Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

11/20/2010 at 10:58pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Jarius Wright scored on an 89-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. He had two catches for 105 yards.

Arkansas 38, Miss. State 31 (2OT)
Why Arkansas Won On a day of maddening inconsistency, the Razorbacks made big plays when they absolutely had to have them. Arkansas’ defense came up with its only fourth-down stop of the game in overtime to preserve victory. Moments earlier Arkansas got a seven-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Mallett to Knile Davis, who had fumbled twice earlier in the game. With the victory, the Razorbacks (9-2, 5-2) improved to 3-1 on the road in the SEC and kept their hopes for a 10-win season and outside chance at a BCS bowl alive.

Gamebreaker
Knile Davis nearly broke Arkansas’ chances at victory with a pair of fumbles. Instead, he broke Mississippi State with a seven-yard touchdown catch in overtime.

Davis had 187 yards on 30 carries — both career-highs — and three total touchdowns, including two on the ground. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau, becoming the 10^th Razorback to do so. He now has 1,031 on 148 carries.

Of Davis’ 12 touchdowns this season, 11 have come in the last five games (all Arkansas victories).

Extra Work
Arkansas improved to 9-2 in overtime games. The Razorbacks' last overtime game was a 20-17 victory in last season’s Liberty Bowl.

Bell Ringing
Mississippi State’s traditional cowbells rang throughout the evening, often at ear-splitting levels. But it was Arkansas that got in the final bell ring of the night.

Razorback players vigorously rang the bell outside their locker room. It travels with them to games and is put to use after victories.

Different Strikes
Much of the night was a contrast in offensive styles. Arkansas needed a pair of quick-strike scores to counteract Mississippi State’s long, plodding drives.

MSU scoring drives in regulation averaged 11 plays, 58 yards. The Bulldogs had 20 third-down opportunities and three scoring drives of at least 10 plays.

Arkansas now has 59 touchdown drives of two minutes or less in three seasons under Bobby Petrino.

Exit, Please
Officials ejected Arkansas linebacker Anthony Leon with 2:18 left in the third quarter. Arkansas recovered a fumble and Leon appeared to retaliate for something that happened in a pile on the field. It was his actions the official saw, resulting in an ejection.

Leon will miss the first half of next week’s game against LSU.

It was a sequence that seemed to typify the night for Arkansas. Rarely did something good happen without something bad following.

But…

Momentum Swing
Wide receiver Jarius Wright hauled in an 89-yard pass from Ryan Mallett on the Razorbacks’ first play after the fumble recovery and Leon's ejection. Wright stumbled shortly after catching the pass, but kept his balance and scored to give Arkansas a 24-21 lead with 2:18 left.

Tribute
Prior to kickoff, the crowd of 56,406 honored Nick Bell with a moment of silence. Bell passed away earlier this month after battling cancer.

Bell’s mother ended the moment of silence by ringing a cowbell. The crowd joined in as a tribute to Bell.

Quotable
“It’s not easy. That’s for sure. I’m proud of our team. They just battled.”
—Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino on the Razorbacks improving to 9-2 overall, 5-2 in the SEC and 3-1 on the road.

Up Next
Arkansas hosts LSU at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Favorable bowl placement is presumably on the line. Kickoff is set for 2:30 for broadcast on CBS. Win and the Razorbacks have an outside chance at the Sugar Bowl.

Tagged: Arkansas Razorbacks, Bobby Petrino, Mississippi State Bulldogs