LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Razorbacks fought off a sluggish start Saturday to post perhaps their most satisfying victory of the season for the players.

The Razorbacks reeled off 24-unanswered, first-half points to clear a path to a 45-31 victory over the previously surging Mississippi State Bulldogs at War Memorial Stadium.

Sylvester Croom's squad entered the game on a high after knocking off Kentucky and Alabama in successive weeks, and after the Bulldogs' first two drives of the game, it looked like they might add a Hog head to their trophy case.

The Bulldogs only stopped themselves in the first nine minutes of the game, taking a 7-0 lead that could have been more if not for a midfield fumble.

But behind the unlikely arm of Casey Dick, the Razorbacks found the balance needed to rout the Bulldogs.

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Dick was nearly perfect in the first half, completing 9 of 10 passes for three touchdowns and 131 yards.

His first TD toss was a 30-yarder to little-used senior fullback Farod Jackson, followed by beautiful 35-yard toss to Robert Johnson and a well-placed fade ball to a double-covered Marcus Monk. All that added up to a 24-7 halftime lead.

With 9: 23 left in the third quarter, Dick tossed his fourth TD pass - tying a single-game UA record - to Darren McFadden. The ball may have traveled all of 10 yards in the air, but McFadden's wheels turned it into a 57-yard score.

McFadden also got in on the touchdown-throwing fun, hitting Johnson with a perfect 24-yard lob out of the WildHog.

Air Arkansas ? Well, not quite, but it was the most effective the Hogs' passing game has been all season and it came at the right time.

The victory all but punched Arkansas' ticket to a bowl game, ensuring the Razorbacks players will have a happy Christmas.

How happy that Christmas will be depends on Friday's date with No. 1 LSU.

Arkansas seems in line for a bid to one of the Chick-fil-A, Music City, Liberty or Independence bowls now. But an upset victory over LSU on Friday would put the Razorbacks back on the Cotton Bowl's radar.

While there are bowls that have better payouts than the Cotton, few treat the players as well.

The Tigers are the Western Division champs regardless of the outcome of the game, just like the Hogs had the West wrapped up last year when the Tigers came to Little Rock.

But LSU is playing for a national title this year, not just a division or conference championship. Arkansas, which has not won in Baton Rouge, La., during the Houston Nutt era, will not sneak up on the Tigers.

However improbable a Razorbacks' upset of LSU is, it does keep interest high for on-the-field proceedings as well as those that may be occurring behind the scenes.

Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.