Arkansas survives upset bid 28-27

By ArkansasOnline

Photo by Chris Dean

Michael Smith dives for yardage against the University of Louisiana-Monroe at the War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

ADVERSTISMENT

In the end, history repeated itself. Arkansas again pulled it off in a dramatic fourth-quarter turnaround, this time defeating the University of Louisiana at Monroe 28-27 on Saturday.

The victory keeps open the chapter on a long winning streak against non-conference teams at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

The Razorbacks kept it interesting until the end, pushing 79 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown with a little over a minute left in the game. Louisiana-Monroe took possession and then tried for a field goal, missing it and essentially securing the Hogs' razor-slim victory.

The Razorbacks trailed 24-6 halfway through the third quarter and 27-14 early in the fourth before staging its comeback.

The Warhawks, which upset Alabama last year, led for most of the game, capitalizing on chinks in the defensive line armor. Again, line play was spotty on both sides for the Hogs. leading in the offensive game to several sacks of quarterback Casey Dick.

Still, Dick reached a milestone, becoming the first quarterback in Hogs' history to post back-to-back 300 yard passing games.

Michael Smith, back after a one-game suspension, proved that he is an essential ingredient to the Razorback running game, rushing for 157 yards on 22 tries. Freshman Joe Adams and sophomore D.J. Williams also made their presence known, the latter making a huge 76-yard gain in the fourth quarter that set up the Hogs for a touchdown.

Special teams could not pull it together for the Hogs in Little Rock. Kicker Alex Tejada, usually consistently strong, had a disappointing showing - hooking both of his field goal attempts. He then missed an extra point early in the second. After missing the extra point, Tejada was called for delay of game on the ensuing kickoff and then kicked the ball out of bounds, giving Louisiana-Monroe the ball at its 45..

Arkansas was cheered on by a home crowd at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium, but the Razorbacks were technically the visitors under an agreement that allowed Louisiana-Monroe to count the game's attendance of 55,048.

OTHER GAMES::

Arkansas St. 83, Texas Southern 10

Cent. Arkansas 24, UC Davis 21

Arkansas-Monticello 42, Missouri S&T 24

Harding 37, West Alabama 27

Henderson St. 34, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0

Ouachita 58, Fort Lewis 7

Truman St. 34, S. Arkansas 21

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Information for this article was contributed by Noah Trister of The Associated Press.