By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett tossed two interceptions in the first half and threw more incompletions than he had in the previous three games.
The defense struggled to get a handle on Mississippi State’s option offense. Linebackers and safeties missed tackles. Receivers uncharacteristically dropped passes.
All in all, Arkansas wasn’t at its best during its 42-21 win against Mississippi State in front of 55,634 in War Memorial Stadium on Saturday. But it was more than enough to earn its fourth straight win, finish 6-1 at home this season, and make another impression for the postseason.
“It certainly wasn’t easy,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said afterward. “We had to fight for it. We didn’t play our best game of the year, but we kept working hard.”
The Razorbacks (7-4, 3-4 in the Southeastern Conference) got an indication the Bulldogs would present a tougher challenge than their previous three opponents early on.
Mallett threw an interception — his fifth of the year — on the second play from scrimmage. Mississippi State (4-7, 2-5 in SEC) cashed in on the turnover, getting a 49-yard run on an end around from Chad Bumphis on its first play and fullback Arnil Stallworth scored on a one-yard run.
The Razorbacks snapped back and scored when Mallett threw a 39-yard strike to receiver Joe Adams to tie the game. Mallett tacked on two more touchdowns, finding receivers Cobi Hamilton (58 yards) and Jarius Wright (five yards), to give the Hogs a 21-7 halftime lead.
“You’re going to throw picks every now and then,” Mallett said. “You just have to bounce back.”
But Mississippi State kept the game interesting with its ground game in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs came out of the locker room and put together an 11-play, 94-yard scoring drive to pull to within 21-14. The most impressive part? MSU’s option offense ran the ball on every play of the drive.
“That was tough,” defensive end Jake Bequette said. “Any time a team takes it 94 yards on you, that’s not good.”
But Arkansas’ offense answered the score.
Receiver Cobi Hamilton caught a short screen on third-and-10, turned it upfield and outran the defense. It was the freshman’s second big touchdown of the game. He finished with 3 catches for 131 yards.
Not to be outdone, MSU running back Anthony Dixon raced 70 yards on the next play to cut the lead to 28-21.
Dixon, who scored three touchdowns against the Hogs last year, was equally impressive Saturday. He ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns, anchoring a one-dimensional offense that relied on its 327 rushing yards Saturday.
“They were very patient,” Petrino said. “Three yards and a cloud of dust was good for them trying to keep us on the sideline. I thought their plan was good.”
But Arkansas held its ground the rest of the game.
The big play came when defensive tackle Zach Stadther knocked the ball out of Dixon’s hands late in the third quarter and it was recovered by Elton Ford. Arkansas turned the turnover into its fifth touchdown — Mallett’s 11-yard pass by Greg Childs — to take a 35-21 lead.
“After the fumble at midfield when we were down seven, we lost some momentum,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said of his team, which committed its 28th turnover. “We have found a way to make turnovers at critical points in games.”
The Razorbacks tacked on one more score in the fourth quarter, Broderick Green’s 2-yard run, to eclipse the 40-point mark for the seventh time this season.
Mallett completed 18 of 34 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns. He equaled his school record for touchdown passes in a game. He also set school marks for single-season touchdown passes (28) and touchdown responsibility (30).
The sophomore did it against a defense that dared the Razorbacks to run, packing the box with eight or nine defenders. Mississippi State held the Hogs to 83 rushing yards.
“They were saying we’re not going to let you run,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “Throw it deep all you want. We’re not going to change.”
In the end, it wasn’t exactly perfection. But the Razorbacks will take it as they head into next week’s season finale against LSU with four straight wins.
“The offense and defense took up for each other when one wouldn’t execute,” Mallett said. “That’s what we did best (Saturday), we stayed together and played as a team.
“Next week we need to play our best football.”
