NFL Draft News & Analysis

Florida-Arkansas grades: O-line paves way for Razorbacks win

Arkansas Razorbacks 31, Florida Gators 10        

Here are the top-graded players and biggest takeaways from Arkansas’ 31-10 win over Florida:

Arkansas Razorbacks

Quarterback grade: Austin Allen 54.8

Allen’s success and Arkansas’ win was far more about feeding the Razorback playmakers than anything Allen did. Of his 238 passing yards, 176 came on throws between the hashes less than 10 yards downfield. On all other targets Allen went 4-10 for 62 yards. For the day 74.4 percent of Allen’s passing yards came after the catch.

Top offensive grades:

C Frank Ragnow 89.8

WR Drew Morgan 79.4

RB Rawleigh Williams III 79.1

RB Devway Whaley 71.1

TE Jack Kraus 66.6

Ragnow paves the way

If there’s been a more impressive single game from a center all season, I certainly haven’t seen it. He didn’t allow a single pressure in 32 pass blocking snaps, but that’s not why Arkansas won. Frank Ragnow made multiple key blocks pulling to the edge or cutting off linebackers on Arkansas’ long runs. Even his late holding penalty was a near perfect block that should never have been flagged with his hands inside the shoulder pads. It was the type of performances that will be sure to open the eyes of some NFL scouts.

Top defensive grades:

DT Jeremiah Ledbetter 83.4

S Josh Liddell 83.3

DE Randy Ramsey 78.0

DT Bijhon Jackson 77.4

DT McTelvin Agim 77.3

Ledbetter with career game

With Deatrich Wise Jr. limited to a season-low 20 snaps, Jeremiah Ledbetter took over the production load for the defensive line with his highest-graded game of his career. It was a complete effort though to hold Florida without an offensive touchdown. Five different players recorded multiple pressures and they missed a total of four tackles as a team.

Florida Gators

Quarterback grade: Luke Del Rio 57.7

The pick-six early in the game may not have been Del Rio’s fault, but the general inability to move the ball the rest of the game certainly was. The Florida QB had inaccurate throw after inaccurate throw with the most egregious example being a flubbed post route with 11:28 left in the second quarter that was about 10 yards underthrown and picked. 77.7 percent of his yards on the day came after the catch.

Top offensive grades:

WR Ahmad Fulwood 72.2

WR Josh Hammond 70.4

WR Brandon Powell 68.8

RB Jordan Scarlett 66.6

RB Mark Thompson 66.4

Offensive line overpowered

The play-calling tried to protect the front five for most of the day, but when the chips were on the line and Florida had to pass to comeback, the line couldn’t hold up. They allowed pressure on 36.6 percent of their dropbacks and many of that coming quickly. Not a single offensive lineman finished with an above-average grade.

Top defensive grades:

CB Duke Dawson 86.7

DT Caleb Brantley 82.0

DT Taven Bryan 80.7

S Nick Washington 76.9

DT Joey Ivie 75.2

Uncharacteristic struggles in coverage

One of Florida’s biggest advantages heading into this game should have been their lockdown secondary. Arkansas countered by targeting the Gators linebackers underneath. Florida’s linebackers combined to give up 132 yards on 5-7 targets while the rest of the defense yielded 106 yards on 9-16 targets.

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