Social media reacts to Arkansas' loss to Mississippi State
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks (2-7, 0-5 SEC) once against snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-4, 1-4 SEC) at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday.
Penalties were the main story of this game, as the Razorbacks committed a program record 18 for 193 yards. Some were warranted, while others seemed like suspect calls by the officiating crew.
The Razorbacks’ defense held fairly strong throughout the game. They gave up 38 points and 393 yards to the Bulldogs, but also forced three punts, intercepted a pass and caused a turnover on downs, something they’d not been able to do against SEC foes this season.
Arkansas fell behind early after Mississippi State scored on its opening drive, but the Razorbacks scored 13 unanswered to take a 13-7 lead into the halftime break.
The Bulldogs answered on their first drive of the second half with a 45-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Kamario Taylor to Anthony Evans, then the Hogs answered by scoring 14 unanswered points to push the lead to 28-14.
The two teams traded touchdown blows after that, as Taylor rushed for 20 yards for a touchdown and Braylen Russell powered in from two yards out after that. Then the Bulldogs scored 10 unanswered to cut the Hogs’ lead to 35-31.
State forced an Arkansas punt with less than five minutes to go, and converted a fourth-and-seven right before the two-minute timeout. The Bulldogs capped off the drive with a touchdown pass with 48 seconds left.
That gave Arkansas the ball with a chance to tie or win, but the Razorbacks faltered on their final drive.
The loss pushes the Razorbacks out of bowl eligibility and extends the losing streak to seven straight games. As usual, social media was ablaze with opinions during the game.
