BENJAMIN KRAIN Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Arkansas missed a last-second field goal which could have tied the game against Mississippi State.

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Redshirt freshman Nathan Dick got the start, Lucas Miller had a career day catching passes and Arkansas had an early 14-0 lead, but all of that was not enough to keep the Arkansas Razorbacks’ bowl hopes alive.

A much-maligned Mississippi State Bulldogs offense roughed up the Hogs’ defense Saturday at Davis-Wade Stadium to pull off a 31-28 victory in front of a crowd of 42,056.

The loss drops Arkansas to 4-7 on the season and 1-6 in Southeastern Conference play with Friday’s 1:30 p.m. contest with LSU the lone remaining game on the schedule.

Mississippi State improved to 4-7 overall and 2-5 in SEC play.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Both teams played all the way down to the end,” MSU coach Sylvester Croom said. “A couple of times I thought we had control of the game, but gave it up with silly penalties, but overall I thought we played good throughout the day.”

Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino said his squad needs to learn that every play is urgent because anything can happen.

“We have to teach our players that every play affects the outcome of a game,” Petrino said. “Each player and each coach have to do their job on every play because it affects the outcome of the game.

“We fought hard to come back, but Mississippi State played well. At the end of the game, we executed well, but it took longer than we expected for us to score.”

The loss makes it impossible for the Hogs’ to be bowl eligible and it insures Arkansas’ first losing season since 2005.

The victory was MSU’s first over the Razorbacks since 1998, when the Bulldogs derailed the Hogs 22-21. In that game, the Bulldogs kicked a last-second field goal for the win. On Saturday, MSU avoided overtime as Alex Tejada’s 46-yard field-goal attempt at: 04 sailed wide left.

“We had a good onside kick and everybody executed that play well,” Petrino said. “After the kick we had two good plays that gave us a chance to tie the game with a field goal, but it just did not happen.”

Saturday the Razorbacks rallied to score a touchdown on a Dick pass to Ben Cleveland, his first catch of the season, and recovered an onside kick in the final :25 of the game. It was once again too little, too late for an Arkansas team that has lost four games by a total of 19 points since Oct. 18.

Miller was outstanding for the Razorbacks, with 10 receptions for 201 yards. The performance now ranks second in single-game reception yardage behind Mike Reppond’s 12-catch, 204-yard night against Rice in 1971 and right ahead of James Shibest’s 199-yard game against SMU in 1984.

Miller’s 87-yard, first-quarter TD catch is the Razorbacks’ longest play from scrimmage this year.

Nathan Dick unseated his older brother Casey, a senior who had started the Razorbacks’ previous 28 games, in practice the past two weeks following a poor performance by Casey in Arkansas’ 34-21 loss to South Carolina.

Dick completed 25 of 43 passes for 333 yards, 3 touchdowns and one interception against MSU.

“Nathan did a good job during the week," Petrino said. “He came out today and started off hot, and we did not want to take the momentum away from him.

“We were planning on putting in Casey in the second quarter, but when Nathan started the way he did, we decided to leave him in.”

Petrino said he anticipated Nathan Dick starting against LSU.

However, junior Bulldog tailback Anthony Dixon’s career-best 179 yards on 23 carries trumped the Hogs’ passing stats. Dixon found open holes all day against the Razorbacks, who gave up 226 yards rushing to the nation’s 101st-ranked rushing offense.

MSU quarterback Tyson Lee’s success passing allowed for the balance. He completed 23 of 40 passes for 219 yards and no interceptions, keeping UA defensive coordinator Willy Robinson’s unit guessing all day.

After throwing incomplete on his first two passes, Nathan Dick settled in and let Smith do most of the work as the Razorbacks mounted a 71-yard, 4:43 drive for a 7-0 lead with 10:17 left in the first quarter.

Smith zipped for a 19-yard gain to move the chains on third-and-10, and blasted inside for a 15-yard touchdown on the drive.

After the slow start, Nathan Dick connected with Jarius Wright for a 17-yard gain and with Lucas Miller for a 5-yarder on third-and-4.

The Razorbacks held the Bulldogs after one first down, but MSU punted the Hogs back to their 10-yard line.

With Nathan Dick’s arm loosened up and a 7-point cushion, Petrino dialed up a 40-yard flag route to Miller that caught the Bulldogs unaware.

Off a play-action fake, Nathan Dick hit Miller in stride, and the junior from Greenwood stretched the play into an 87-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 7:12 in the first quarter.

Just when it seemed a blowout was brewing, Croom’s Bulldogs found their groove, behind the timely passing of quarterback Tyson Lee. Lee tossed passes of 12, 16 and 21 yards to move MSU into scoring position and the flipped a 1-yard pass to Dixon for a touchdown that trimmed the scored to 14-7 with 2:41 left in the first quarter.

Holding the Razorbacks without a first down, the Bulldogs went right back to work keeping the Razorbacks off balance with Lee throwing to his favorite target, Jamayel Smith, and then giving off to the bullish Dixon.

On a third-and-1, Dixon broke through the Razorbacks’ line of scrimmage, shook off an attempted tackle by Matt Harris and rumbled 40 yards to the Arkansas 10. Quick fullback Arnil Stallworth spun off a tackle and trotted into the end zone on the next play. The PAT tied the game with 13:06 left in the half.

The Bulldogs answered Arkansas’ 44-yard miss by driving 59 yards to set up Adam Carlson’s 31-yard field goal, which gave the home team a 17-14 lead with 5:59 remaining in the first half.

Petrino tried to work the middle of the field on the ensuing drive, but the Bulldogs broke up back-to-back late passes by Nathan Dick to open receivers, and on third down MSU flushed Nathan Dick out of the pocket.

Jeremy Davis’ 49-yard punt pushed MSU back to their 14, and a rare threeand-out by the Hogs defense gave UA a chance to take the lead just before halftime at the Arkansas 41.

But MSU sacked Nathan Dick on first down and Bulldog safety Derek Pegues worked over favored target Lucas Miller for a pick on third down.

Lee took an errant shot at the end zone for MSU on second down and UA defensive end Adrian Davis sacked him for a 14-yard loss to all but wrap up the first half.

With 7:32 remaining in the third, MSU’s bid to increase its lead fell short with Carlson’s missed 42-yard attempt, setting the Hogs up at the 25.

But the Hogs went nowhere after Smith lost 6 yards on a second-down run.

The Bulldogs countered with Dixon’s 63-yard blast down the left sideline with 3:43 to play to up MSU’s lead to 24-14. With it Dixon earned his ninth 100-yard rushing outing of his career against a beleaguered Hogs’ defense.

On the ensuing drive, the Hogs were saved from a Dennis Johnson fumble by an offsides penalty by the Bulldogs, their first penalty of the game.

On third-and-11, Nathan Dick fired a 30-yard strike to Miller to the MSU 22, and on the next play tight end D.J. Williams caught his first pass of the day for a 22-yard touchdown to trim the Bulldogs’ lead to 24-21.

After the Bulldogs drove to the Hogs’ 25, Freddy Burton was whistled for a personal foul that moved the ball to the UA 9 with 12:12 to play. Three plays later, Lee hit Dixon for a 9-yard TD pass and a 31-21 lead with 11:15 to play.

With 9:27 to play, the Hogs surrendered the ball at their 45-yard line after first suffering a motion penalty on fourth-andinches and then Nathan Dick throwing incomplete amidst a Bulldog blitz on fourth-and-5.