The fans returned, but the magic did not for Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
In an all-too-familiar script for Arkansas fans, the Razorbacks could not hold on to a big lead and gave up the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of a 37-33 loss to Ole Miss in front of an announced crowd of 51,438 on a cold, rainy night in Little Rock. The loss was Arkansas' sixth in a row and dropped the Razorbacks to 1-6 overall and 0-4 in Southeastern Conference play under first-year coach Chad Morris.
It is the sixth time in program history that Arkansas has lost six consecutive games. The 1-6 start is the Razorbacks' worst since Frank Broyles' first team lost six in a row to begin the 1958 season.
Once a powerful home-field advantage, War Memorial was once again the site of a nightmare ending for the Razorbacks, who led by as many as 17 points, 27-10, after Connor Limpert's 38-yard field goal with 2:36 to play before halftime. But the Razorbacks gave up touchdowns in the final minute of both halves and failed to score a touchdown in the game's final 40 minutes, 50 seconds despite having four more drives enter Ole Miss territory.
It was the seventh time in Arkansas' last 21 games that the Razorbacks blew a lead of at least 14 points, and it was Arkansas' 15th blown double-digit lead since 2012.
Four of those blown leads have come at War Memorial, part of a six-game losing streak in Little Rock to teams from the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision. Arkansas has not beaten an FBS team there since Mississippi State in 2011.
Since then the losses have included blown leads of 21 to ULM in 2012, 10 to Ole Miss in 2012 and 10 to Mississippi State in 2013, all of which included the game-winning plays on the final play of regulation or in overtime. Arkansas also lost to Georgia in 2014 and Toledo in 2015 in Little Rock.
In their only game there this year, the Razorbacks' defense that had looked promising in games against Auburn and Texas A&M late last month was bad for the second consecutive week, allowing Ole Miss to score touchdowns on five of its final seven drives. The two drives without touchdowns ended in Arkansas territory with missed field goals.
One week after Alabama recorded 639 yards against Arkansas, Ole Miss went for 611 yards, the 10th-most ever allowed by a Razorbacks defense. Ole Miss had 13 plays of at least 15 yards, including back-breaking plays of 48, 66 and 48 yards on scoring drives.
After the Alabama embarrassment a week ago, Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis said, "I am gonna own my work," and took responsibility for the shellacking. He said the Razorbacks did not tackle well against the Crimson Tide, especially on the perimeter, and were exposed in too many one-on-one situations.
It was more of the same against the Rebels, who tested the edges of the Arkansas defense with a quick passing game led by quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who accounted for 528 yards - 387 passing and 141 rushing - and four touchdowns. Ta'amu played most of the game without one of his standout receivers, D.K. Metcalf, who left in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. Metcalf had a 48-yard reception that helped set up a field goal before he was injured.
As the game went along, Ta'amu's passing opened up the middle of the field as the Razorbacks put more defenders into coverage. Ta'amu took advantage of fewer men in the box, tucking to run on several occasions.
Ta'amu was 7-of-10 for 106 yards on the Rebels' final two possessions, touchdown drives that covered 84 yards in 10 plays and 97 yards in seven plays. Ta'amu also had a big run each drive - 15 and 27 yards - to put Ole Miss inside the 10. By the end Arkansas' defense was worn out upfront and poor angles by the safeties were exposed as skill players broke into the second level.
Ole Miss scored the game winner on a 5-yard touchdown run by Scottie Phillips with 42 seconds remaining and clinched the win when Cole Kelley threw an interception on the Razorbacks' ensuing first down.
Kelley was in the game because Arkansas starter Ty Storey was knocked out of the game with a big hit from safety Zedrick Woods on the Ole Miss sideline early in the fourth quarter. Storey also took two big hits in the second quarter - a helmet-to-helmet collision with Ole Miss' Vernon Vasher, who was ejected for targeting, and a hit to the shoulder by Victor Evans on the back half of a double pass from receiver Jared Cornelius - but returned to the game after missing only one play.
The last injury to Storey was one of three costly ones that changed the identity of the Arkansas offense as the game went along. Running back Rakeem Boyd had 145 total yards and was on pace for a monster game, but he was injured in the second quarter and did not return, and his backup, Devwah Whaley, was knocked out in the third quarter at the end of a 13-yard run. Whaley was playing for the first since suffering a concussion on Sept. 22 and ran well early in the second half.
Neither Kelley nor third-string running back Chase Hayden were anywhere near as effective as their position mates. A snapshot of the problems Arkansas faced with its backups came midway through the fourth quarter when Hayden and Kelley were tackled behind the line of scrimmage on consecutive plays after Arkansas had reached the Ole Miss 38. The nine lost yards pushed the Razorbacks out of field goal range and Arkansas never had another scoring chance.
The Razorbacks' offense was humming with Storey and Boyd playing together in the first half. Arkansas scored touchdowns on three of its first four possessions, capping them with touchdowns of 39 yards on a pass from Storey to tight end C.J. O'Grady, a 69-yard touchdown run by Boyd and a 39-yard throw from Kelley to La'Michael Pettway after Storey was knocked out briefly in the second quarter.
Arkansas scored on its first seven possessions, but the difference in the game was that four ended in made field goals of 36, 38, 38 and 36 yards by Limpert. It was the strongest game of the year for the Razorbacks' maligned special teams. Reid Bauer had a 64-yard kick downed at the Ole Miss 3 to push the Rebels back before their game-winning drive, and De'Vion Warren had a 33-yard kickoff return to the Razorbacks 43 in the final minute. Arkansas was penalized 15 yards on the play because linebacker Terrell Collins drove a player out of bounds after the whistle.
Ultimately the game came down to Ole Miss having the mindset to get over a hurdle and Arkansas succumbing to its kryptonite, the big lead. The Rebels had lost four in a row to the Razorbacks, and exacted a bit of a revenge for last season's 38-37 home loss in which they blew a 24-point lead in the second quarter.
The Razorbacks are left with another loss in a winnable game, and a 1-6 record when 3-4 was well within reach.