STARKVILLE, Miss. -- It was a nice homecoming for Arkansas tight end Grayson Gunter on Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium.
Gunter -- a true freshman from Madison, Miss., and Arkansas' only player from the state -- had the honor of carrying the American flag for the Razorbacks when they ran onto the field before the game.
Then in the first quarter, Gunter made his first career catch -- for 29 yards -- on a pass from Austin Allen. It was a key play on a touchdown drive that put the Razorbacks ahead 14-7.
Gunter's father, Bubba, played at Ole Miss.
Hatcher streak
Arkansas senior wide receiver Keon Hatcher caught an Austin Allen pass for a 44-yard gain on the last play of the first quarter. It extended Hatcher's streak to 29 consecutive games with a reception going back to 2013.
First for Cantrell
Arkansas redshirt freshman tight end Austin Cantrell scored his first career touchdown when he caught a 1-yard pass from tailback Rawleigh Williams in the third quarter.
Also for O'Grady
Arkansas tight end Cheyenne O'Grady, a redshirt freshman from Fayetteville, made his first career reception. He caught an Austin Allen pass for a 23-yard gain in the second quarter.
First miss
Arkansas senior kicker Adam McFain missed his first field-goal attempt of the season when his 40-yarder went wide right in the first quarter.
McFain had hit his first six attempts, including a 54-yarder at Auburn. He hit a 34-yarder in the second quarter.
Second two-pointer
Arkansas receiver Keon Hatcher has been part of two successful two-point conversions this season. Hatcher ran for two points Saturday night after passing to Austin Allen for two points at TCU.
Ross tough to stop
Mississippi State senior Fred Ross' 40-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter put him over 100 receiving yards against Arkansas for the third consecutive season.
Ross had 10 catches for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Razorbacks last season. He had 4 catches for 107 yards and 1 touchdown against them in 2014.
Holloway out
Mississippi State senior running back Brandon Holloway was held out of the game because of an undisclosed injury.
Holloway had a big impact in the Bulldogs' 51-50 victory at Arkansas last season when he rushed 14 times for 63 yards and caught 4 passes for 101 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown.
What, not ranked?
Mississippi State was the first unranked opponent for Arkansas since Oct. 1 when the Razorbacks beat Alcorn State 52-10 in Little Rock.
Arkansas played five consecutive ranked opponents, losing to Alabama, beating Ole Miss, losing at Auburn, beating Florida and losing to LSU.
The Razorbacks, who finish the regular season at unranked Missouri on Friday, played seven ranked teams this season, including TCU and Texas A&M. Arkansas won at TCU and lost to Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas, for a 3-4 record against ranked teams.
The Arkansas-Mississippi State matchup was the first game involving the Razorbacks in which neither team was ranked since the season opener when Arkansas beat Louisiana Tech 21-20.
QB rushing TDs
Mississippi State sophomore Nick Fitzgerald became the fifth opposing quarterback to rush for at least two touchdowns against Arkansas.
Other quarterbacks to do so were TCU's Kenny Hill, Texas A&M's Trevor Knight, Alabama's Jalen Hurts and Ole Miss' Chad Kelly. Other quarterbacks who rushed for touchdowns against the Razorbacks were Louisiana Tech's J'Mar Smith, Alcorn State's Noah Johnson and Auburn's Sean White.
Sign him up
Mississippi State fan Alex Dickson hit a 25-yard field goal during halftime as part of a promotion.
Maybe the Bulldogs should have had him try the 44-yard attempt that Westin Graves missed on the last play of the first half.
Under the lights
Arkansas is used to playing under the lights. Saturday was the Razorbacks' eighth night game this season.
Arkansas' regular-season finale at Missouri is a 1:30 p.m. start Friday on CBS.
Mississippi State played its fifth night game of the season and first home game at night since Sept. 10 when the Bulldogs beat South Carolina 27-14.
The Bulldogs played four games that started at 11 a.m. The Razorbacks had one 11 a.m. start against Alcorn State.
Fashion update
The Razorbacks went with a traditional look -- white pants and jersey with red helmets -- after wearing all anthracite against Florida and all red against LSU the previous two games.
Mississippi State wore silver helmets and pants with maroon jerseys for the first time this season.
Captain Collins
Senior cornerback Jared Collins served as an Arkansas team captain for the coin toss along with linebacker Brooks Ellis, defensive lineman Deatrich Wise and offensive tackle Dan Skipper.
Collins took the place of senior running back Kody Walker, who is out with a season-ending foot injury.
On the road again
Arkansas, which plays at Missouri next week, is on the road for two games to finish the regular season for the first time since 1982, when the Razorbacks played at SMU and Texas. They tied the Mustangs 17-17 and lost to the Longhorns 33-7.
Senior night
Mississippi State honored its 19 seniors in a pregame ceremony.
Bulldogs Coach Dan Mullen and his wife, Megan, greeted the seniors at midfield as they were introduced. The Razorbacks honored their seniors last week against LSU.
Sports on 11/20/2016