LEXINGTON, Ky — In less than two minutes of the final four minutes, a victory turned into a loss.

It was in hand and won, but the Arkansas Razorbacks, without Michael Smith, couldn’t get anything going on offense and Kentucky staged a wild comeback to win 21-20 Saturday night.

Bobby Petrino almost tricked Kentucky because he had to.

Petrino won with his Spread offense in his four previous meetings with the Wildcats, so naturally the Wildcats spent all week preparing for the Spread.

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Petrino had to shelve anything close to the Spread, other than in desperation time, for the Smith Offense.

Smith left, Smith right and Smith up the middle.

He had more touches than the first grandchild in an Italian family.

By the time the Razorbacks had a 20-7 lead with 10 minutes to play, the junior tailback already had 35 carries for 192 yards, 3 receptions for 33 yards and had scored both of Arkansas ’ touchdowns — and he was toast.

That lead wouldn’t be enough as the Wildcats cashed in on a fumble for a two-play touchdown drive, and, after a short punt, had another two-play touchdown drive, all in less than two minutes.

Arkansas appeared ready to steal the game after the Wildcats closed it to 17-7 on a 71-yard pass.

The teams swapped possessions, and then came what should have been the back breaker.

“Bizarre” is how Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks described it.

It was perhaps one of the strangest possessions in Razorbacks history.

The Hogs took over on their own 7 with 4: 45 to play in the third quarter. Exactly 9: 45 later, after five major penalties (57 yards against the teams combined ) and one minor one, on the 20 th play of the drive, Shay Haddock kicked a 23-yard field goal to give the Razorbacks a 20-7 lead.

On that drive, the Hogs had a first-and-goal at the 2 and all they could manage was three points. Like an earlier fumble at the 1, it cost them in the end.

Actually, despite all Smith did, if not for a true freshman and a redshirt freshman, the Hogs could have lost much earlier Saturday night.

With Dick struggling, Petrino basically went to a ground game — primarily Smith — that Kentucky could not stop until Smith was finished.

The Razorbacks finished with 51 rushes for 236 yards, but Dick was 11 of 29 passing with 2 interceptions for a meager 94 yards.

Yet, thanks to two plays by Arkansas freshmen, the Razorbacks led 14-0 at the break. True freshman Elton Ford grabbed an interception at the Kentucky 37, and five consecutive runs by Smith gave the Hogs a 7-0 lead.

On its next possession, Arkansas drove 78 yards to the Wildcats 1, where the Razorbacks stayed for two consecutive runs before Smith was stripped of the ball on a third attempt.

The game meandered along after that — the Razorbacks defense did stop the Wildcats in the red zone once — until Wendel Davis separated running back Derrick Locke from the ball after a catch, and redshirt freshman Jerry Franklin scooped it up and returned it to the Kentucky 17.

An illegal formation penalty against the Hogs — something that seems to be happening with great regularity lately — preceded Dick’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Smith, and Arkansas led 14-0 at halftime.

Basically, it was not a pretty game but should have been won.

Arkansas showed improvement defensively until the final four minutes. Offensively, the Hogs simply hit Kentucky where it least expected it, on the ground, until Smith simply could not play another down.

Now, the attention can officially turn to the game that tons of folks in Arkansas and Mississippi have had circled on their schedules for months.

As if there was not enough drama, both teams had heartbreaking losses Saturday.