FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ? The Arkansas duo of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones were everything the preseason hype said they were. For the Troy Trojans in the 2007 season opener at Donald W Reynolds Razorback Stadium, the duo was too much to overcome as the Razorbacks pulled away from Troy in the second half for a 46-26 victory.
McFadden, the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, and Jones, his junior running mate, combined to rush for 280 yards and two touchdowns, and both added scores in other ways for the 21st ranked Razorbacks. McFadden threw for a 42-yard touchdown to go with 151 yards rushing. Felix had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to go with 129 rushing yards.
The Trojans had plenty of opportunities in the game, but struggled to put together anything consistent on offense. Quarterback Omar Haugabook completed 15 of his career-high 43 pass attempts for 204 yards and a touchdown, Troy tallied 162 yards rushing in the game, 38 of which came from Haugabook. Freshman Jamie Hampton led all rushers with three carries for 72 yards.
"We probably match up decently with Arkansas, with the exception of two guys, McFadden and Jones," Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. "I still think Arkansas has bigger, finer-looking, players than us, but if you take those two cats out of the game, then we are right in the game."
Arkansas wasted no time on its opening drive, giving the ball to junior Jones on the first play of the game for a 40-yard gain. McFadden followed with strong runs up the middle as well, but the Trojan defense stiffened, forcing a 35-yard field goal by Alex Tejada and a 3-0 Razorbacks lead with 12:55 to go in the opening quarter.
After the Troy offense failed to produce a first down on its opening possession, Arkansas got great field position following a short punt by Adrian Vera. The Razorbacks, however, were unable to take full advantage, and stalled out inside the Trojans' 10 yard line, settling for a 23-yard Tejada field goal for a 6-0 lead with 5:44 left in the quarter.
The Trojans had a golden opportunity taken away later in the quarter when junior Sherrod Martin delivered a perfectly-timed crushing hit on Razorbacks punt returner Reggie Fish, forcing a fumble that Troy recovered inside the Arkansas 20. The play was nullified, however, when Martin was flagged for interfering with the opportunity to make a catch, giving the ball back to Arkansas, at the 33 yard line.
The Razorbacks took advantage of the situation, using seven plays to cover the 67 yards to the end zone, with McFadden carrying the last 12 yards on the first play of the second quarter for a touchdown. The Tejada kick gave Arkansas a 13-0 lead.
The Trojans finally got their offense on track after Leodis McKelvin's kickoff return set up the offense at the 31 yard line. Troy's eight-play march to the end zone included a pair of flags against the Arkansas defense for pass interference, the second of which was declined after senior Gary Banks hauled in a perfect Omar Haugabook fade pass at the Arkansas four.
Troy needed just two more plays, both runs by Kenny Cattouse, to reach the end zone for the first time in 2007. Greg Whibbs added the PAT, cutting the Arkansas lead to 13-7.
The Trojans quickly gave those point back when Jones took the ensuing kickoff back 90 yards for a score, upping the Razorbacks' lead to 20-7 with 11:25 left in the first half. It was the first kickoff return for a score against Troy since Minnesota's Laurence Maroney went 88-yards on Sept. 6, 2003.
Troy came right back, using an 11-play drive to cover 83 yards. Haugabook connected with his old junior college teammate, Gerald Tate, for an 18-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Arkansas lead to 20-14 with 8:57 left in the half.
Troy had a chance to take the lead going into halftime, but saw a golden scoring chance vanish when Haugabook's pass, intended for Zack Marcum, was intercepted deep in Razorbacks' territory.
The two teams traded punts before Arkansas mounted another scoring drive. The Razorbacks went back to McFadden, who carried Arkansas to the Troy 11 before the Trojans' defense stiffened again, forcing Tejada back onto the field for a 28-yard field goal. With 44 seconds left in the half, the Razorbacks held a 23-14 lead.
Troy did not go quietly into the intermission, however. Freshman DuJuan Harris made his first college play a memorable one, returning the ensuing kickoff 40 yards, giving the Trojans a chance to put points on the board before the half.
Troy was able to pick up 14 yards on five plays before Whibbs came on and nailed a 42-yard field goal on the final play of the half, cutting the Razorbacks' lead to 23-17 at the break.
After halftime, the two teams traded punts before Arkansas got back on the board by going back to their reliable tandem of McFadden and Jones. The Razorbacks picked up three first downs before Jones broke around right end for a 44-yard score with 6:48 left in the quarter. The Tejada PAT upped the Arkansas lead to 30-17.
Arkansas padded its lead when McFadden showed off his arm, throwing 42 yards to Cosby Tuck on an option pass for a touchdown, pushing the Razorbacks' lead to 37-17.
The Trojans dodged a bullet just moments later when, after failing to make a first down on fourth and short near midfield, Troy sophomore Boris Lee forced a fumble that Marcus Richardson recovered.
After failing to move the ball, the Trojans were forced to punt and Vera's 37-yard effort was fumbled by Michael Smith and recovered by Troy's Sean Dawkins at the Razorbacks' 27 yard line. The Trojans managed to close the gap when Whibbs connected from 32 yards out, but Arkansas still led 37-20 near the end of the third quarter.
The Razorbacks added to their lead again in the fourth quarter, using a 13-play drive to move 54 yards for Tejada's fourth field goal of the night, this one a 30-yarder with 9:47 left to give the Hogs a 40-20 lead.
A late touchdown from Smith, with 6:45 left in the game, increased the Hog's lead to 46-20.
Freshman quarterback Jamie Hampton's 56-yard run put the Trojans in position to add to their total late, and they did. Freshman Tanner Jones scored his first touchdown on a three-yard rush on the final play of the evening.
Game Notes
* Andrew Davis and Leodis McKelvin celebrated their birthdays today.
* Omar Haugabook, Greg Whibbs, Gary Banks and Leodis McKelvin were game captains.
* Arkansas won the toss and elected to receive.
* Jerrel Jernigan, Adrian Vera, Travis Boyd, Dion Small, Wesley Potter, Cameron Sheffield, Chris Bradwell started for the first time against Arkansas.
* Sean Dawkins and Sherrod Martin saw action for the first time since 2005 after both players missed the entire 2006 season with surgeries.
* Austin Silvoy caught his first career pass in the first quarter for a 13-yard gain.
* Jerrel Jernigan caught his first career pass in the second quarter.
* Troy's touchdown in the second quarter was its first points scored against Arkansas. Arkansas won the previous meeting in 2002 by a score of 23-0.
* The crowd of 73,926 is the ninth largest crowd to ever watch Troy play.
* Troy gave up it's first kick return for a touchdown to Felix Jones (90 yards) since 2003. That year Laurence Maroney (Minnesota) returned one for 88 yards.
* Gerald Tate caught his first career touchdown in the second quarter on an 18 yards pass.
* First play for DuJuan Harris was a 66-yard kickoff return near the end of the second half.
* Greg Whibbs first field goal attempt from 42 yards was good.
* Travis Boyd caught his first career pass for a gain of 14 yards early in the third quarter.
* Darren McFadden and Felix Jones both rushed for over 100 yards. The last time two rushers went for over 100 yards was on September 23 in a 56-0 loss at Nebraska.
* Tanner Jones made his first collegiate appearance in the fourth quarter.
