DALLAS — There was no fanfare, no celebration. No one even realized it had happened for a while.

Darren McFadden took a deep handoff from Casey Dick and powered into the end zone over left tackle from 3 yards out. He handed the ball to an official and calmly trotted to the sideline. No spike. No flexing.

The carry, which came with 3: 08 left in the third quarter of Tuesday’s Cotton Bowl, was likely the last of McFadden’s Arkansas career, ending the greatest three-year run a Razorbacks running back has ever had.

McFadden was on the field for the first two series of the fourth quarter but didn’t touch the ball. A jacket went on and his helmet came off with more than 10 minutes left in Arkansas’ 38-7 loss to Missouri.

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A touchdown was certainly an appropriate way for Arkansas ’ all-time single-season and career rushing leader to end his career. But if McFadden’s enters the NFL Draft, as widely expected, this wasn’t the game that McFadden, or Arkansas fans, are going to remember.

McFadden finished with 105 yards and the touchdown on 21 carries, his 10 th 100-plus yard game of the season and the 22 nd of his career. McFadden finished the season with 1, 830 yards, which gives him 4, 590 in his career, second all-time in the SEC.

But Tuesday’s performance was far from vintage McFadden.

“We had a bad game,” McFadden said. “You don’t want to lose a bowl game. The only time you have fun in a bowl game is when you win.”

McFadden’s longest run was 19 yards against a Missouri defense that didn’t miss tackles.

“They did a great job,” McFadden said. “They came out there working hard. They wanted it more than us. We didn’t get our 1-2 [punch ] working. We got to give them full credit. They were ready to play.”

Felix Jones, the “2” in Arkansas’ 1-2 punch, had only 45 yards on 10 carries.

The Razorbacks’ running game, which entered ranked third in the country with an average of 297 yards per game, finished with 164.

“There were too many times when there was nothing there for Darren,” Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee said. “He got to the line of scrimmage and, bam, it was blocked up and he could bounce in and couldn’t bounce out.

“ It had nothing to do with Darren or Felix; they ran well. What was there, they took. I didn’t see either one of them miss a cut. We just have to block a little better, a little longer, a little more efficiently.”

It wasn’t just the offensive line that struggled. Arkansas lost four fumbles and had an interception returned for a touchdown.

In one 12-play stretch in the fourth quarter, the teams combined for five turnovers, with Arkansas losing three of them.

The turnovers ended any chance Arkansas had of getting back in the game.

“We hurt ourselves more than they hurt us,” Jones said. “It was just not our day. It was like a domino effect. Once one thing happened, it just all started coming down. It was hard to regroup.

“ Missouri’s defense is a pretty good defense and well-prepared. It was real tough for the running backs.”

Jones said he hasn’t made a decision about whether he will return to Arkansas next season or enter the NFL Draft.

When asked if he will return for his senior season, McFadden gave the same answer he’s given for weeks, that he still needs to talk to his parents. But Lee shed a little light when asked about McFadden not playing late in a game that was out of hand, suggesting that McFadden doesn’t intend on returning.

“Darren didn’t even have to play in the game, but he wanted to,” Lee said. “He wanted to win and, bless his heart, he did a great job. He’s a warrior.”

But he’s likely not going to be a Razorback much longer. If so, interim coach Reggie Herring said he’ll remember the touchdown, not the final score, from the Cotton Bowl when he thinks of McFadden’s last game as a Razorback.

“Darren is a great football player and great competitor,” Herring said. “Regardless of what he did today, he’s a class act. In my book, he’ll be probably the greatest running back that’s ever donned a Razorback jersey.”