DALLAS — In his last game as Arkansas’ offensive coordinator, David Lee didn’t have to take a peek at the stat sheet to understand the messy details of the Razorbacks ’ performance Tuesday at the Cotton Bowl. He just kept track of the number of times the Hogs put the ball in the air.

“ Whenever we throw the ball more than 20 times, we struggle to win, ” said Lee, who is on his way to coach at Ole Miss. “ It held true today. ”

In No. 7 Missouri’s 38-7 victory over No. 25 Arkansas, the Razorbacks (8-5 ) sputtered on offense, looking nothing like the team that averaged 39. 8 points per game and was ranked eighth in the nation in scoring.

They committed five turnovers, failed to score three of the four times they reached the red zone and converted four of the 18 third-down opportunities they had. But the most telling statistic was the number of yards Arkansas accumulated on the ground. They gained 164 of them — 33 less than what they passed for Tuesday. The third-most productive rushing attack in the country stumbled.

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“ Everything that could go wrong did, ” said running back Felix Jones, who picked up 45 yards on 10 carries and lost a fumble. “ We held ourselves more than they did. ”

Arkansas never did give the impression it was in synch. Darren McFadden, Arkansas’ junior running back, gained 105 yards on 21 carries but never authored a breathtaking run. Instead, his longest carry was 19 yards in what is believed to have been the Heisman Trophy finalist’s last collegiate game.

Razorbacks quarterback Casey Dick, meanwhile, was unable to locate receivers downfield. And his most memorable play was an interception he threw that was snagged by Missouri defensive back William Moore, who then proceeded to return the ball 26 yards for a touchdown.

“ We came out and executed our plays and played physical against Arkansas, ” Moore said. “ That’s all it was. ”

That much was obvious when Dick was flushed from the pocket on several occasions. He was sacked three times and forced to throw the ball away repeatedly as he tried to shake off the Tigers’ aggressive rush.

The struggles became so severe that Arkansas didn’t score a single point until 3: 08 was left in the third quarter. By that point, Missouri had wrested all the momentum, producing 28 consecutive points to start the game.

“ Eventually, it got too out of hand, ” Hillis said dejectedly. “ You have good days and bad days. ”

The Razorbacks’ performance Tuesday starkly contrasted with the one they authored in their final regular-season game. In a 50-48, three-overtime victory over then-No. 1 LSU, Arkansas amassed 513 yards and produced seven touchdowns.

“ We scored in the red zone [against LSU ], ” Lee said. “ We didn’t score in the red zone today. By the second half, the guys were down and discouraged. ”

Two early drives deflated the Razorbacks, the end results ravaging their confidence. On its first possession, Arkansas moved the ball downfield 48 yards on 13 plays. But when freshman Alex Tejada flubbed a 35-yard field goal attempt, Arkansas came away emptyhanded.

Later in the quarter, the Razorbacks appeared to have gambled successfully when wide receiver Reggie Fish took a handoff on a reverse, picking up seven yards and a first down on a fake punt at Missouri’s 35-yard line. But Arkansas had signaled for a timeout seconds before the ball was snapped and the gain was negated. On the next play, fullback Farod Jackson was stuffed for a one-yard loss on a different play executed out of the same formation. The sequence of events summed up the game for Arkansas.

“ We just didn’t come up with it in the clutch like we should have, ” Hillis said. “ It was frustrating. ”