LITTLE ROCK — Alcorn State head football coach Fred McNair knew that his team’s chance of winning Saturday’s game against No. 20 Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium hinged on surprises and good fortune.
That’s why McNair - the older brother of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair - started the game with an onside kick, which Arkansas recovered.
It’s also why he will look back at a fumble at the 1-yard line that kept his team from scoring just before halftime as a key point in the Razorbacks’ 52-10 win over the Braves.
“I wish we could get that one back,” McNair said of a touchdown that would have cut the Hogs' lead to 24-14 at halftime. “That was a big swing. You go in and score that one and you are up to 14 points and you are only down 10.
“It was just a breakdown in what we did as far as the play. We didn’t get the snap for one. That is a big swing. You score that one and you are pretty much in the thick of things.”
Arkansas, which didn't score in the second quarter after taking a 24-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, then took total control of the game with 14 points in each of the final two stanzas.
The Razorbacks - who had lost two games in a row at War Memorial and five of their last six - moved to 4-1 with the win and set-up a game with No. 1 Alabama next Saturday in Fayetteville at either 2:30 or 6 p.m.
McNair, whose Braves (1-3) had three turnovers to the Razorbacks’ one, was impressed with Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema’s squad.
“They were a tough team,” McNair said. “That was probably one of the toughest-minded teams you will ever face. They did some great things on offense and they have a lot of speed on defense.
“Just like I told the guys it was different strength and different speed and a different ballgame when you are playing an SEC team. That’s the biggest thing. Coach has been doing a great job with those guys on the Arkansas team.”
He was especially impressed with Razorback quarterback Austin Allen, who was 13 of 18 for 206 yards with three touchdown passes.
Two of the scoring tosses went to Jared Cornelius (4 catches, 106 yards) while La'Micahael Pettway’s first career catch was a 10-yard score.
Freshman tailback Devwah Whaley rushed nine times for a career-high 136 yards while Rawleigh Williams III had 126 yards on 12 carries, Cody Holister two carries for 48 yards and a score and freshmen TJ Hammonds nine totes for 29 yards.
“Austin is a great quarterback,” McNair said. “Watching him during the week during film preparation and getting ready for him, he is a tough kid. He was playing with a chest bruise or whatever it is he had. He is tough and threw great passes, reads defenses very well and manages the game really well.”
Alcorn State, which lost 45-42 to Arkansas-Pine Bluff earlier this year in triple overtime, routed UAPB 61-14 at War Memorial in 2015.
“That’s the biggest thing,” McNair said. “Other than this crowd we had, I think the kids were pretty much up for the task in front of them. Being here, we had played here before. It was a totally different outcome, but you look at it as advantage that you have been here before and played in this stadium.
“It’s no big deal. The kids were ready for it. We stopped here yesterday and did a little walk through, but we were familiar with it and excited about it.”
McNair’s team, which has won back-to-back SWAC championships, will travel to play Alabama State in a conference game next week.
“I told the kids that they growed up today,” McNair said. “We are banged up, but we will come back next week and be ready for conference play against Alabama A&M, which is going to be a tough task. We have got to go to Huntsville and we have got to ready to ready to go here.
“My plan this game was everybody staying healthy and not getting anybody hurt and it carrying on to next week because they fought their butts off today.”