Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Enduring three consecutive blowouts earlier this season was tough for Arkansas.

None of those could compare to what the Razorbacks felt on Saturday at Kentucky. What looked like a sure victory against the Wildcats and a positive momentum builder, turned into a 21-20 heartbreaker before a crowd of 70,534 at Commonwealth Stadium.

Arkansas led 17-0 at halftime and was ahead 20-7 with 10 minutes remaining before allowing the Wildcats to rally. Failure to score in short-yardage situations and late defensive breakdowns - the sorts of problems that plagued the Razorbacks in consecutive losses to Alabama, Texas and Florida - once again led to a loss.

This was much tougher for Arkansas players and coaches to deal with in the aftermath. Even more difficult than a stretch of games that saw the Razorbacks (3-4, 1-3) outscored 139-31.

"You hate to get blown out, but we gave this one away," center Jonathan Luigs said. "These are tougher to swallow.

"Saying we gave this game away is an understatement," he added. "We had them right were we wanted them, had them where they were about to quit. Somehow they found their way back into the game."

Kentucky quarterback Mike Hartline rallied the Wildcats with a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Hartline threw both to Randall Cobb, including one to tie the game at 20.

Cobb caught a 21-yard pass with 4:15 remaining to pull the Wildcats within 20-14. He tied the game at 20 with 2:21 left and Lones Seiber provided the game-winning point.

It was the only time in the game that Kentucky led. Thanks to the late rally the Wildcats were able to outscore Arkansas 21-3 in the final 20:15.

Arkansas had an opportunity, but committed its fourth turnover of the game when Kentucky's Marcus McClinton intercepted quarterback Casey Dick with 1:07 left. McClinton's pick allowed the Wildcats to run out the clock and earn their first victory against a Bobby Petrino-coached team. Petrino was 4-0 against the Wildcats while coaching at nearby Louisville.

Tailback De'Anthony Curtis, subbing for an injured Michael Smith, fumbled the ball away on the Razorbacks' previous possession. That helped set up the first of two Wildcats' scores in the final period.

"That's a hard one on us," Petrino said. "We had a lot of chances to win that football game."

Arkansas dominated the second half statistically, but managed only a pair of field goals. Shay Haddock connected from 19 and 23 yards, his second giving the Razorbacks a 20-7 lead with 10:00 left.

Haddock's field goal was a disappointment to the Razorbacks, who moved 80 yards over 27 plays and three Kentucky penalties. That drive spanned two quarters and lasted 8:45.

Failure to score in short yardage situations finally caught up with the Razorbacks. They had opportunities, but could never put the game away.

Part of the reason the drive stalled and Arkansas mustered 27 yards in the fourth quarter was the absence of Smith. Through much of the evening Smith was brilliant, rushing for 192 yards on 35 carries before being knocked out with an apparent concussion.

Smith was stopped for no gain and hit hard on the goal line with the Razorbacks facing a third and 3. Haddock followed with his 23-yarder and things began to unravel.

Arkansas relied heavily on Smith, who also caught 3 passes for 33 yards and 1 touchdown. He accounted for 252 of the Razorbacks' 303 yards of total offense.

"It's a shame because he was playing his heart out, doing a great job, but we have to have other guys step up and make plays," Petrino said. "That hurt us a lot losing him. Certainly we had opportunities. We just didn't get it done. We have to be able to have other running backs make plays."

Curtis ran for 16 yards on 9 carries and had the costly fourth-quarter fumble. Dennis Johnson did not record a carry for the Razorbacks, while Smith ran for 113 yards and 1 touchdown on 16 carries in the first half. He had both his touchdowns before halftime.

A third scoring opportunity for Smith and the Razorbacks was thwarted on the goal line. Arkansas attempted three consecutive runs from the Kentucky 1, but was stuffed and Smith fumbled on the third try.

Beyond Smith the Razorbacks didn't have any offense to speak of. Arkansas got just 94 yards passing from Casey Dick, who completed 11 of 29 passes with 2 interceptions.

Penalties also hurt.

Arkansas was penalized 13 times for 102 yards.

"This one hurts," quarterback Casey Dick said. "We thought we had the game in control and the bottom line is that we have to find a way to play good at the end and make plays. No matter what we are doing, we have to move the ball and play well."