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Razorbacks end No. 19 Tulsa's unbeaten run
Alabama disposes of Arkansas State; Kentucky become bowl eligible
CommentsFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Dennis Johnson returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter, and Arkansas snapped No. 19 Tulsa’s unbeaten run with a 30-23 victory Saturday.
The Golden Hurricane (8-1) had a chance to tie it in the final minute, but David Johnson threw incomplete on fourth down from the Arkansas 7.
The Razorbacks (4-5) jumped ahead 17-0 in the first quarter, but Tulsa’s prolific offense didn’t stay quiet for long. Johnson threw for 322 yards and a touchdown, and Charles Clay scored a pair of TDs on the way to tying it at 23.
The loss halted talk of Tulsa possibly reaching the Bowl Championship Series and disappointed the large group of blue-clad fans in the northeast corner of the stadium. Tulsa is only about 2 hours from Fayetteville
The Golden Hurricane, averaging 57 points per game coming in, were held to three in the second half and none in the fourth quarter. It was the first scoreless quarter of the season for Tulsa.
Johnson’s kickoff return broke a 23-all tie, and although Arkansas wasted a chance to go ahead by two scores when Casey Dick was intercepted in the end zone late in the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks were able to hold on.
Dick threw for 385 yards and a touchdown.
Arkansas led 23-20 at halftime, and Tulsa turned the ball over at the start of the third quarter when a wide receiver pass by A.J. Whitmore was intercepted. On their next possession, the Golden Hurricane came up short on fourth down, but their defense rose to the occasion. Arkansas went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Tulsa 16, and Michael Smith was stopped.
Tulsa drove all the way to the Arkansas 2 and had first-and-goal, but a mishap on the snap cost the Golden Hurricane 12 yards. They eventually settled for a field goal, and Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff all the way to put the Razorbacks ahead to stay.
Arkansas scored on the game’s first drive on a 13-yard pass from Dick to Andrew Davie. The Razorbacks then sacked Johnson on Tulsa’s first two offensive plays.
The Golden Hurricane didn’t fare much better on defense. They called two early timeouts while Arkansas had the ball, but still couldn’t stop the Razorbacks’ momentum. When Smith scored on a 7-yard run with 2:22 to play in the quarter, it was 17-0.
Tulsa turned the game around quickly. The Golden Hurricane held the Razorbacks to two short field goals the rest of the half and began to move the ball with their fast-paced offense full of misdirection plays.
Tulsa backup quarterback Jacob Bower found Trae Johnson for a 22-yard touchdown. Clay added a 28-yard touchdown run and later caught a 2-yard TD pass from Johnson to tie it at 20.
ALABAMA 35, ARKANSAS ST. 0
At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Mark Ingram rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries and Rashad Johnson scored on a 32-yard interception return to lead No. 2 Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (9-0) turned in a dominant all-around performance to set the stage for next week’s showdown at No. 15 LSU, the type of game that had been a stumbling block for recent ‘Bama teams.
Alabama, which can clinch the SEC West title with a win against LSU, managed its first shutout since a 17-0 win against Mississippi State on Nov. 5, 2005. The Tide allowed 158 yards on 54 plays against Arkansas State (4-4), which had scored 83 points against Texas Southern and upset Texas A&M earlier this season.
KENTUCKY 14, MISSISSIPPI ST. 13
At Starkville, Miss., Randall Cobb passed for one touchdown and rushed for another, and Kentucky blocked an extra point early in the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State kicker Adam Carlson also missed a 27-yard field goal attempt with 7:16 remaining as Kentucky (6-3, 2-3) rallied from a 7-0 deficit to reach bowl eligibility.
In his first start, Cobb scored on a 5-yard touchdown run on the Wildcats’ opening drive of the second half, then hit Maurice Grinter with a 3-yard touchdown pass to take a 14-7 lead later in the third.
Mississippi State (3-6, 1-4) recovered Alfonso Smith’s fumble late in the third quarter to set up Tyson Lee’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Arnil Stallworth, and it looked as if the Bulldogs might tie the game. But Kentucky blocked the extra point, then ended one scoring threat on fourth-and-7 and picked off Lee with a minute left to end a final rally.
Kentucky will make its second straight bowl appearance after beating Florida State in the Music City Bowl last season. The Bulldogs will have to win three in a row if they want to make it two in a row as well.
MISSISSIPPI 17, AUBURN 7
At Oxford, Miss., Jevan Snead threw two touchdown passes, Cordera Eason rushed for 104 yards and Mississippi capitalized on a series of fourth-quarter mistakes by Auburn to beat the Tigers and move within a game of bowl eligibility.
With representatives of six bowls in attendance, Ole Miss converted Kodi Burns’ second interception into a game-clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a drive that was aided by three Auburn penalties.
It was third SEC win for Ole Miss (5-4, 3-3) under first-year coach Houston Nutt, matching the total put up in three seasons under former coach Ed Orgeron. The win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Tigers (4-5, 2-4), who were 8-1 in Oxford coming into the game.
The Rebels need one more win to clinch one of the SEC’s nine bowl bids. After a week off, they play Louisiana-Monroe before finishing the season at LSU and against Mississippi State.
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