BATON ROUGE, La. — Cam Little made a game-winning field goal in overtime to give Arkansas just its fourth ever win at Death Valley on Saturday night.
The 37-yard kick was set up by an interception in the end zone by Montaric Brown on LSU’s possession to open the overtime period and gave the Razorbacks a 16-13 win.
“It wasn't pretty, but when that ball went through the uprights, it was one of the prettiest things I've ever seen,” head coach Sam Pittman said. “To come to LSU at night and to win is hard anytime.”
It seemed like the Tigers had momentum going its way in overtime, as it converted a third-and-20 following a big sack by Hayden Henry before Garrett Nussmeier - the heralded LSU freshman - threw too far to the inside and Brown came down with his fourth interception of the season.
The Razorbacks played it safe with three straight runs by KJ Jefferson on the ensuing drive, with the last one getting the ball to the middle of the field. Following a timeout by the Tigers, Little calmly booted the field goal through the uprights.
Facing near constant pressure, Jefferson completed 18 of 25 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown and added a team-high 41 rushing yards - which was 62 without three sacks. On the flip side, Nussmeier was 18 of 31 for 179 yards, one touchdown and two costly interceptions.
The win, which came in Arkansas’ first overtime game since 2017, snaps a five-game losing streak to the Tigers and improves it to 7-3 overall and 3-3 in SEC play.
Things started very promising for Arkansas, as its defense forced a three-and-out and Bryce Stephens returned the punt 26 yards to set up the offense with good field position.
On their first play, the Razorbacks dialed up some trickery. Dominique Johnson took a direct snap and handed off to Jefferson, who faked like he’d give it to Treylon Burks on an end-around before throwing to Blake Kern for an 18-yard completion.
After that, though, Arkansas couldn’t move the ball against LSU’s defense. It was already within range for a Cam Little 48-yard field goal that gave it a 3-0 lead, but yards were tough to come by after that.
In fact, the Razorbacks’ next 15 plays after the trick play went for minus-5 yards - a stretch that included four straight three-and-outs. It was snapped by a tough 13-yard run by Johnson.
Meanwhile, LSU replaced starting quarterback Max Johnson after a couple of ineffective drives and Nussmeier took over. His first two drives started in Arkansas territory and resulted in points.
The Tigers converted a fourth down on the first one, but it stalled in the red zone and they settled for a 34-yard field goal by Cade York to tie it up late in the first quarter.
On his second possession, Nussmeier spun away from Joe Foucha, who got a hand on him in the backfield, and fired a 29-yard touchdown to Jack Bech at the back of the end zone.
It could have been worse for Arkansas, but LSU turned it over in the red zone when it tried a direct snap to Tyrion Davis-Price. The running back bobbled it and Greg Brooks Jr. raced in to recover it.
The Razorbacks managed to cross the 50 on each of their final two drives of the half, but the last one was aided by LSU playing prevent defense and allowing a 28-yard run by Trelon Smith as time expired. That gave them 101 yards for the half, compared to the Tigers’ 136.
Getting the ball to start the second half, Arkansas once again got into LSU territory, only for Jefferson to get sacked on fourth down.
The defense continued its solid play by limiting the Tigers to a 55-yard field goal attempt. York’s try was well short, giving the Razorbacks their best starting field position since their first drive of the game.
After moving the chains with the help of a pass interference penalty, Jefferson somehow avoided a sack and kept his eyes downfield, where he found Johnson wide open for a 43-yard touchdown. That tied the game at 10-10.
On the next drive by LSU, Nussmeier was picked off by Myles Slusher on a pass over the middle.
With a chance to take the lead, Warren Thompson came down with an impressive back-shoulder catch before the drive stalled out. Little lined up for a 54-yard field goal, but Arkansas called a fake. Reid Bauer - the holder - kept it and ran 23 yards to get into the red zone.
However, the Razorbacks still ended up having to settle for 27-yard field goal, with Little’s kick putting them up 13-10 late in the third quarter.
LSU responded with a 12-play drive that included a fourth-down conversion to set up a game-tying 45-yard field goal by York.
After the Razorbacks punted it back to them, the Tigers drove into Arkansas territory, but Nussmeier’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
On its ensuing possession, Arkansas appeared to convert a fourth-and-inches on a plunge by Johnson - only for an illegal formation penalty to wipe it out.
Instead, the Razorbacks had to punt. Bauer’s 52-yarder coupled with a holding penalty led to LSU starting at its own 5. The Tigers got near midfield and were facing a fourth-and-one with less than a minute left when a false start backed them up. The ensuing punt and a kneel down by Arkansas sent the game to overtime.
Things don’t get any easier for the Razorbacks, as they head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face Alabama next week. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.
