FAYETTEVILLE — The feel-good moment was Arkansas receiver Joe Adams’ successful - and impressive - return from a minor stroke.

The surprising play was Broderick Green’s school-record 99-yard touchdown run through Eastern Michigan’s woeful run defense.

But somewhere lost in the shuffle of Arkansas’ 63-27 win Saturday against the Eagles in Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday was quarterback Ryan Mallett’s performance.

Mallett, who struggled with his accuracy and e◊ciency in Arkansas’ losses to Florida and Ole Miss, was almost perfect Saturday. He went 10-for-10 in the fi rst half, completed his first 11 passes and only missed two receivers the entire night.

Mallett finished 14-of-16 for 248 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Mallett also rushed for a season-high 42 yards, but left an even bigger impression with his arm against the Eagles.

“I didn’t feel like I had missed,” Mallett said after the game. “I felt pretty good about the first half, but I didn’t know that I didn’t miss at all.”

It was a good sign for the Razorbacks. Mallett’s completion percentage had been a problem in the losses. He was a combined 24 of 61 (39.3 percent) against Florida and Ole Miss.

Poor pass protection and dropped passes didn’t help during the stretch. But plenty of blame fell on Mallett, who often missed targets.

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said Mallett worked hard to improve during practice leading up to the Eastern Michigan game. He said Mallett lost his concentration one series in the second half but was solid overall against the Eagles.

“Ryan executed real well,” Petrino said. “I didn’t like the way he started the secondhalf. I thought he had two plays where he lost his concentration.

“But for the most part, I thought he focused hard all week long in practice and executed well.”

Backup Tyler Wilson earned his most playing time since the season opener, but Mallett was under center for each one of Arkansas’ o◊ensive touchdowns.

In all, Mallett played eight series Saturday. The Razorbacks scored touchdowns on seven of them.

“It was good to have a high completion day,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “I thought he played well. He did a good job. We had one series with Ryan in there in the second half that we didn’t go score and that was it.”

Mallett, who ranks ninthin the nation in passing e◊- ciency (153.1 rating), has thrown for 2,148 yards with 18 touchdowns and three interceptions. He has not thrown an interception in three straight games.

Mallett’s assessment of his performance was about as expected: “I did OK,” he said.

However, the sophomore believes the offense took a step forward after struggling of late. He’s hoping it will make a difference against South Carolina.

“It gives us a lot of confidence going into that game, especially after the last two weeks and two tough losses,” Mallett said. “I thought that we showed up (Saturday) and we played well and we executed and we just need to keep executing.”

Sports, Pages 10 on 11/02/2009

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