FAYETTEVILLE — The fourth quarter started with Arkansas fans spilling out of Reynolds Razorback Stadium. It ended with some hurrying back to see a fight to the bitter, cold end in a surprising 24-17 finish.
Yes, LSU ended the game with running back Nick Brosette sliding to down the ball in the open field a couple of times to make sure to use up all of the game's final 5:27. There was a try for no gain from the 1-yard line on the last play, a sure attempt at a touchdown.
Make no mistake, the Tigers were more than happy to offer handshakes, pats on the back and acknowledge that the Razorbacks fought to the end.
For three quarters, it looked like LSU had avoided a letdown after a 29-0 loss to Alabama the week before, while the Hogs were healing their wounds in an open date.
LSU owned a 261 to 91 edge in total yards through three quarters, and they were cruising with a 24-3 lead on the scoreboard.
Things began to change after what seemed like an insignificant miss on a third down. Derrick Dillon was sailing in the open field on a third-and-12 play, but safety Kamren Curl made the tackle 2 feet short of the first down to force a punt.
That's when Arkansas quarterback Ty Storey found soft spots in the LSU defense for the first time all night. Until then defenders had been draped on his receivers every time there was any time in the pocket.
It turned on a third-and-10 play when Storey found La'Michael Pettway sailing through the middle for a 31-yard gain. Then, he hit tight end Grayson Gunter for 23. On fourth-and-10, Storey found C.J. O'Grady for an 11-yard touchdown play.
Two possessions later, the Hogs zipped 75 yards on three Storey completions to cut it to 24-17 on an O'Grady catch for the final 32 yards. With 5:27 left and one timeout left, the Hogs had made a game of it and the exits were no longer full.
They would not get another chance. Things went sour even as they were pulling back into the game. O'Grady broke into a brief dance in the end zone. He was flagged instantly.
Arkansas coach Chad Morris was disappointed. He had sensed that O'Grady was close to doing the same thing on his first touchdown catch.
“C. J. made a tremendous catch, but the play before that he was close to unsportsmanlike,” Morris said. “I addressed it on the sideline. I told him to keep his composure. I told him anything close was going to get called. We were not composed.”
That put the Hogs back to their 20-yard line for the kickoff and LSU would start at its own 41-yard line after a 25-yard return.
There was one hint that a stop was possible. The Hogs forced a third-and-6, but quarterback Joe Burrow hit Dillon on a slant. There wasn't another third down as the Tigers ran out the clock.
O'Grady apologized afterward. He promised there would be no more such composure lapses.
“At that point, I got a little too excited,” O'Grady said. “I was definitely out of control. It was an immature move. It is not going to happen again.”
O'Grady made most of the big plays in the game for the Hogs. It was clear the game plan was to target the junior tight end.
Strong safety Grant Delpit danced in and out of the box giving the Hogs lots of trouble in the running game. The LSU corners are NFL types and batted down six passes. LSU had 12 pass breakups on the night. The Hogs had only one.
There were reasons for O'Grady to dance. There were battles all night for jump balls. LSU was guilty of pass interference on several, but none were called. The worst happened just before halftime when cornerback Kristian Fulton pulled O'Grady to the turf in the end zone, slapping him across the face mask as the pass arrived.
Two plays before the last touchdown, an LSU defensive back was flagged for taunting while O'Grady lay injured below. It was an ugly scene.
Still, it came down to the Hogs getting a defensive stop. Storey said the offense was ready.
“We were confident,” Storey said, noting the offense finally had some rhythm.
“We were working on our plan. We thought we had a good one.”
Defensive end McTelvin Agim said the Tigers just were too good on that last drive.
“We won some battles during the game, but they one-upped us at the end,” Agim said. “Give them credit.”
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw said the Tigers have “scholarship guys, too. They put their nose down and made some plays.”
Agim said, “They definitely tried to pound the ball. We did a semi-good job most of the time. I think for the time we were on the field, we did a pretty good job.”
LSU won time of possession 35:47 to 24:13. The fourth quarter was especially bad, but mainly because the Hogs scored fast twice. LSU possessed the ball for 11:03 in the final quarter.
The Hogs finished with just 16 yards rushing. They were bad on first down and just 2-of-12 on third downs. Morris correctly said that's a bad combination.
“Offensively I thought we were very inconsistent, and we couldn’t run the football,” he said. “We were
poor on first downs, I think we averaged two yards on first down and 2-of-12 on third down and that’s difficult. It’s difficult to move the football when those two areas aren’t in sync.
“They made us one-dimensional, and we knew the back end of their secondary was as good as any we’ve seen. Making us one-dimensional, that’s tough to do.”
The plan was to run the football, but the Tigers whipped double teams and their linebackers blew through creases. Offensive guard Hjalte Froholdt said the Tigers were not a surprise.
“They have some really big guys up front, so it’s tough to gain some movement on double teams and they have some really athletic linebackers,” Froholdt said. “You know everyone knows (linebacker) Devin White but they’re all extremely athletic and when we can’t really get to linebackers they make some big plays.
“You saw them fly around and make a lot of plays in the backfield and they have a really good back end as well. Even when we block it out right they fill real quick. We had a couple plays that led to where the safety made the tackle where it could have been a big play but, they kept it to no more than six, seven yards. It’s a really good defense, they fly around they don’t just stop whenever you’re on them, they stay active and they’re a really good run stopping defense.”
The Hogs stopped the run, too. LSU made 164 yards on 48 attempts - just 3.4 per play. Greenlaw made 12 tackles, De'Jon Harris 12 and Santos Ramirez 10.
Greenlaw battled back from an ankle injury that allowed him to play only five snaps against Vanderbilt. It's the same injury that cost him two games in September.
“My right ankle, since that first game of the season has just been there kinda lingering,” Greenlaw said. “Some movements and some turns give it a sharp pain. It’s definitely starting to heal up a little bit. It was my last game, I wasn’t about to leave that field for any reason. I could’ve broken my foot and I still would be playing. Being a Razorback means that much to me.”
Greenlaw had a scoop on a fumble caused by Agim late in the first half, setting up a field goal. His ankle was problematic on his 24-yard return.
"When I finally got going I felt my ankle,” Greenlaw said. “I tried to go into another gear, but it just couldn’t do it. Sosa [Agim] made it happen and I tried to get it in the end zone for him, but just couldn’t do it.”
The Hogs have two games left. Greenlaw hopes his ankle will be good to go. If there is a chance, he'll play. He said the team won't give up, just as it didn't against LSU.
“Losing isn’t fun at all,” he said. “I wish the season would’ve been better than what it is, but we just have to continue to fight. I saw a lot of fight in our team tonight. There was plenty of time we could’ve given up. Guys were banged up.
"I’m just proud of the way we fought and battled. Just going out there in my last game in that stadium, I felt like we fought hard and I’m really proud of that.”