FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas wanted another wresting match, but this time Texas Tech wouldn't let the Razorbacks hold them down.
The Red Raiders played at their favored breakneck speed behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes most of the night and Arkansas (1-2) couldn't keep pace, falling 35-24 before a sellout crowd of 73,334 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
The final seconds ticked off with a pocket of Texas Tech fans in the northeast corner of the stadium chanting "Big 12! Big 12! Big 12!" and a big array of Red Raiders joined them in the celebration moments later.
Texas Tech (3-0) avenged a 21-point loss last season in which the Razorbacks trampled its defense for 438 rushing yards. Texas Tech also snapped Arkansas' five-game winning streak against Big 12 opponents.
Texas Tech Coach Kliff Kingsbury, citing a comment from Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema this summer, clearly relished getting the better of the Razorbacks and their coach.
"They're a program that prides themselves on being physical," Kingsbury said. "At the Texas high school coaches convention this summer he sat up and said if you don't play with a fullback, we'll kick your ass. If you throw it 70 times a game, we'll kick your ass.
"He just got his ass kicked twice in a row and probably will by [Texas] A&M as well. That did feel good."
Bielema said the Razorbacks, who suffered yet another key injury to a skill player when Jared Cornelius broke his left arm in the first quarter, would have had to play nearly perfect to win.
"I wish I could say something to make everybody feel a little bit better, our fans, our players," Bielema said. "We're just not at the point yet where we can not play a perfect game and win. We've just got to keep sawing wood."
The Razorbacks established the run against the Red Raiders, with Alex Collins rushing for 170 yards and a touchdown as Arkansas piled up 228 yards on the ground.
"It's disappointing because we worked so hard, we fought hard and just didn't get the results we wanted," Collins said.
"We wanted to hold the ball and run the clock, give them the least amount of possessions we could," said Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen, who went 16 of 21 passing for 196 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. "We moved the ball well, but we didn't convert on a couple big plays down there, especially in the red zone."
The Hogs played catch-up all night against Texas Tech's spread-out, quick-pass attack, which produced touchdowns on five of its first seven drives.
It was a fruitless endeavor.
Arkansas could not slow Red Raiders quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who completed 26 of 30 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown, ran for two scores and converted three critical third-down plays with his legs.
"The difference in the game was the quarterback, being able to scramble and stay alive and make some positive yards with his feet," Bielema said.
Texas Tech took the lead for good at 28-21 on its first drive of the second half, a 77-yard sequence capped by Mahomes' 2-yard touchdown run over left end.
Arkansas drove to the Texas Tech 4, but Rawleigh Williams was stopped on third-and-3 and the Hogs had to settle for a 22-yard field goal from Cole Hedlund.
Mahomes directed an 83-yard scoring drive, finished off by Justin Stockton's 22-yard touchdown run to put pressure on the Arkansas offense with a 35-24 deficit.
The Razorbacks appeared to have pulled within 35-30 on Brandon Allen's 5-yard touchdown strike to tight end Hunter Henry midway through the fourth quarter, but the officiating crew, from the Big 12, flagged Henry for offensive pass interference.
"He said they were engaged and that Hunter pushed off and gained an advantage to make the play," Bielema said, adding he thought the penalty flag was for defensive pass interference when it came flying.
"Penalties are adversity and we can't have penalties if we want to win," Allen said.
Allen missed an open Jeremy Sprinkle near the goal line on third down, and the drive ended up producing nothing when Hedlund missed a 37-yard field goal.
Texas Tech ran 6:25 off the clock before missing a short field goal, giving the Razorbacks 1:44 to mount a comeback. But Arkansas' last chance slipped away when Collins lost a fumble at the end of a 12-yard run.
Arkansas' run of injuries to its skill players took another bad turn when Cornelius broke his arm after landing awkwardly out of bounds at the end of a 34-yard gain on Arkansas' third series.
Cornelius is the third Arkansas receiver -- along with Keon Hatcher and Cody Hollister -- to suffer an injury that will keep him sidelined for an extended period.
Texas Tech came out firing, with Mahomes connecting with Jakeem Grant for gains of 21 and 14 yards on the Red Raiders; first two plays. A 19-yard weakside pitch to Stockton converted a third-and-1 play and the Red Raiders took a 7-0 lead on Reginald Davis' 3-yard catch from Mahomes.
Arkansas drove to midfield on its second series, where Brandon Allen's third-down deep ball was intercepted by a diving Tevin Madison. Arkansas' D.J. Dean returned the favor, jumping high to intercept Mahomes at the Arkansas 40.
From there, an extended tug of war developed between the old Southwest Conference rivals as both sides tried to control the tempo.
Arkansas scored touchdowns on its next three series, using an average drive time of 6:01 to cover an average drive distance of 72 yards. Texas Tech scored touchdowns on its next two possessions in an average of 1:35 per drive.
Sports on 09/20/2015