FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - It was as surreal a second quarter as Urban Meyer had ever witnessed.
The Gators coach was stunned by the number of penalties his team accumulated in that 15-minute span - seven for 67 yards.
"I've never seen anything like that," Meyer said. "One drive, what was it, third down and 70?"
In the first quarter, only one penalty was called on No. 12 UF. But in the second period, the referees threw 13 yellow flags.
When the game ended, UF had committed 12 infractions for 110 yards.
The wildest stretch came in UF's drive early in the second quarter. Officials called five penalties on the first seven plays. Two holding calls and an illegal formation call knocked UF back 25 yards on three consecutive plays.
The result was a UF first-and 35 from their own 14.
"One was (offensive lineman Phil Trautwein) lined up in the backfield," Meyer said. "First time in four years we've had that called."
On that drive, the Gators were forced to punt on fourth-and-11, but they recovered the muffed punt and got the ball back on Arkansas' 6-yard line.
Then, the flags started flying again.
A personal foul and a false start made it first-and-30 right away, but freshman running back Jeff Demps saved the Gators from another botched drive with a 36-yard touchdown.
"It was weird," UF quarterback Tim Tebow said. "It just seemed like every play something weird and different kept happening. It seemed like we were like 1st and 50 one time."
A block-in-the-back call also brought back what would have been a punt-return touchdown for Brandon James. His third touchdown on a punt return on the year became only a 13-yard play.
Redshirt freshman running back Chris Rainey was watching the penalties unfold from the sidelines for a good portion of the second quarter, and he was excitable after the game when talking about it.
"Oh my - I'm on the sideline like, 'We had 30 penalties in one drive,'" Rainey said. "I don't know what happened, man. I thought it was going to be first and 100."
The penalties slowed down after halftime: Sixteen flags flew in the first half, but only five left the referees' pockets in the second.
Meyer and Tebow both talked about how they focused on improving the sloppy play in the locker room at the half.
"Did we work diligently and address it?" Yes," Meyer said. "Did they stop? Yes."
Once the penalties stopped, UF was able to get long drives going and break open big plays. After scoring just 14 points in the first half, the Gators exploded for 21 in the final quarter on three big plays.
"You know, we're alright," Tebow said. "We bounced back … You just have to try to correct that and move on."
The Gators last saw that many penalties in the season-opening game against Hawaii. They had 13 for 90 yards in that contest. UF came into the game ranking 106th in the country in penalties per game with eight.
It wasn't just the Gators who were frustrated by all the whistle-blowing. The tightly called game resulted in nine penalties for 75 yards for the Razorbacks and six in the second quarter.
