By the time Faurot Field was covered with celebrating Missouri fans, the emails and texts started coming in. They continued through the night and Saturday morning, and by noon all but one was answered.
That one was suspected of being from someone who is not an Arkansas Razorbacks fan, but a fan of another school in state, and he loves to hate on the Hogs.
Most were concerned about Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen playing when he was hurt and why Coach Bret Bielema would allow that. There was a little venting about the 12 penalties in the 12th game, when those sort of mental mistakes should have long ago been addressed.
Allen completed 7 of 10 passes for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half, but he was 6 of 20 for 56 yards in the second half and most of those incompletions looked like a Falcon 200 jet on takeoff. They soared.
Sometime in the third quarter, after two of Allen's passes sailed high, someone with wit in the press box quipped: "Looks like the shot wore off."
It was a joke.
Allen's insistence to play, with the approval of his father, Bobby, and Bret Bielema's statement after the game that the coaching staff believed Brandon Allen gave Arkansas its best shot to win was just another confirmation that he is the best quarterback on campus.
The coaches are in practice every day. They review those practices, and they decide the starting lineup based on performance.
They don't play favorites. They make too much money for that. And Allen never complained, not even in the second half.
Yet, it was easy to understand some fans' feelings. Moving the chains allows your defense to get some rest, which didn't happen much in the second half Friday.
Arkansas' defense was on the field more than 18 minutes in the second half in Columbia, Mo., much of that in an all-out sprint to cover or catch Missouri's receivers, quarterback Maty Mauk or the running backs.
Missouri had 302 yards of offense in the second half.
The Razorbacks had two fourth-down conversions in the second half, a 9-yard pass from Allen to Hunter Henry and a fake punt when Sam Irwin-Hill ran for 23 yards, but they were 0-7 on third-down conversions. That's a team statistic, not an individual statistic.
A run by the punter was the longest of the game for the Razorbacks. So while Allen gets some of the blame, he shouldn't get all of it.
It isn't like the Razorbacks lost to Louisiana-Monroe.
The Tigers are No. 17 in the nation and the SEC Eastern Division champions who are on their way to a second consecutive SEC Championship Game. Admittedly, they had the easiest schedule in the SEC, but their victories at Tennessee and Texas A&M coming into the season finale, the Battle of Black Friday, showed they had developed a lot of mental toughness.
Their four SEC road victories -- at South Carolina, Florida, A&M and Tennessee -- were in front of crowds that averaged more than 93,000 fans.
Plus, they came in with a great game plan. They used run blitz to help hold the Hogs to 155 yards rushing and on offense they used screens and tunnel screens to get 1-on-1 coverage.
It was easy to understand some of the frustration from the Razorbacks Nation after the Hogs beat LSU and Ole Miss, yet it wasn't one player's fault. It rarely is.
If someone had wanted to bet entering the final month of the regular season that the Razorbacks would get bowl eligible after facing four ranked opponents, most people would have taken that bet.
From start to finish, with the exception of the Georgia game, this year's team improved. That's 11 weeks of building for the future.
Despite losing to Missouri, that future is brighter than it has been in more than two years and the Hogs are going to a bowl.
Sports on 11/30/2014