Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

There was no redemption in the Rock for Arkansas on Saturday. Instead, players got just another dose of disappointment.

Rather than avenging an earlier loss at War Memorial Stadium, the Razorbacks were just frustrated by an Ole Miss field goal that sailed through the uprights as time expired in the Rebels' 30-27 win.

Arkansas (3-5, 2-3) lost a second consecutive game at War Memorial for the first time since 1997. It makes the Razorbacks winless in their home away from home for the first time since going 0-2-1 in 1993.

“The last two trips down here have just been miserable,” safety Ross Rasner said.

A Sept. 8 loss to Louisiana-Monroe was the start of what has been an overall miserable season for Arkansas.

Losing to the Warhawks early in the season knocked the Razorbacks out of BCS title contention. Dropping a game to Ole Miss (5-3, 2-2) has put postseasaon plans in jeopardy for Arkansas.

It will take three wins in four games to secure bowl eligibility. That means beating Tulsa next week at homecoming and then upsetting one two of three Top 25 teams in games at South Carolina, at Mississippi State or in Razorback Stadium against LSU.

Ole Miss looked like a win for the Razorbacks early as Arkansas took a 10-0 lead. But a pair of interceptions thrown by quarterback Tyler Wilson, a blocked punt and penalties (12 for 70 yards) kept the team from building or sustaining the lead.

One Wilson interception led to an Ole Miss field goal. The Rebels turned the blocked punt into a touchdown. And the penalties were just part of an off day for most of the offense, especially Wilson. He completed 24 of 43 passes for 297 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and he was sacked three times.

A hit on his touchdown pass to Chris Gragg early in the game to push the Razorbacks up 10-0 seemed to impact Wilson’s day. It was possibly a hip injury and Wilson seemed off from there as Ole Miss turned an early deficit into a 27-20 lead with 10:06 left in the game.,

Arkansas had a chance on its final drive, but left Ole Miss too much time on the clock. Wilson found wide receiver Cobi Hamilton for the 12^th catch of his 146-yard day to start the possession. Then Dennis Johnson, who ran for 161 yards on 27 carries had runs of 25, 21 and 5 yards for a touchdown to help tie the game.

“You can tell the way he was running he wasn’t going to lose this game,” Hamilton said. “You can tell he wasn’t going to let his team down.”