Allen, limping but undeterred, stands tall

FAYETTEVILLE -- If that doesn't get the critics off his back, nothing will.

There were many heroes Saturday in a game that went four overtimes and lasted more than four hours, but none bigger than Brandon Allen. Arkansas' quarterback wasn't perfect, but he was a difference maker when he absolutely had to be in the Razorbacks' 54-46 victory at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

This is the same quarterback who has been criticized for not playing well late in games and for not putting the team on his back and getting a victory.

He did both Saturday.

Matt Jones was the king of overtime for the Arkansas Razorbacks, and probably will be forever, but Allen, the hometown hero from Fayetteville, was royal on this day.

It was all on Allen to show the cool and calm of a winner after Auburn seemingly grabbed the momentum thanks to a field goal that tied it with four seconds left and then scoring the first overtime touchdown in just three plays.

To lead by example as well as vocally.

He did.

The Hogs faced fourth and 3 in the first overtime, trailing 31-24, when Allen hit Drew Morgan for 6 yards and a touchdown. It was the first time in the game that Allen had to slam the door on defeat, but it wouldn't be the last.

The Razorbacks opened the second overtime on offense on the south end of the field, right in front of the student section and thousands of others who are probably hoarse today.

On the first play Allen tossed a lateral to Duwop Mitchell, a quarterback who was converted to a wide receiver, and he threw a strike back to Allen down the left sideline for an 11-gain to the 14. The tackle left Allen limping for the rest of the game, but two plays later Kody Walker scored from the 3 to give the Hogs a 38-31 lead.

The Tigers fumbled on the first play of their ensuing possession but recovered it, and six plays later it was tied at 38-38 and going to a third overtime, when teams are required to go for two points after a touchdown.

Auburn, heading toward the north end zone in the third overtime, took five plays to score before the Hogs drove to the 4, where again they were faced with a fourth down. There was no panic in Allen, who saw seven Auburn defenders in the box, took the snap and quickly pitched it to Walker on a misdirection sweep left for a touchdown. Allen then threw a perfect strike to Jeremy Sprinkle for the two-point conversion, and the teams were headed south again for the fourth overtime.

On first down Allen hit Morgan down the right sideline, and the go-to guy scored for a 25-yard touchdown. Allen iced the cake with a two-point pass to Walker, and the defense did the rest with Josh Liddell breaking up a pass on a fourth-and-9 play to seal the victory.

It was a miracle that the loud crowd didn't storm the field.

Feel-good victories have been hard to come by the past few years, and to get a victory at home by fighting back time after time made it a special afternoon for a team that needs three more victories to get back to a bowl game.

Allen was 7 of 10 passing in the overtimes with 2 touchdowns and 2 two-point conversions, plus an 11-yard reception. For the game, he was 19 of 31 for 233 yards with 3 touchdowns.

Obviously Allen was critical, but it was a team victory that showed composure in those overtimes when offensive coordinator Dan Enos was unloading his playbook with misdirection plays and a little trickery.

Enos squeezed every ounce out of his receivers, despite being thin at the position, especially after JoJo Robinson was suspended again. Three of the receivers had at least one rush, and Mitchell had a pass completion. Including Allen, six different guys caught passes.

Allen should have silenced his critics, at least for a while.

Sports on 10/25/2015