The Good

• Is there any question who the SEC Special Teams (and maybe overall?) Player of the Week will be?  Joe Adams’ jump cut on his first 61-yard punt return touchdown was only topped by his 69-yard wild, zig-zagging effort in the third quarter.  Adams is a playmaker…plain and simple.  His impact will be felt in many games again this year.
• Both quarterbacks were ultra-efficient staistically considering it was game one of the season.  Tyler Wilson (18-24, 260 yards, 2 TDs) and Brandon Mitchell (10-11, 104 passing yards) combined to hit 80 percent of their passes and posted an outstanding 10.4 yards per attempt.  Excellent start.
• Ten true freshmen made their Razorback debut on Saturday night.  That included offensive tackle Mitch Smothers of Springdale, who became the first true freshman to start the first game of the season on the offensive line in school history.
• Honorable Mention:  Newcomers RB Kody Walker and LB Alonzo Highsmith looked good.  Walker ran hard on his goal line attempts and Highsmith was very active and a sure tackler.  …  Speaking of sure tackling, the Hogs’ defense showed their experience and missed very few tackles for the game.  This despite the reduced tackling we saw during the open fall practices.

The Bad

• Brandon Mitchell’s third quarter scramble and fumble was one he’d surely like to have back.  The Bears quickly capitalized on the next play with a 33-yard TD pass to end the shutout.  If Mitchell is going to regularly have a run/pass option, ball security has to be paramount.
• Despite the undersized Bears defense, the Hogs failed to get the running game rolling.  The Missouri State defensive game plan did focus heavily on stopping the run, forcing Bobby Petrino to adjust accordingly.  But a 3.1 yards per carry night (33 attempts for 102 yards) is not going to cut it.
• Honorable Mention:  Zach Hocker missed the first extra point of his career after hitting 56 in a row.  …  Three sacks given up by the offensive line.  Only two more games before Alabama to work the pass protection kinks out.  …  The pay-per-view broadcast had a few annoying audio issues and the live video stream went intermittently offline for some fans during the game.

The Ugly

• We’re not sure what was going on during the Hogs’ first possession of the game.  And we’re not sure the players or coaches did either.  In a rare occurrence for a Bobby Petrino coached offense, the Razorbacks were forced to call two timeouts due to problems getting the right personnel on the field.  The confusion certainly brought back a few bad memories of the previous coaching regime.
• Honorable Mention:  Tyler Wilson scrambling, flipping over and landing on his head.  Uh…let’s not do that again, okay?  …  Too many penalties again (8 for 76 yards) including two personal foul penalties.  …  Joe Adams’ two punt return touchdowns only made #7 on the ESPN Top 10 Plays of the Day.  As Coach Petrino would say, “Are you kidding me???”

Of course, we can’t possibly mention everything that was “Good, Bad and Ugly.”  What did we leave out?

Walking on Sunshine and HogBaller also contributed to this post.

The Good

• On a sun-splashed day in Fayetteville, Bobby Petrino got his wish.  Earlier in the week, Petrino had asked for 30,000 fans to fill up Razorback Stadium for the ESPN audience.  Hog fans delivered and then some with an estimated 42,000 filling the stands.  Count us as present and impressed.
• It was very good to see junior running back Dennis Johnson back out there toting the rock.  While DJ didn’t break any long ones during the scrimmage (14 carries, 56 yards), his change of pace running style is a welcome addition/return for this offense.
• With former All-American safety Ken Hamlin watching from the sidelines, senior safety Tramain Thomas showed out.  Thomas, who had an excellent spring overall, had a great day again on Saturday recording two interceptions.  The first thwarted a touchdown inside the 5-yard line, while the second INT came on a tipped pass in the second quarter.
• The post-spring depth chart at offensive tackle should be interesting.  Anthony Oden, Jason Peacock, Brey Cook and Grant Freeman all fared well this spring.  Oden and Peacock, in particular, were praised by Coach Petrino after the game for their efforts against defensive ends Jake Bequette and Colton Nash.
• Sophomore transfer defensive tackle Robert Thomas was unblockable at times.  Playing for the White team, Thomas recorded four total tackles, including a sack.  His quickness and ability to rush the passer from his inside spot will put him in the mix come fall.

The Bad

• The words that came to our mind when watching Brandon Mitchell on Saturday: rattled, shaken and nervous.  Definitely not the kind of outing we expected to see from the sophomore backup quarterback.  Mitchell’s performance for the Red team (11-for-29, 85 yards, 3 interceptions) was uncharacteristic given what we’ve seen from him this spring.  So while we’re sure Brandon is disappointed, we’re going to give him a ‘mulligan’ and say it’s not a trend just yet.

The Ugly

• One troublesome trend that carried over from the Sugar Bowl and into the Spring game were dropped passes.  The drops plagued the Hogs’ receivers — especially the Red team — and added to that squad’s frustration and inability to sustain any drives.  It was a big disappointment from a group that many expect to be the best receiving corps in the country next season.

Of course, we can’t possibly mention everything that was “Good, Bad and Ugly.”  What did we leave out?

The Good

• Wow.  A big “welcome to the party” to young guns Brandon Mitchell and Jacoby Walker!  No surprise that Mitchell could zip the ball.  His 151 total yards on 11 plays (6 rushes, 5 passes) speaks to his big-play abilities.  But Walker, who should really still be in high school, flashed his great promise by posting 207 total yards and 2 TDs in leading the White to victory.
• In years past, it might have been impossible to split up the team and have two equal squads that could play a competitive game.  Not so now.  The depth seen at most all positions was impressive, and tells you how far Bobby Petrino has brought this program in a short amount of time.
• Like last year, the defense showed the propensity to wreck havoc while forcing turnovers.  The 11 sacks and three fumble recoveries tells us that this squad will be opportunistic once again in 2010.  Defensive ends Demario Ambrose (6-5, 270) and Ryan Calender (6-7, 241) both led the way with two sacks each.
• Defensively, middle linebacker Terrell Williams (6-3, 237) and defensive tackle Patrick Jones (6-1, 309) really stood out.  Williams had countless big hits (7 tackles), including one on the goal-line versus Ronnie Wingo, Jr.  Jones was hard to move up front and managed 6 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble to boot.

The Bad

• After having near perfect conditions for most of the spring practices, the weather didn’t cooperate much Saturday.  The intermittent showers that plagued the Razorfest activities during the afternoon carried over during the game, and likely kept the big crowd away.  The UofA attendance estimate of 30,000 was laughable to say the least.
• The kicking game seemed a little shaky Saturday night.  Despite the fact that the defense wasn’t allowed to rush, we saw a missed extra point, one that hit the upright and a punting game that was average at best (38.0 avg. on 8 attempts).  Look for incoming kickers Eduardo Camara (5-8, 160, Cedar Hill, TX) and Russellville’s own Zach Hocker (6-0, 170) to challenge in the fall.

The Ugly

• Improvement was evident on the defensive side of the ball.  But on Saturday, that didn’t translate to stopping the “chunk plays” as the coaches like to refer to them.  11 plays of 20-yards or more were surrendered by both sides combined, including plays of 88 (TD), 50, 69, 38, 31(TD), 47 and 44(TD).