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Published Nov 2, 2019
Hill runs wild as Mississippi State crushes Arkansas
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Andrew Hutchinson  •  HawgBeat
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FAYETTEVILLE — Playing a team riding a four-game losing streak, Arkansas hardly looked any different than in blowout losses to Auburn and Alabama.

The Razorbacks fell behind 17-0 for the third straight week on their way to a 54-24 massacre at the hands of Mississippi State on Saturday.

It extends Arkansas’ SEC losing streak to 17 games, matching the school record, and drops head coach Chad Morris to 0-14 in conference play. That is tied for the second most consecutive losses to start a tenure in the history of the SEC, which was formed in 1933.

The loss also ensures the Razorbacks with go more than three full years between SEC wins in Fayetteville, as they last won a conference game inside Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium on Nov. 5, 2016 with a 31-10 win over No. 11 Florida.

On Saturday, Arkansas had no answer for Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill. The SEC’s leading rusher gashed the Razorbacks for 198 yards in the first half and finished with 234 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. It was the most rushing yards by an opposing player since LSU’s Derrius Guice ran for 252 in 2016.

Backup running back Nick Gibson also ran for 129 yards, helping the Bulldogs rack up 640 yards of offense, compared to the 285 yards gained by Arkansas.

Despite scoring only 27 total first-quarter points in their first eight games of the season - and just six during their four-game losing streak - the Bulldogs came out firing.

A 62-yard run by Hill set up his own 4-yard touchdown run to start the scoring. Mississippi State’s second drive ended with Osirus Mitchell grabbing a jump ball over LaDarrius Bishop for a 33-yard touchdown thrown by Tommy Stevens.

The Razorbacks finally came up with a stop at the 8-yard line, limiting the Bulldogs to a 26-yard field goal by Jace Christmann. That made it 17-0 early in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Arkansas’ offense gained 35 total yards on its first three drives, with a 22-yard run by Rakeem Boyd on its first play of the game accounting for most of it.

However, the Razorbacks showed some life on the ensuing drives. After the defense forced a three-and-out, the offense turned it into points thanks to a 52-yard touchdown run by Boyd.

It didn’t result in any sustained momentum, though. Mississippi State marched down the field and answered with a touchdown of its own.

On third-and-goal, Hill scored on a 2-yard run. That capped a 75-yard drive highlighted by Hill’s 37-yard run and a 27-yard completion from Stevens to Isaiah Zuber.

Arkansas had to punt from near midfield on its next possession, but Malik Dear muffed it and Jordan Silver recovered to give it good field position.

Hicks nearly gave it right back with an interception at the goal line, but the play was overturned after replay review. Instead, the Razorbacks settled for a 40-yard field goal, which Limpert made to make it 24-10.

That was the last time they were within two possessions.

Mississippi State needed just five plays to cover 84 yards and find the end zone again, with Hill covering 58 yards on one run. He then capped it with his third touchdown of the half, a 1-yard plunge.

On Arkansas’ third play, Marcus Murphy stepped in front of a Hicks pass and returned it 32 yards for a pick-six. That made it 38-10 with less than two minutes left in the half and finally led to Morris making the switch to John Stephen Jones.

Hicks completed just 4 of 13 passes for 44 yards, lowering his season completion percentage to 48.5 percent and yards per attempt to 5.6.

The second half didn’t start much better for the Razorbacks, who went three-and-out and then gave up touchdown - on a 3-yard pass from Stevens to Farrod Green - to fall behind 45-10.

Jones actually put together a nice drive the second time he took the field after halftime, leading a 12-play, 59-yard drive set up by a 38-yard kickoff return by Treylon Burks. The Razorbacks converted three third down and then Jones hit Mike Woods on a fade route for an 11-yard score on fourth down.

After Mississippi State tacked on a 46-yard field goal, the few fans who stuck around finally got a glimpse of true freshman quarterback K.J. Jefferson.

On his first career snap, he ripped off a 21-yard run. Following a 17-yard run by Boyd, Jefferson then completed his first career pass, which Burks caught around a defender for 32 yards. That set up a 5-yard touchdown run by the freshman to pull Arkansas within 48-24.

Gibson single-handedly answered for Mississippi State, rushing three times for 75 yards on the next drive. His 47-yard touchdown run, coupled with a botched extra point attempt, made it 54-24.

Following a fumble by true freshman A’Montae Spivey, the Bulldogs managed to run out the final 7 minutes and 40 seconds, taking a knee at the 10-yard line.

Arkansas will remain at home next week when it hosts Western Kentucky - led by former quarterback Ty Storey - at 11 a.m. Saturday. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.