FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. _ Coach Jim McElwain's Florida Gators entered Saturday No. 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings and atop the SEC East standings.
But to truly be relevant and respected, McElwain said, the Gators had to win a big game on the road.
Instead, the best in the SEC East could not handle a team in the bottom half of the SEC West standings.
A struggling Arkansas squad actually looked like the team with something at stake Saturday during a 31-10 win. Pride ultimately trumped everything the Gators had on the line, including an outside shot at spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
With an announced crowd of 74,432 rocking Razorback Stadium, the Gators struggled from the opening snap and never recovered.
Florida's SEC-leading defense could not contain an offense that managed just a field goal during its last game. During that 56-3 loss Oct. 15 at Auburn, Arkansas allowed 632 yards. Yet when the third quarter ended, the Gators had as many punts (seven) as first downs (seven) and 142 yards of offense.
Forget touchdowns.
Until midway through the fourth quarter with the result effectively decided, the Gators did not have a drive of more than five plays or longer than 36 yards _ and that was against a prevent defense at the end of the first half.
The Gators' only points until a meaningless 49-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro with 6:41 remaining were courtesy of second-quarter pick-six by Duke Dawson. The play cut the Razorbacks' lead to 14-7 and offered UF momentary hope.
Unfortunately for the Gators, Arkansas already had its own pick-six, coming off quarterback Luke Del Rio on the Gators' first offensive snap. Del Rio's pass into tight coverage bounced off the hands of freshman Tyrie Cleveland to Arkansas strong safety Santos Ramirez.
Ramirez returned the ball 24 yards to begin a miserable day for Del Rio during his first SEC start on the road. Del Rio finished 19-of-37 passing for 229 yards, but most of those game in mop-up time and the Razorbacks protecting a lead.
When it mattered, Del Rio was wildly off the mark and made some questionable decision. With trailing 14-7 and facing first-and-10 from the Gators' 42-yard line, Del Rio floated a pass down the middle of the field and into the waiting hands of Hogs' free safety Josh Liddell. It was Del Rio's sixth interception in three games since returning from a sprained knee.
UF's run game offered no support against a Razorbacks' defense gashed for 534 yards by Auburn. The Gators' running backs managed just 37 yards.
The Gators' defense was no better.
Arkansas' much-maligned offensive line gave Austin Allen time to throw and mauled the Gators at the point of attack. The Razorbacks finished with 223 rushing yards, including 148 by 5-foot-11, 226-pound sophomore Rawleigh Williams.
Coming off a bye week, Razorbacks offensive coordinator Dan Enos mixed up the play calling to keep the Gators off balance.
Allen finished 15-of-26 for 243 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown to Drew Morgan with 16 seconds left in the first half to give Arkansas a 21-7 lead.
