For the briefest moment Saturday, it looked like LSU might have fallen into Arkansas' trap. The Hogs were dominant for the first part of the game. taking a 14-0 lead in the second quarter on a great drive from Bobby Petrino's offense and a fumble return for a touchdown by Alonzo Highsmith.
Then came the last five minutes of the half. In the space of the first two of those minutes, LSU scored twice to eliminate Arkansas' lead -- a Tyrann Mathieu 92-yard punt return officially erasing the advantage. With less than a minute to go, Jordan Jefferson hit Russell Shepard on a 9-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a halftime lead.
LSU never looked back. Zack Hocker hit a 29-yard field goal to pull Arkansas within four before the Bayou Bengals ripped off 20 straight points, turning what had been a competitive game into a rout. In all, the Tigers would pile up 494 yards of total offense, almost twice the yardage Arkansas put together on the day. Those 254 yards were far less than the Hogs' season average of 463.
In fact, the LSU running game on its own -- with 286 yards on 46 carries -- outgained the entire Arkansas offense. Tyler Wilson was solid if not spectacular for the Razorbacks -- 14-of-22 for 107 yards, a touchdown and an interception. But the already-troubled running game completely collapsed; the Hogs had just 41 yards on the ground, an average of 1.7 a carry, and the longest run was a 14-yard carry by Wilson.
Which just played again into the narrative of the season: There are two great teams in the SEC, and then there is everyone else. Arkansas will finish the regular season with 10 wins, and Georgia and South Carolina have the chance to do the same tomorrow. But until Friday, most observers would have only put Arkansas in the same neighborhood as the SEC West titans. That perception was smashed to pieces this afternoon in Baton Rouge.