The Good

• Finally the Hogs had the complete game we’ve all been looking forward to seeing.  The Hogs perfect execution of great game plans — on both sides of the ball — was truly fun to watch.  The offense scored on four of the five first half possessions, while the defensive focus to stop Gamecock running back Marcus Lattimore (11 rushes, 30 yards) was the difference in the game.
• Elton Ford’s stop of the second quarter fake punt was the turning point on Saturday.  Only down 10 points at the time, Steve Spurrier’s failed fake attempt sealed the deal, as the Hogs drove 38 yards for a Knile Davis 21-yard touchdown to make it 24-7.
• Russellville’s own Zach Hocker is money in the bank.  Going 2-for-2 on field goals Saturday, Hocker has now hit 10 out of 11 (90.9 percent) for the season.  His 51-yard field goal in the third quarter was the longest field goal by a Razorback since Kendall Trainor’s 58-yard kick in 1988 (Miami).
• It was really good to see players stepping up to replace injured starters.  With Greg Childs injury last week, more was going to be expected of Cobi Hamilton and he delivered (111 receiving yards, TD).  And after the first quarter leg injury to starter Ramon Broadway, reserve junior cornerback Greg Gatson turned in the best game of his Razorback career.  Gatson notched five total tackles, including four solo, had two passes broken up and his first career interception.

The Bad

• The Hogs did little on Saturday to stop the season-long flood of yellow flags.  The 11 penalties for 90 yards were fewer than the previous week against Vandy (13-130).  But they continue to be a thorn.  Three personal fouls, including two by Andru Stewart on special teams, accounted for half of the yards.
• The late fumble and gift touchdown by Tyler Wilson was a bad call.  While we’re sure Coach Petrino was just trying to get Wilson some stats late in the fourth quarter, with 3:52 to play and a 41-13 lead, run the ball and take your win.  The final score was definitely not indicative of how lopsided the game truly was.

The Ugly

• The season-long ugly calls by the SEC refs continued on Saturday.  Even the NFL doesn’t have the “in the grasp” rule anymore.  (If it did, the Patriots might’ve won Super Bowl XLII.)  But apparently SEC referee Tom Ritter still thinks it should be called.  Fortunately for the Hogs, Carolina didn’t capitalize after Gamecock kicker Spencer Lanning hit the left upright from 29 yards out.

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

TipsterHog also contributed to this post.

The Good

• “Balanced offense” and “win all three phases — offense, defense and special teams.”  These are two things that we’ve heard Coach Petrino say numerous times.  But Saturday was really the first time that both of those things have happened in the same game since Petrino arrived in Fayetteville.  It’s definitely a winning combination that this team needs to learn how to repeat.
• Gus Malzahn must have nightmares about Dennis Johnson.  Just like last year against Malzahn and Tulsa, a big kickoff return by Johnson helped swing the momentum back after Auburn had closed the gap to 11 points in the third quarter.
• Welcome back Michael Smith and D.J. Williams!  As Chris Bahn wrote in his post-game column, if anyone thought that opposing defenses had ‘figured out’ how to stop Smith and Williams…think again.
• Overall, the secondary play was improved, with safety Elton Ford and cornerback Andru Stewart shining on Saturday.  Even though Ford had to sit out part of the game with an injury, he still had nine total tackles, including seven solo.  Stewart had his best game as a Razorback, with a season-high seven solo tackles and a forced fumble that led to the Hogs’ third touchdown of the day.
• And speaking of turnovers, the Hogs did a nice job capitalizing on their opponent’s mistakes, scoring 17 points off Auburn’s three turnovers.

The Bad

• Very disconcerting news about Joe Adams suffering a ‘mild’ stroke earlier in the week.  All Hog fans wish him the best for a speedy recovery.  Adams, who was on the sideline and apparently feeling better on Saturday, watched as Greg Childs (85 receiving yards, TD), D.J. Williams and Lucas Miller helped pick up the slack in his absence.

The Ugly

• Not much ugly on Saturday except for a botched extra point attempt and the third quarter defense against Auburn.  The Tigers racked up 20 points and 207 rushing yards in the quarter, including a 60-yard jaunt by running back Ben Tate.  Safety Anthony Leon had a shot to make the tackle, but took one of the worst angles we’ve seen this year and failed to even get a hand on Tate.
• We’re absolutely sure that the talent level it takes for pianist Jura Margulis to play “Stars and Stripes Forever” is something that only a few people in the world can do.  But can we maybe save that virtuoso performance for halftime of a ‘big game’ like, say…Eastern Michigan?  We’re thinking Jura won’t care.  And instead, we replace Jura on the halftime program with…hmmm…maybe ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC blaring over the loudspeakers?

Walking on Sunshine also contributed to this post.

The Good

• Casey was the man.  He played a part in all four scores and set a career high with 318 passing yards.  We don’t win that game without him.
• Some of the freshman defensive players can really hit and hit hard.  Linebacker Jelani Smith completely blew up WIU running back Herb Donaldson and forced a fumble that stalled the Leathernecks first possession.
• As Bobby Petrino might say, the field looked ‘tight.’  The classic logo at midfield is just the right size and is flanked nicely by the SEC logos.

The Bad

• The protection breakdowns in the offensive line, an assumed strength of this team, was surprising and disappointing.  The sacks and negative plays allowed doomed several first half drives.
• As feared, the defensive front showed no signs of being able to stop the run.  Granted, Herb Donaldson was as good as advertised (35 carries for 157).  But still, we got pushed around pretty good.
• Several kickoffs by Jeremy Davis barely made it to the 20-yard line.  We need to try Tejada kicking off ASAP.
• Pile up those red pants on the 50-yard line and burn the damn things!  We’ve had enough of them in 2008.

The Ugly

• Elton Ford’s fumble on the opening kickoff immediately took the crowd out of the game.  It also set a tone of tentativeness by the Hogs that lasted well into the second quarter.
• I lost count of the dropped passes and dropped interceptions.  I know the humidity was really high, but it sure didn’t seem to affect the Leathernecks as much as the home team.
• When the going got tough, London Crawford took it to the house…just not the end zone.  The oft-injured receiver got his ‘bell rung’ on a fourth quarter kickoff return and was later carted off the field as a precaution.  Coach Petrino couldn’t specify on Sunday when he thought Crawford would be able to return to practice.