Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Only six seconds remained until halftime of Saturday’s game between No. 12 Arkansas and fifth-ranked LSU. A hike of the ball and a kneel-down from quarterback Ryan Mallett would have ended the first half with the teams tied.

Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino wasn’t interested in playing it safe. A victory was too important. Win and the Razorbacks would put themselves in position for a Sugar Bowl berth and secure just the fifth 10-win regular season since 1979.

Petrino knew the game was huge. That’s why he showed off some really big, um, calls in Saturday’s 31-23 victory against the Tigers.

It started with a gutsy decision right before halftime. Petrino dialed up a pass play to Cobi Hamilton that went for 80 yards and a touchdown with no time on the clock. Arkansas went into the locker room up a touchdown and led for good.

It got better as the Razorbacks built on the 21-14 halftime lead. Petrino didn’t stop with one huge call. He came back with another one in the fourth quarter, going for it on fourth down and winding up with a 39-yard Joe Adams touchdown and 28-20 lead.

Ballgame.

“We came to win,” Petrino said, shortly after the victory and a wild celebration that included a water cooler bath for the head coach and players posing for pictures with the "Golden Boot." Reps from the Sugar Bowl took pictures of a wild scene that played out on the field as the War Memorial PA blasted "Pour Some Sugar On Me," a not so-sutble nod to the Razorbacks' bowl preference.

Arkansas (10-2, 6-2) did its part. And now the Razorbacks are an Auburn victory in next week’s SEC title game away from their first BCS bowl game. It has taken Petrino only three years to get the program to this point.

Since Arkansas began the season, Petrino has talked about how much faith he has in this team. His words of support didn’t waver after losses to Auburn and Alabama. And Petrino paid the team a great compliment with his play calling on Saturday.

Razorback players clearly appreciated the confidence shown by Petrino. It was a source of pride and a motivating factor as they put the finishing touches on the biggest victory of the Petrino era.

“He put great trust in us to make plays, so we had to make them,” Adams said. “We had to win.”

Adams said he had faith in the play from the second he knew the ball was coming his way on a fourth-and-three play. Arkansas has been saving that particular play, one inspired by last year’s loss to LSU in Baton Rouge (more on that in a bit).