Well, Sam Pittman Said All Week Dominique Johnson Was Coming
Sam Pittman basically said all week what was coming.
Saturday night he turned Dominique Johnson loose on Mississippi State and he ran for a career high of 107 yards on 17 carries and scored twice.
The last touchdown and ensuing two-point conversion pulled out a late 31-28 win over the Bulldogs that made Arkansas bowl eligible (6-3 overall, 2-3 in the SEC) for the first time since 2016 and actually keeps them relevant in the parity party this year.
"He's done that all year, we just haven't been giving him the carries," Pittman said after the win. "It's good to see Dominique do what he did, especially with more opportunities."
One of the questions coming into this game was how good the Razorbacks could do against a defense that was giving up just 89.4 yards per game.
Johnson led the Hogs to their seventh 200-plus rushing game (202 yards).
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around State was worn out trying to tackle him and the rest of Arkansas' running attack.
Johnson had little trouble finding the end zone for the winning score, then doing it again for a two-point conversion.
"He's better as you wear them down," Pittman said. "He didn't have to break any tackles on that run at the end. I think he walked in on the two-point conversion. The line got better as the game went on, and I thought he played another really fine game."
Nobody appeared to expect anything different.
"It doesn’t surprise me that he’s doing so well because of the way he works," senior linebacker Grant Morgan said later. "You never hear Dom complaining. You never hear him gripe about his carries. That just shows if you’re a good person, it’s going to come back."
Now he's got to do it again.
The Hogs go on the road for two straight weeks to play LSU and Alabama, who played a close one Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
The Tide came out on top, 20-14, but anybody who was expecting the Hogs to stroll through the Tigers, well, they apparently haven't quit yet.
And it appears Johnson may just be getting a head of steam heading into November.
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