Arkansas Business

LITTLE ROCK — Dennis Johnson did his best to will Arkansas' rally on Saturday.

Even the running back's career-best 161 yards rushing and late game-tying touchdown weren't enough, however, for the Razorbacks to avoid a 30-27 defeat to Mississippi.

The loss put a halt to a two-game winning streak and left Arkansas (3-5, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) once again searching for answers in its first season after former coach Bobby Petrino's firing in April.

The Razorbacks were a preseason Top-10 pick before plummeting from the rankings after a loss in War Memorial Stadium to Louisiana-Monroe, a setback that started a four-game losing streak. They rebounded in recent weeks with wins over Auburn and Kentucky, but Rebels kicker Bryson Rose hit a 31-yard field goal as time expired Saturday to bring that streak to a halt.

The kick came minutes after Johnson tied the game at 27-27 and left the Razorbacks once again searching for answers to their season-long slide.

"We fought back and battled, battled and battled," Arkansas interim coach John L. Smith said. "We just didn't make quite enough plays."

While the Razorbacks' free fall continued, Ole Miss (5-3, 2-2) continued its rebirth after finishing a combined 1-15 in the SEC the last two seasons. The Rebels rebounded from an early 10-point deficit Saturday — thanks in large part to quarterback Bo Wallace — and closed in on the school's first bowl berth since 2009.

The win is Ole Miss' second straight in the SEC after snapping a 16-game losing streak against Auburn.

The game-winning field goal was Rose's third of the game, including a career-best 53-yarder that put the Rebels up 27-20 early in the fourth quarter. The late-game kick put the school within one win of bowl eligibility and also marked the school's first road win in the SEC since beating Vanderbilt 23-7 in 2009, the same year it last won back-to-back conference games.

"I'm thrilled," first-year Rebels coach Hugh Freeze said. "... Our team grew up today, won on the road in this tough conference, against a very good football team.

"The ride home will be really, really sweet."

Wallace accounted for 316 yards of total offense, finishing 29 of 37 passing for 278 yards. After running for, passing for and catching a touchdown pass two weeks ago against Auburn, Wallace directed the Rebels on an eight-play, 61-yard drive that set up Rose's game-winning field goal.