The Traveler

Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Chris Bryan Felix Jones avoids an opponent during the Razorbacks' game Saturday against Tennessee=Chattanooga.

LITTLE ROCK-Going into Saturday night's game with Tennessee-Chattanooga at War Memorial Stadium, it was apparent that Arkansas would look to establish the ground game just as it had in its four preceding games.

As usual, the running game did not disappoint, as the Razorbacks accounted for 257 yards between the trenches, the lowest output of the season but enough for a 34-15 win.

Junior running back Felix Jones continued his torrid pace on the ground by gaining 141 yards on just 13 carries, while finding paydirt twice.

Forced to deal with the pregame hoopla surrounding whether or not backfield mate Darren McFadden would break the school's all-time rushing record in his hometown,  Jones earned his 11th career 100-yard rushing game.

With the 141 yards he gained, Jones also tied former standout running backs Cedric Cobbs and Fred Talley for fourth all-time on the school's rushing chart.

It was also Jones's fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season. He averaged 10.9 yards per carry on the evening, increasing the NCAA-best 10.4 yards per carry average that he came into Saturday night's game with.

Jones's most impressive run on the night came with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter. The junior took a handoff from quarterback Casey Dick and raced untouched over the right side for a 59-yard score, completely faking out a defender as he headed for the end zone.

"I owe it all to the linemen up front," Jones said. "They really created a big hole for me and all I had to do was run."

That touchdown jaunt extended the Hog lead to 15, and helped to create some space between the two teams, giving the Razorbacks the momentum they needed to close the door on Chattanooga.

Jones' second score came at the 13:43 mark in the fourth quarter. He slipped between a couple of Moc defenders from their 2-yard line to give the Hogs a 31-15 lead that they would not relinquish.

Jones was impressive on the night whenever he touched the ball. He would take a hand-off and dart outside, and was not afraid to stiff-arm or juke whatever defender crossed his path.  That kind of tenacity, coupled with the yards he was gaining, was enough for the Hogs to feel confident in their offense.

Along with his two scoring runs, Jones helped set up another score.

With the Razorbacks only leading 7-2 as the first quarter came toward a close, Jones took a handoff from Dick and darted 33 yards up the middle for a key first down. That run propelled a first-down scamper from McFadden and then a 24-yard touchdown pass from Dick to senior Peyton Hillis.

"We started off a little slow, but Coach [Nutt] came and talked to us at halftime and told us we were slacking," Jones said. "It was tough to hear that from your coach, when we knew we were better than them [UTC]. So we got our minds right and came out and played a lot better in the second half."

A chorus of boos could be heard throughout the game, but Jones disagreed that the performance was because of bad coaching.

"That [the Hogs' play] was on the players," Jones said.  "We weren't as focused [in the first half] but we went out in the second half and won the game."

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