By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas running back Knile Davis and the of the rest of Razorbacks were missing some important faces in the huddle Saturday.
Quarterback Ryan Mallett was out with a bruised right shoulder. Wide receivers Greg Childs and Joe Adams were done, too, thanks to ankle injuries.
So when Arkansas’ offense, which had depended on the nation’s second-ranked passing attack, stepped back on the field after an hour-long weather delay it was no secret what had to happen. Davis and the ground game needed to produce to help Arkansas hold off an Ole Miss team making a charge.
Zac Lehr • Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
“It was expected,” Davis said of his role. “But I just had to go out there and finish, man.”
Arkansas — behind Davis — accomplished it, grinding out a 38-24 in front of an announced crowd of 73,619 in rain-soaked Razorback Stadium. The sophomore finished with a career-high 176 rushing yards and three touchdowns, doing most of his damage in a second half dominated by sloppy conditions and a pair of lightning delays.
It helped the Razorbacks notch their first win against former coach Houston Nutt. It also helped No. 21 Arkansas (5-2, 2-2 in Southeastern Conference) bury last week’s disappointing loss to Auburn and slide out of the SEC-West cellar.
“We’re happy, obviously, the day that Greg and Ryan and Joe were not out there with us that our offensive line and our running backs step up and save the day for us,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said. “It doesn’t surprise us that (Davis) ran the ball well.
“The timing of it was what was so important.”
Arkansas held a 24-10 lead when the teams were ushered to the locker room because of lightning in the area. Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino told his team to relax and get its mind off football. When the game resumed 58 minutes later, Ole Miss (3-4, 1-3) scored first on a 43-yard pass from quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to Markeith Summers.
It was a reminder of Arkansas’ previous fourth quarter collapses against Georgia, Alabama and Auburn. But Arkansas never lost control Saturday.
With Tyler Wilson under center in place of Mallett, who didn’t return to the field after the weather delay, Davis provided an immediate answer. He burst through the line of scrimmage and outran defenders down the sideline for a 71-yard score.
It was the longest run of Davis’ career and Arkansas’ best of the season. More important, it gave the Razorbacks a two-touchdown lead at 31-17.
“You could see Knile’s speed at safety on the long run,” said Mallett, who watched the fourth quarter from the sideline for the second straight week. “He had an angle on him and outran him.”
Ole Miss scored once again to close the gap to 31-24 before a second weather delay pushed the teams off the field for 32 minutes. Arkansas got the ball when play resumed and scored. Davis capped a five-play drive with a 22-yard touchdown.
Davis had 114 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and led a ground game that gained a season-best 197 yards. The Razorbacks outrushed Ole Miss (185 yards), which entered Saturday’s game as the SEC’s No. 2 rushing offense.
“Those are big-time players that went down for us,” Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams said. “But you didn’t see any confidence shift downward or anything. We just understood what we needed to do as an offense and we did it.”
Davis’ touchdown proved to be the final points in the game. Ole Miss running back Brandon Bolden squandered a golden opportunity on the next possession when he fumbled a snap out of the Wild Rebel formation at the one-yard line. Arkansas defensive end Tenarius Wright fell on the ball and the Razorbacks took over with 4:32 remaining.
Ole Miss got the ball back with 1:06 remaining, but it was too late. Arkansas fans still in the stadium after the weather delays began chanting “Bobby, Bobby” as the clock expired, celebrating Petrino’s first win against Houston Nutt.
Zac Lehr * Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
“It took five hours,” Petrino said. “But we got the win. I’m proud of our football team.”
Ole Miss outgained Arkansas 512-464 thanks to Masoli’s big day. He completed 21 of 36 passes for 327 yards and also rushed for a team-high 98.
Mallett, who missed most of the Auburn game after a first half concussion, completed 13 of 24 passes for 196 yards. He threw an interception on Arkansas’ first play which was his seventh of the season. Mallett threw seven in all of 2009.
Mallett did engineer touchdown drives on Arkansas’ second and third possessions. Davis’ 2-yard touchdown run made it 7-0 and the Razorbacks extended the lead to 14-0 when receiver Greg Childs’ made a diving catch for a 23-yard score.
Then, Adams helped Arkansas take a 21-0 lead with a 97-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter. It set a school record, breaking Ken Hatfield’s 95-yard return in 1963. It also was Arkansas first punt return score since 2003.
“He made a great play and a great run,” Petrino said. “He did a great job. We blocked it well and it was just a heck of a play.”
Said Nutt: “You can’t give up big plays, can’t give up 80-yard plays. You can’t give up those big plays, those explosive plays.”
It helped Arkansas spoil Nutt’s second trip back to Fayetteville as Ole Miss’ coach.
To no one’s surprise, the coach was showered with a chorus of boos as he led the Rebels onto the field Saturday. Nutt was asked about the animosity that still harbors in Arkansas fans afterward and said there’s a group of fans that “are awesome” and “the animosity had just been a small core.”
But Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette said the Razorbacks were determined not to lose to Ole Miss again, though. It showed in the fourth quarter on Saturday, when Arkansas made plays to win.
“It was a big deal,” Bequette said. “We talked about it last night as a team — kind of a player’s only thing. It was time. We lost two in a row to these guys and we owed them one.”
