Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

For yet another Ole Miss game at War Memorial Stadium, Arkansas was left mulling the “ifs.” It wasn’t as heartbreaking as the famed 1960 game decided on an official’s questionable call on a field goal. And it wasn’t bad as the 1990 game here, where the Hogs outgained the Rebels 3 to 1 and still lost 21-17, denied at the goal line on the game’s final play.

But it was close.

This one also came down to the game’s final play, a 31-yard Bryson Rose field goal for a 30-27 Rebels win. Ole Miss marched 61 yards in the final 2:09 after Arkansas, lackluster on offense for nearly all of the second half, drove 55 yards for the tying touchdown in 58 seconds.

The Razorbacks were left lamenting how many scoring opportunities were wasted by poor execution. Arkansas outgained the Rebels 464-355, had 297 yards passing to 278 and outrushed the visitors 167 to 77. Arkansas gave up two turnovers, both interceptions of ill-advised Tyler Wilson throws, but the Hogs also forced two turnovers.

But, the expected offensive onslaught by Arkansas’ passing game against a much-maligned Ole Miss secondary never materialized. Wilson threw two touchdown passes — 42 yards to tight end Chris Gragg and 6 yards to a wide open tight end, Alex Voelzke late in the first half after Ole Miss had seized the momentum with a short scoring drive following a blocked punt by Charles Sawyer — but when the Hogs didn’t scratch a point in the third quarter, one could sense that this game would probably be decided by who had the ball last.

Arkansas trailed the entire second half until Dennis Johnson, with a career game (27 carries, 161 yards), refused to lose and carried the Hogs on his shoulders with three straight runs totaling 45 yards, the last a 5-yard blast through left tackle that, with Zach Hocker’s extra point, evened the score.

However, just as an Arkansas touchdown with 1:21 left in the first half had come too soon — Ole Miss drove 75 yards in 10 plays and 1:01 of the clock — so, too, did this score leave the Rebels too much time to answer with the winner.

Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino couldn’t afford to call plays on the tying drives that left no time for Ole Miss, but he also didn’t think the game should have come down to the final possession.

“The first two drives were great,” Petrino said of the way the game unfolded. “Both drives we should have had touchdowns. Two different times we should have scored, and that’s what you have to do. Then you’re up 14-0.
Defense got us a couple of turnovers, you have to turn those into points. And then you give yourself a little lead. [Those were] things we didn’t get done. You fail to do that, then you don’t win.”

Arkansas reached the Ole Miss 5 on the first possession before settling for a 22-yard Hocker field goal.

“You always take the points when you’re down there,” Arkansas Coach John L. Smith said, deciding against going for a fourth-and-2 feet.

The Hogs found the end zone on the second drive when Wilson delivered to the 6-foot-4 Gragg, who was one-on-one with a short linebacker down the middle.