Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

ARKANSAS 49, MISS. STATE 17

OFFENSE – A
HIGHLIGHTS: Quarterback Tyler Wilson continued to add his name to the Arkansas record book, this time with 32 completions. Wilson broke a 40-year-old record in going 32 of 43 for 365 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson’s favorite target against Mississippi State was tight end Chris Gragg, who enjoyed a breakout performance with eight catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. Dennis Johnson continued to string together consistent performances and ran for 98 yards on 14 carries as the Razorbacks posted 166 yards on the ground. Mississippi State entered the game having surrendered just three passing plays of 30-plus yards. Gragg (41) and Joe Adams (32) each recorded one. Kiero Small got into the end zone on his first career carry.

LOWLIGHTS: Sometimes Wilson simply tries too hard to make a play. That was the case when he lost track of where defenders were and was run down from behind to force a fumble. Mississippi State took the miscue and marched it down the field for a score to (briefly) make the game a close one.

DEFENSE – A
HIGHLIGHTS: During a stretch of the second and third quarters the Razorbacks played their most dominant defense of the season. They forced six consecutive three-and-outs. Arkansas gave up only 211 yards to the Bulldogs and held them to 5 of 16 on third downs. Mississippi State averaged 3.3 yards per play and was held scoreless in the third quarter. Running back Vick Ballard netted 54 yards, nearly 30 yards below his average. Tramain Thomas had another big game with nine tackles and a pass breakup. Ross Rasner's fumble recovery marked the seventh consecutive game with the Razorbacks forcing a turnover.

LOWLIGHTS: Giving up a touchdown with 15 seconds left was a disappointment for the Razorback defense, though the stars and regulars weren’t on the field by that point. Ballard did break a 16-yard run, but it’s hard to complain.

SPECIAL TEAMS – A-minus
HIGHLIGHTS: Once again Zach Hocker was booming kickoffs and booting kicks through the uprights. He had five touchbacks on kickoffs and connected on three field goals. Dylan Breeding averaged 43.0 yards per punt and landed one of his two inside the 20. Dennis Johnson took his only kick return attempt of the night 34 yards.

LOWLIGHTS: For the first time this season, Arkansas had a field goal blocked. Otherwise, it’s hard to quibble with the effort from special teams unless you want to complain that the team only totaled 89 return yards. But, why would you want do that?

OVERALL — A
WHAT WE LEARNED: A healthy Arkansas at home is a really, really good Arkansas. Now that the Razorbacks are essentially at full strength, they seem to be clicking on all cylinders. They’ve outscored their last three opponents 137-52 and now have consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time since 1989. Arkansas now gets a second chance at proving itself as an elite team, facing No. 1 LSU on Friday.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME
OFFENSE: Arkansas was provided opportunities to throw by the MSU defense and Tyler Wilson took them. His 32 completions broke a record set by Joe Ferguson in 1971. Wilson completed 74 percent of his passes and tossed three touchdowns.

DEFENSE: Total tackles don’t tell the story of the impact Jake Bequette had on the game. He finished with four stops, but two were sacks and Bequette also forced a fumble.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Once again Zach Hocker was a source of points when the offense was stalling or just wanted to go for a (nearly) sure thing. Hocker connected on field goals from 44, 48 and 27 yards.