LITTLE ROCK — For almost a full minute Saturday, following the biggest of several big plays that turned things Arkansas’ way, LSU’s Patrick Peterson and Lavar Edwards stood with their hands on their hips in the south end zone as Razorback players celebrated around them.
The two stalwarts on an LSU defense that entered Saturday’s regular-season finale as the best overall unit in the SEC had just chased Cobi Hamilton 80 yards on the final play of the first half, one that sent the Razorbacks into halftime leading by a touchdown.
Moments later, the Tigers trudged slowly up a ramp to their locker room while Hamilton and the Razorbacks sprinted up theirs on the opposite side of the stadium.
“We were in the locker room, I won’t say down, but kind of in disbelief that that just happened,” said Edwards, a sophomore defensive end.
It wasn’t the only thing that went wrong for LSU’s defense. That’s why Edwards found himself standing in the same end zone afterward, trying to explain how a defense that had not given up more than 29 points in a game through the season’s first 10 games has given up 67 points in eight days.
It wasn’t identical to last week’s defensive letdown in a victory over Mississippi and dual-threat quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, but LSU still gave up yards and points Saturday at a rate that Coach Les Miles described as “uncharacteristic” in a 31-23 loss to Arkansas.
Mallett threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns, the best passing performance against the Tigers since North Carolina’s T.J.
Yates passed for 412 yards earlier this season.
Mallett’s touchdown passes covered 85, 80 and 39 yards. Two were caught by Hamilton, and the last was caught by Joe Adams on a fourth-and-3 play when he slipped behind cornerback Tyrann Mathieu to make it 28-20.
Throw in Knile Davis’ 152 yards on 30 rushes, and it’s the first time LSU has allowed a 200-yard passer and a 100-yard rusher in the same game this season.
“We gave up big plays,” Miles said. “Any time we give up those big plays, it’s very difficult to come away with a victory.”
Miles denied that his defense got tired late, as did cornerback Morris Claiborne, who had one of LSU’s two interceptions but also collided with safety Karnell Hatcher to allow Hamilton to get free on his long touchdown right before halftime.
“I just took a couple of bad angles to the ball,” Claiborne said. “Every play in the game was big, but that was a big-time play.”
Later, trailing 28-20 with 12 minutes left, LSU’s defense went onto the field after its offense was forced to punt after three plays yielded just 7 yards.
Over the next six minutes, Mallett threw once to D.J. Williams for 14 yards before the Razorbacks divided carries between Davis and Broderick Green on 10 of their next 11 plays.
LSU couldn’t stop either as the two had runs of 14, 10, 13 and 9 yards to set up Zach Hocker’ 19-yard field goal that made it 31-20 with 6:03 left.
“That’s always frustrating for a defense when they continue to get first downs, but we can’t do nothing about it but try to stop it,” Claiborne said.
Sports, Pages 34 on 11/28/2010