As for the Razorbacks' remarkable one-point overtime victory over Ole Miss Saturday night in Oxford, I hereby declare a guardian angel in a hog snout had to have played a role.
Those who watched know this has to be "the play" and the finish of the year in NCAA football this season.
I've calculated the myriad events of the final, 4th-and-25 overtime play that had to align precisely for Arkansas simply to earn a first-down, much less win such a hard-fought victory.
Rebels Coach Hugh Freeze afterwards called those final minutes "craziness." His quarterback, who ran like a galloping stallion through the Hogs' amazingly porous defense, said he had no words to describe the loss except to say, "stinks." No doubt every Ole Miss fan felt likewise, watching bitter defeat snatched from the jaws of certain victory.
By my count, the Hogs teetering over the cliff most likely were saved by the spiritual influence I'll call St. Sooie, who bestowed at least 10 specific blessings to occur consecutively.
Let's count them together.
First, tight end Hunter Henry, a definite blessing to the 2015 team, had to simply catch the overtime pass from quarterback Brandon Allen on fourth and 25. But he was at the Rebel 26 and well short of the first down. That means had Henry been tackled and fallen to the ground, the game would have ended with Ole Miss winning by a touchdown and extra point.
Secondly, St. Sooie whispered to Henry to heave the ball wildly and blindly backward about 15 yards and hope as he was falling.
Third, the ball was touched yet thankfully not caught by a Razorback lineman who undoubtedly would have been tackled also well short of the critical first down. Game over.
Fourth, instead, the ball hit the turf and bounced into the hands of one of only three Arkansas running backs in the 2000s to have earned consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Suddenly, the players surrounding Alex Collins turned and began blocking. He cut and swerved between the defenders so desperate to stop him short of that first down.
Fifth, Collins was in his rhythm. He cut, juked and twisted his way through a herd of blue jerseys to reach the Ole Miss 9 and somehow surpass the first-down mark by about two yards.
Sixth, as Collins was falling, (in mistaken belief he had to score rather than make the first down) he tried lateraling the ball to a teammate. That loose ball hit the ground as a fumble. Ole Miss players swarmed. But a quick-thinking Razorback was already on it. Had the Rebels covered that fumble, game over.
Seventh, on second down, Allen found tenacious, sure-handed receiver Drew Morgan with a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Eighth, with the score Ole Miss 52 and Arkansas 51, St. Sooie must have whispered in the headsets of Hog coach Bret Bielema and offensive coordinator Dan Enos, "Hey, forget kicking the extra point. Run for two and ye shall win by one."
And so in the annals of Razorback lore, the final stage of this legendary finish was set (especially with St. Sooie's influence).
Ninth, Allen took the snap from the two-yard line and was immediately dropped by Marquis Haynes, an Ole Miss player who easily slipped right past our blocker. Ole Miss fans roared and the stadium rocked. It was game over!
But wait, what about that yellow flag on the ground? Oops. The player from the vaunted Land Shark defense had grabbed Allen's face mask, and smack dab in clear view of the official.
So, the ball was moved half the distance to the goal, otherwise known as the one.
Only three feet to glory and one of the most unlikely and richly deserved Razorback victories over a ranked team in its stadium.
Since Allen had been tackled so convincingly in the previous two-point attempt, many fans expected the Hogs quarterback to perhaps heave a quick pass.
And 10th, St. Sooie had a different plan. Having already convinced Bielema and Enos of the correct move, she now whispered to the quarterback who already had passed for 442 yards and a school record six touchdowns, "Sprint to the right and looketh for the opening hole through which ye shall bolt and score."
Game finally over! 53-52.
And so it came to pass in the land of Faulkner and hotsy-totsy that, with St. Sooie's blessings, the battle-toughened, overtime-lovin' Arkansas Razorbacks returned to Fayetteville with another "W" in this most unexpected and unlikely season. So, hey, let's keep cheering 'em on and hoping our defense gets an earful of St. Sooie at LSU and beyond.
As I've become fond of saying since friend Ralph Guynn of Harrison first said it: "There shore ain't no flies" on such a truly remarkable victory.
Oops
Sunday's column should have read that Lt. Robin Holt and Capt. Jeremy Guyll of the Benton County sheriff's office contend in their grievances that they were demoted after refusing to comply with Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck's alleged order to backdate the starting date for a newly employed deputy named Gabriel Cox.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at mikemasterson10@hotmail.com.
Editorial on 11/10/2015