FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas took a 35-21 lead over Mississippi State with13:43 remaining in the game, but then the Bulldogs with the help of officials scored 17 unanswered points to escape with a 38-35 win in front of 68,358 fans at Razorback Stadium.
Arkansas was called for 18 penalties for 193 yards while Mississippi State only had four penalties for 30 yards. Arkansas had 433 yards of total offense with 239 rushing. Mississippi State was limited to 388 yards of offense with 282 passing. Bobby Petrino said he wanted to say something about the officiating but couldn't
"That’s a hard game to take," Petrino said. "I felt like our guys played hard and I felt like they played good football. We obviously didn’t do enough to win the game. There were some things outside of football that hurt us that I can’t quite understand. Penalized all game long. And we worked hard but just didn’t come away with it."
Edge Quincy Rhodes Jr. was outstanding with 6 tackles, 4 solo, 1 sack and 4.5 tackles for loss.
"Yeah, he did a good job," Petrino said. "He had the one penalty that hurt us. But he did get to the quarterback and make him pay. Stopping runs from making yardage. He played great. Very, Very hard."
In the fourth quarter, Mississippi State pulled within 35-28 when running back Davon Booth powered in from the 3 with 10:16 remaining in the game.
Arkansas' offense couldn't come up with a first down and Devin Bale had to punt the football away. The Bulldogs put together an 8-play, 43-yard drive that resulted in a 46-yard field goal by Kyle Ferrie. Arkansas thought they had gotten off the field without allowing any points as Ferrie missed from 51 yards out. However Arkansas was called for running into the kicker and penalized five yards. That allowed Ferrie another try which he converted.
The Razorbacks still led 35-31 with 5:07 remaining in the game. The Razorbacks then took over at their own 25. On second down, Taylen Green ran for an apparent first down, but once again holding was called. The Razorbacks couldn't overcome the penalty and had to punt the ball away.
Mississippi State took over at its own 31 with 3:08 remaining. The Bulldogs got the winning touchdown when Blake Shapen passed 18 yards on a fourth-and-4 play to Anthony Evans III. It was the second fourth down conversion on the drive for Mississippi State.
After the Bulldogs took a 7-0 lead on its first possession when Shapen passed to Booth for an 8-yard touchdown.
Arkansas managed to fight back and tie the game with 13:54 left in the first half on a 3-yard pass from Green to Rohan Jones. It completed a 9-play, 56-yard drive.
After forcing another punt, Arkansas took a 10-7 lead on a 42-yard field goal by Scott Starzyk. On fourth and goal from the 5, Petrino opted for the field goal to take the lead. Starzyk added a 30-yard field goal on Arkansas' next possession to take a 13-7 lead into halftime.
Mississippi State changed quarterbacks to start the third quarter. Kamario Taylor came in for Shapen and immediately took his team 75 yards in just four plays. Taylor found Evans for a 45-yard touchdown pass and they retook a 14-13 lead.
That is when the Razorbacks put together back-to-back scoring drives to take the 28-14 lead. Green ran for an 8-yard touchdown with 9:23 remaining in the third quarter to take a 20-14 lead. Mike Washington then increased the lead on a 20-yard run. At that point leading 26-14, Green threw a shovel pass to Jones for the 2-point conversion.
At that point the officials continued to throw flags and it resulted in Arkansas having to kickoff from its own 10. The Bulldogs took the kickoff back to the Arkansas 45. Taylor scored on 20-yard run with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter. Arkansas was leading 28-21 at this point.
The Razorbacks then took a two-touchdown lead when Braylen Russell powered in from the 2 to complete a 41-yard drive that was set up by Jordan Young's interception. But the final 13 minutes and 43 seconds belonged to the officials and Bulldogs.
Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4) picked up its first SEC win. Arkansas (2-7, 0-5) has a bye week before heading to LSU.
"Yeah, we’re actually off tomorrow," Petrino said. "We’ll take tomorrow and come in Monday and watch the video. And then have a couple of good, hard work days. And get out (recruiting) for a little bit."
After LSU, Arkansas goes to Texas then finishes up at home against Missouri.
