The third time was the charm for No. 21 Arkansas against Houston Nutt, but Hog fans had to wait through two lightning delays to celebrate their first win against their former coach.
The Razorbacks (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) played the final 20 minutes without quarterback Ryan Mallett and held on for a 38-24 win over Ole Miss in a nearly five-hour contest in front of 73,619 fans at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Mallett didn’t return after the first of two lightning delays, but the Hogs held on to avoid slipping into sole possession of last place in the SEC West. The win was the Hogs’ first in three tries against Nutt.
“Well, it took five hours, but we got the win,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. “I’m proud of our football team. They played extremely hard. I was real proud of how we finished the game running the ball. We’re a little banged up offensively, but we’ll certainly take the win.”
The two delays lasted a combined 89 minutes as both teams were forced to head to their respective locker rooms and fans left the stands.
“When we went in, we made them get off their feet and we got the coaches to quit coaching,” Petrino said. “We wanted them to relax and not talk football. During the second delay, we treated that more like a halftime and didn’t stretch as much as before.”
The first delay occurred at 1:42 p.m. and the stoppage lasted 58 minutes while a thunderstorm with heavy rain rolled through. Arkansas led 24-10 with 5:06 left in the third quarter when play was halted.
“It was kind of boring,” Mallett said about the delays. “We sat in the locker room and waited until they told us to come back out. I don’t think it if affected us too much. I think we did a good job coming back out as a team.”
Sophomore running back Knile Davis ran for 176 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, including 71-and 22-yard fourth-quarter scores as the Hogs fought off the Rebels’ comeback attempt.
“Knile did a great job running the football, but our offensive line did a great job blocking for him,” Petrino said. “
Sophomore Tyler Wilson entered the game in Mallett’s place on the Hogs’ first drive after the delay. Mallett stood on Arkansas’ sideline in his uniform, but without his helmet after he suffered a shoulder injury. The junior didn’t do any damage to the labrum or rotator cuff, Petrino said.
“It just got bruised up and got real tight,” Mallett said. “The doctor pulled me out. I just fell on it wrong.
The Hogs also played much of the second half without junior receivers Greg Childs and Joe Adams after the pair was injured on subsequent possessions early in the third quarter.
“Both of them have ankle (injuries), so we’ll have to wait and see,” Petrino said. “I didn’t hear high (ankle sprain), so I’m happy about that. I’m hoping that’s not what it is.”
Ole Miss (3-4, 1-3) cut the Hogs’ lead to a touchdown when quarterback Jeremiah Masoli found receiver Markeith Summers alone for a 43-yard score with 11:39 left in the contest.
Davis made a cut and outran the Rebels’ defense for the longest run of his career on the Hogs’ subsequent possession, putting Arkansas ahead 31-17 with 11:11 left in the contest.
“As soon as I got past the linebackers, there wasn’t anyone who was going to catch me,” Davis said. “The game plan going in was to attack the safeties. I’m just real thankful and real blessed. I was more comfortable and (having) a lot of carries helped me set things up.”
Masoli found Summers again for a 22-yard score to pull Ole Miss within 31-24 with 9:04 left in the contest. The game was delayed again after the extra point due to lightning in the area and a 31-minute delay ensued.
“Our coaching staff did a great job keeping us loose and not over-coaching us in the break,” junior defensive end Jake Bequette.
The Rebels gained 512 yards of offense and had seven play of more than 20 yards in the second half.
“You have to have a short-term memory,” Robinson said. “Unfortunately because we (give up big plays) so many times, we learn how sit down there and continue to have a short memory.”
Davis capped a five-play, 60-yard drive with a 22-yard score, putting the Hogs ahead 38-24 with 7:15 left in the game.
Masoli completed passes of 39 and 31 yards and the Rebels moved the ball to Arkansas’ 1-yard line. Running back Brandon Bolden fumbled out of the Wild Rebel and Tenarius Wright recovered at the 4-yard line.
Mallett finished the contest 13-of-24 for 196 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The junior was knocked out with a concussion last week in the second quarter of the Hogs’ 65-43 loss at No. 7 Auburn.
Wilson finished 3-of-5 for 71 yards in relief of Mallett.
“Tyler came in and did a great job,” Mallett said. “The last two games he’s done great. When you’ve got a guy like Tyler backing you up, you have a good feeling about it.”
Mallett threw an interception on the Hogs’ first play from scrimmage, giving Ole Miss the ball on the Arkansas 28-yard line. The Razorbacks’ defense stepped up when junior defensive end Jake Bequette forced Masoli to fumble. Junior linebacker Jerico Nelson recovered to end the Rebels’ scoring threat.
Mallett’s 46-yard pass to tight end D.J. Williams highlighted the Hogs’ next drive. Davis’ 2-yard score put the Razorbacks ahead 7-0 with 8:08 left in the first quarter.
The Hogs pushed the lead to 14-0 when junior Greg Childs dove to haul in a 23-yard touchdown from Mallett with 4:33 left in the opening period.
The Razorbacks had four plays of 20 or more yards in the first quarter, while racking up 144 yards of offense on just 12 plays. Arkansas managed just 140 yards of offense in the second and third quarters.
Adams put the Hogs ahead 21-0 when he returned Tyler Campbell’s punt 97 yards for a score with 6:02 left in the first half. Adams caught the ball over his shoulder and raced down the Ole Miss sideline, receiving a bone-crunching block from safety Rudell Crim.
“Coach Biagi has been telling me all week that I was going to get a return against Ole Miss and that’s what I did,” Adams said. “I got a return against Ole Miss. Usually when the ball is past the 10-yard line, you are supposed to fair catch it, but I didn’t know I was that far (back). I just caught it, the guys set the blocks up, I found a friendly butt and followed my guys.”
Adams’ return broke Ken Hatfield’s school record for longest return in UA history, set in 1963. The return was Arkansas’ first punt return for a score since Marvin Jackson in 2003. Adams had a touchdown return called back at Georgia.
“I knew I was going to get another one this year before it was all said and done,” Adams said. “We worked on it this week, the guys blocked well and I was just running.”
Arkansas gave Ole Miss good field position when sophomore running back Ronnie Wingo lost a fumble after catching a screen pass. D. Shackelford returned the fumble to the Hogs’ 3-yard line, but the Hogs’ defense held the Rebels to a 22-yard Bryson Rose field goal with 1:45 left in the half.
Freshman Zach Hocker nailed a 46-yard field goal to push the Hogs’ lead to 24-3 on the opening drive of the second half.
Ole Miss responded quickly. The Rebels needed just three plays to cover 63 yards and cut Arkansas’ lead to 24-10 when Masoli found receiver Ja-Mes Logan for a 23-yard score.
Masoli threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns in the second half and finished with 327 yards.
“Our defense played really wel in the first half,” Petrino said. “The second half was a little different because we weren’t able to slow them down as much.”