running back Alex Collins followed that up with a 33-yard touchdown run of his own with barely anyone standing in his way. Quarterback Brandon Allen has even gotten in on the action in the first half with a beautiful deep ball to a wide open Keon Hatcher midway through the second quarter. Thanks to a nifty move by Hatcher, he added a second touchdown on his day. In just two touches, Hatcher gained 132 yards in two huge plays for the Hogs.
Arkansas’ 35 points in the first quarter exceeds the point total for any game last year for the Hogs, who scored 34 points against UL Lafayette to open their 2013 season.
On the defensive side of things, it’s been just as dominant for the Hogs, who have kept Nicholls State virtually shut down with the exception of the first two plays of the game. After the first quarter, the Colonels had gained only five yards of offense. Defensive ends Trey Flowers and Taiwan Johnson have been very disruptive in the backfield, terrorizing Nicholls State quarterback Kalen Henderson.
Arkansas played 11 true freshmen in the first half, something which head coach Bret Bielema hinted would happen earlier in the week.
“I’m happy the way the guys are executing,” Bielema said at halftime. “We have some guys that are very talented…I love the way these guys are flying around.”
Simply put, the talent discrepancy between these two teams is about as wide as the Grand Canyon. Arkansas has certainly been able to build some confidence early on both sides of the football.
With a 56-0 lead at half, they’ll look to play a lot of the backups and younger guys in the second half, which will go a long way in developing more depth for Bielema and his coaching staff.
Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.
