It all came down to timing.

Arkansas and Louisiana-Monroe made plenty of mistakes in a game that had its fair share of drama and exciting plays, but one that also will give coaches from both sides plenty of reason to grit their teeth while watching the film.

The Razorbacks made their crucial mistakes in the beginning of the game while the Warhawks’ miscues came at the end, which is why for the second consecutive week a team that faced long odds playing Arkansas trudged to the locker room unsatisfied with a moral victory and frustrated to tears by its near-upset.

Also for the second consecutive week, Arkansas (2-0 ) entered the fourth quarter trailing by 10 points and found a way to win.

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This time, it was with the help of a blown coverage, penalties, a fluttering ball that wasn’t batted down on fourth down, a shovel pass that was dropped in the last few seconds and a missed field goal — all in the last quarter.

“We had a chance. We just didn’t make the plays when it was time to make the plays,” Louisiana-Monroe Coach Charlie Weatherbie said. “They made the plays. They found a way to win it, again.

“ When you win one of those in the fourth quarter like [Arkansas did last week ], it’s a lot easier to win one again because they believe and know they can.”

Jeremy Gener, a walk-on kicker, made a 40-yard field goal with 12: 56 left in the game to put the Warhawks up 27-14.

Then came the first Louisiana-Monroe mistake.

When both safeties moved to cover Andrew Davie, Arkansas tight end D. J. Williams wound up wide open in the middle of the field and raced 76 yards to the 4. Arkansas scored on the next play to pull within 27-21.

Three Louisiana-Monroe penalties killed the next Warhawks drive. Then the teams traded punts to give Arkansas the ball with 4: 24 remaining.

On fourth-and-1 from the Louisiana-Monroe 32, Weatherbie might have been the only person in War Memorial Stadium not surprised when Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick threw a deep pass over the middle.

The Warhawks, despite the obvious running situation, where ready for the trick play, and Dick was hit as he threw the ball. The pass fluttered a bit, and cornerback Nate Brown and safety Greg James surrounded Chris Gragg. Both swiped at the ball but missed as Gragg came down with the 25-yard completion, leading to the game-winning score.

“We had guys in front and behind,” Weatherbie said. “In front and behind. We just didn’t make the play on the ball. They did. They converted it and made it happen, so it was an even greater call.

“ If he wouldn’t have made it, then what would you think ? The game would have been over.”

Louisiana-Monroe had one more chance.

The Warhawks moved to the Arkansas 27, and on third-and-7 called a smart play, a shovel pass past blitzing Razorbacks linebackers. Rodney Lovett was open and on his way to a big gain, but he failed to catch the ball.

“We just have to execute, all 11 of us,” quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster said. “One player can kill a whole drive, all the momentum. We came out and played. It all came down to who was going to make the best plays in the end.”

Without the extra yardage, Gener’s 45-yard field goal never had a chance.

“A few plays hurt us,” said receiver Anthony McCall, who had 6 catches for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a pair of key catches on the final drive. “Going against an SEC team, with a big crowd, really the loudest crowd we’ll hear all year, we knew they’d give us everything they had and they showed us that in the end.”