Mississippi State
7-4 , 3-4
#13 Arkansas
9-2 , 5-2
#22 State Drops Double OT Heartbreaker To #13 Hogs, 38-31
November 20, 2010 | Football
The Bulldogs, playing for the final time this season at Scott Field, rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but it wasn't enough as No. 13 Arkansas won in a thriller, 38-31.
"Obviously, it was a very disappointing loss," second-year MSU coach Dan Mullen said.
The raucous crowd of 56,406 fans at Scott Field saw No. 22 MSU bolt out to a 21-14 lead behind two rushing touchdowns by Vick Ballard and another by Chris Relf.
From that point, though, Arkansas scored 17 unanswered points, sparked by an 89-yard scoring strike from Ryan Mallett to Jarius Wright, to take a 31-21 advantage.
However, the No. 22-ranked Bulldogs simply wouldn't fold.
Instead, they scored 10 points in the final five minutes, starting with Ballard's third touchdown, this time from 4-yards out, and capped by a 25-yard field goal by Derek DePasquale as time expired to force overtime.
In the first OT frame, MSU's possession ended with a turnover in the end zone, while the Razorbacks' drive stalled on a missed field goal.
Then in the second overtime affair, Arkansas (9-2) took the lead for good when Mallett connected with Knile Davis from the 7.
MSU (7-4) did move the ball inside the 15, but the game came to a disappointing conclusion when Relf's fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
Mississippi State finished the game with 486 yards of total offense, while Arkansas, which has now defeated MSU 11 of the last 12 times, manufactured 488 despite running 39 less plays.
A bulk of the Bulldogs' yardage came on the ground, where they totaled 262 yards, led by Ballard's 150-yard effort. Relf grounded out 103, while completing 20 of his 30 passes for another 224 yards.
Davis led the Razorbacks' rushing attack with 187 yards, while Mallett finished the name 17-of-26 passing for 305 yards.
For the Bulldogs, who have now dropped two straight after winning six in a row, it was their first overtime outing since 2006 when they won in Birmingham against UAB.
Now, though, the focus is a trip to Oxford to face rival Ole Miss in the annual Egg Bowl showdown next Saturday, Nov. 27. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPNU. MSU has won two of the last three in this series and will be looking for its first win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since 1998.
"We look forward to this game all year long," Mullen said. "This is our biggest game of the season."
Team Stats
AR 0, MS 7
MS - Chris Relf 23 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 8 plays, 86 yards, TOP 3:14
AR 7, MS 7
AR - Knile Davis 62 yd run (Zach Hocker kick), 2 plays, 69 yards, TOP 0:34
AR 14, MS 7
AR - D.J. Williams 25 yd pass from Ryan Mallett (Zach Hocker kick) 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:50
AR 14, MS 14
MS - Vick Ballard 1 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 15 plays, 70 yards, TOP 5:53
AR 14, MS 21
MS - Vick Ballard 2 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 11 plays, 60 yards, TOP 4:37
AR 17, MS 21
AR - Zach Hocker 32 yd field goal 7 plays, 56 yards, TOP 1:30
AR 24, MS 21
AR - Jarius Wright 89 yd pass from Ryan Mallett (Zach Hocker kick) 1 plays, 89 yards, TOP 0:15
AR 31, MS 21
AR - Knile Davis 1 yd run (Zach Hocker kick), 10 plays, 73 yards, TOP 4:45
AR 31, MS 28
MS - Vick Ballard 4 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:35
AR 31, MS 31
MS - D. DePasquale 25 yd field goal 8 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:52
AR 38, MS 31
AR - Knile Davis 7 yd pass from Ryan Mallett (Zach Hocker kick) 4 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:00
