Nate Allen

FAYETTEVILLE - Providing the winning difference in Arkansas’ 31-28 SEC victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs last Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium earned Razorbacks place-kicker Cam Little his second SEC Freshman of the Week honor for 2021.

Little’s honor was announced Monday by the SEC Office in Birmingham, Ala.

Not missing until from 42 yards on his fourth and final and, ironically shortest attempt, true freshman Little of Moore, Okla. kicked a season-long tying 46-yarder and season-long 48-yarder during Arkansas’ 13-7 first-half eclipsed by his season-long 51-yarder during the third quarter.

Little kicked his 3 of 4 field goals while Mississippi State kicker Brandon Ruiz missed field goal tries of 23 and 46 yards.

With the Bulldogs trying for a game-tying, 40-yard field goal on the game’s last play, Mississippi State Coach Mike Leach yanked Ruiz for freshman walk-on Nolan McCord.

McCord missed badly wide left.

Leach postgame verbally tossed his kickers under the bus.

“"There's an open tryout on our campus for kickers," Leach was quoted. "Anybody that wants to kick or walk on and kick at Mississippi State, we'll hold a tryout any time you can get over there to our building, providing you're cleared by the NCAA."

McCord got more respect from his Arkansas counterpart. Little made a point postgame on the field to seek and commiserate with the Bulldogs kicker.

The SEC Network, televising last Saturday’s game, captured Little’s sportsmanship which Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman didn’t see firsthand in postgame hubbub but certainly appreciated.

“I thought it was awesome,” Pittman said at his weekly Monday press conference. “I didn’t know anything about it until social media afterwards or yesterday or whenever it was. That just shows you what kind of guy Cam Little is. For him to have the concern - and I don’t know if they were friends - you know the kickers, punters, they go around together to all these different camps and he may have known him. He may not have. If he didn’t that was even a better and bigger gesture. It says a little about him. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

As a person and a kicker.

“He certainly played well, Pittman said.

Well enough for Pittman to smile about some frowns in the crowd when he sent Little into kick the 51-yard field goal on fourth and 2 from the Mississippi State 33 instead of trying to make first down on fourth down.

Little’s third field goal lifted the Hogs from down 14-13 to up 16-14.

“"Yeah, I got booed on the 51-yard field goal that he made,” Pittman said postgame Saturday. “I am at practice and I see him kick and I felt like he could make a 51-yarder. I wanted to take the lead. He really was valuable. He missed the one, but he kicked some long field goals tonight and did a really good job with that."

Arkansas, a bowl eligible 6-3 and 2-3 in the SEC, next plays the LSU Tigers, the 2019 national champions but this season 4-5 overall/ 2-4 in the SEC, in Saturday night’s SEC Network televised 6:30 SEC West game at LSU’s Death Valley officially called Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

LSU is parting ways with Coach Ed Orgeron at this season’s end but Orgeron certainly didn’t play the lame duck part last week.

The inspired heavily underdog Tigers battled the Alabama Crimson Tide, nationally No. 2 in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings, to the wire in a 20-14 loss and stemmed the Tide’s running game to just six yards.

“ I believe, LSU played as physical and as hard as they have all year last week,” Pittman said.” Coach Orgeron certainly has the team still. They're very, very talented. They're LSU. They've always played hard, but I thought they played extremely well and physical Saturday against Bama."

Arkansas will conclude its SEC season on the CBS eye.

CBS at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 20 will televise the Razorbacks SEC against Alabama at Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, it was announced Monday.

Since before the season’s outset the Razorbacks and Missouri Tigers knew their Nov. 26 day after Thanksgiving Day game at Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium will kick off at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

Bowl eligible at 6-3, the Razorbacks are set to play somewhere in December or January beyond their game with Mizzou.