FAYETTEVILLE -- Heavy rain and traffic filled the Interstate 49 Pigtrail hours before kickoff of a game that even the most diehard fan would have had trouble dreaming up.
Arkansas 30, Ole Miss 0.
A second consecutive shutout against a conference opponent, something that hadn't happened since 1965.
The 64,410 who braved the elements were treated to a great effort against a faster, allegedly more talented, team.
It wasn't a day for rating recruiting classes. It was a day for players.
Arkansas had the play-makers and Ole Miss, which gave Alabama its only loss of the season, had turnovers, miscues and the reality of being outplayed for most of the 60 minutes.
If the Rebels were looking ahead to arch-rival Mississippi State and the Egg Bowl next week, shame on them.
The highest hopes of Hogs fans became a reality.
The old Bo showed. Bo Wallace, who mostly has had a very good senior year as the Rebels' quarterback, had two fumbles and two interceptions. Some of his problems were forced, but some of them weren't.
There will be two plays that should always be remembered, both by the defense, as the true birth of Bretball.
After throwing a shutout against a tough, fast LSU team a week earlier, the Hogs defense did it again.
Everything about the Razorbacks program has been a work in progress since Bret Bielema stepped foot on campus, and almost every week there has been visible improvement. But these past two games came against ranked teams who are part of the feared SEC West's nucleus. The division in which all seven members are now bowl eligible.
The first play that deserves a place in Razorbacks lore was senior Trey Flowers' 14-yard sack of Wallace on a fourth- and-3 play when the Rebs appeared to be grabbing momentum. There was still 9:11 to play in the third quarter, and the Hogs led 17-0. Wallace throwing three touchdowns to win the game was a real concern.
Instead Flowers, who graduates next month with a degree in economics, fought off three blockers to get a hand on Wallace, who is generally elusive, and then another, and brought him down with bone-jarring efficiency.
Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen left with an injury, and little brother Austin stepped in and drove the team 47 yards -- 33 of it on a pass to Keon Hatcher -- as Adam McFain kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it 20-0.
That seemed to rile the Rebels, and Wallace drove them to the Arkansas 16 in a hurry. The crowd seemed to hold its breath when Wallace dropped back to pass to what appeared to be an open receiver in the end zone.
Except junior safety Rohan Gaines made the perfect read and stepped in front of the pass just as it arrived. Gaines, who sat out the first half for a targeting penalty against LSU, had one foot in the end zone when he took off down the right sideline, where a wall of blockers was developing in front of him.
Three potential tacklers were blocked, and Gaines cut to his left. He moved inside the Rebs' 40, and a second before it looked like he was going to be tackled, he cut back to the right sideline. He reached the end zone with a dive a split second before being stripped of the ball, and his 100-yard touchdown return sucked the life out of Ole Miss.
There were other big plays -- too many to mention them all, such as Darius Philon's fumble recovery and return 10 yards to the Ole Miss 1 that led to a field goal -- but from start to finish it was a team victory.
Ole Miss was the betting favorite, but after Flowers' sack and Gaines' touchdown on the 100-yard interception return, few if any of those who weathered a wet afternoon believed anyone other than the bowl-eligible Arkansas Razorbacks would win the game.
Sports on 11/23/2014