FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Bret Bielema sat in his office following a 51-50 loss to Mississippi State on Saturday night, having finished his postgame meeting with players and media responsibilities.
He immediately turned on the video of the Razorbacks 29-yard field goal attempt with 46 remaining against the Bulldogs, a kick that was blocked to put an end to Arkansas' four-game winning streak.
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Bielema has experienced his share of emotions over the last three seasons while rebuilding the Razorbacks (6-5, 4-3 Southeastern Conference), from disappointment to moments of hope and excitement for the future. Saturday night, however, might have been the first time he went "through the roof" with flat-out anger.
"For the first time since I've been here, I was legitimately just pissed off Saturday night and Sunday," Bielema said. "We've lost some games here, but I don't know if we've ever been in a position where we could say, 'Hey, that was truly one that' (got away). We could have easily had that game be in the win column, and you can't give away a win."
Arkansas will attempt to put Saturday's disappointment behind it when it hosts Missouri (5-6, 1-6) on Friday afternoon.
Two days following the loss, though, Bielema was still defending the final sequence that led up to the Razorbacks' final field-goal attempt against Mississippi State.
Trailing by a point with 3:05 remaining in the game, Arkansas drove 70 yards in five plays down to the Bulldogs 19.
Senior quarterback Brandon Allen, who had already thrown for a school-record seven touchdowns in the game, completed all five of his pass attempts on the drive — the last of which was an 18-yard strike to Jared Cornelius.
Rather than keep the ball in Allen's hands, Bielema elected to run the ball on Arkansas' next three plays to force Mississippi State to use its timeouts and give All-SEC quarterback Dak Prescott as little time as possible following the hopeful field goal.
The plan worked to perfection until Beniquez Brown burst through the Arkansas line to block Cole Hedlund's kick before it ever had a chance.
"If you look at the results of what could happen, you feel good about keeping the ball on the ground ... And making a routine field goal," Bielema said. "I wouldn't change anything else."
Bielema said the close losses this season haven't taken an emotional toll on him or dampened his excitement about reaching a bowl game for a second straight season.
He also said he met with the Razorbacks Sunday morning and put the loss behind him, though it might take longer for the disheartened fan base.
"I knew if we beat them what it meant to me," Bielema said. "It meant that we're on the verge of winning a lot more than losing."