Hogs ground MSU's air raid, snap losing streak

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The streak is over.

After losing its last 10 games overall and last 20 SEC games, Arkansas upset No. 16 Mississippi State 21-14 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss.

The Razorbacks leaned on a stellar performance by its defense, which grounded the Mike Leach’s air raid attack by consistently dropping eight men into coverage and keeping the Bulldogs in front of them.

A week after throwing for an SEC-record 623 yards against LSU, K.J. Costello was limited to only 313 yards on 43-of-59 passing. He also threw three interceptions with just one touchdown.

Twice in the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks came up with stops on fourth-and-two inside the 15, preserving their seven-point lead. They benefited from a muffed punt, as well.

It didn’t take long for Arkansas’ defense make its presence known. On the game’s opening possession, Greg Brooks Jr. jumped in front of a pass by Costello and returned it 69 yards for the Razorbacks’ first pick-six since 2016.

The play came just a few snaps after Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill appeared to fumble the ball away to Arkansas, but the replay officials didn’t see enough to overturn the call on the field that he was down. Not only did that eventually lead to the pick-six, but the preseason All-SEC running back suffered an injury that kept him out the rest of the game.

The Bulldogs responded with a long 15-play, 75-yard drive that ate up nearly eight minutes of the game clock, capped by a tremendous touchdown grab by JaVonta Payton at the back on the end zone. The 17-yard score tied it up at 7-7.

After a three-and-out on its first offensive possession, Arkansas’ offense heated up. Despite starting at its own 6-yard line, it marched all the way down inside the 5.

With a third-and-goal from the 3, Arkansas went with its package for backup quarterback KJ Jefferson. However, he couldn’t punch it in on back-to-back plays, even fumbling when the Razorbacks went for it on fourth down instead of attempting a short field goal.

They didn’t have an issue capping their next drive, though. De’Vion Warren fooled the Bulldogs’ defense as he acted like he would block the cornerback for a screen, but went by him and was wide open in the end zone for a 19-yard score to put Arkansas up 14-7.

That proved to be all of the scoring in the first half, as Mississippi State had three straight punts - covering just 55 yards on 14 plays - before Joe Foucha came down with an interception along the sideline as it was driving just before halftime.

While the loss of Hill was critical for the Bulldogs, Arkansas also lost key offensive playmakers Rakeem Boyd and Treylon Burks and starting cornerback Montaric Brown to injuries. Starting linebacker Grant Morgan also missed an extended period of time, but returned in the second half.

Both offenses came out firing immediately after halftime.

Feleipe Franks needed less than four minutes to guide the Razorbacks 75 yards for a touchdown that gave them a 14-point lead. A 12-yard pass to a wide open Hudson Henry in the end zone capped the 11-play drive.

Mississippi State’s second touchdown drive of the game also lasted more than seven minutes, with Costello completing 9 of 9 passes before Dillon Johnson broke a tackle on his way to a 6-yard touchdown run.

With the offense stalling out, though, the Razorbacks had to lean on their defense.

Following a quick possession by Arkansas, the Bulldogs were on their way down the field to tie the game when Foucha came down with his second interception.

On Mississippi State’s next two possessions, the Razorbacks came up with the aforementioned fourth-down stops inside the red zone.

It seemed like the Bulldogs would get another chance to tie the game after a second straight three-and-out by Arkansas, but Jaden Walley muffed the punt and Deon Edwards recovered.

After a big third-down catch on the sideline by Warren - who finished with 100 yards on four receptions - it appeared the Razorbacks would be able to run out the clock, but an unsportsmanlike penalty on Mike Woods allowed Mississippi State to get the ball back one more time.

With 25 seconds left and needing to go 88 yards, though, the Bulldogs came up well short. It gave Arkansas its first SEC win since beating Ole Miss on Oct. 28, 2017, snapping a 20-game skid.

The Razorbacks improve to 1-1 under first-year head coach Sam Pittman, while Mississippi State drops to 1-1.