FAYETTEVILLE — Chad Kelly was one stride shy of reaching first-down distance on his fourth-down scramble and giving No. 12 Ole Miss a jolt of life on a potential game-winning drive.
Kelly got to the marker but the ball didn’t. Arkansas safety Santos Ramirez hit the ball dead center with his helmet and sent it spinning out of bounds with 1:40 remaining to secure a 34-30 victory for the Razorbacks.
“I had my eyes on him the whole time,” Ramirez said. “I saw him take off, and my whole thing was, ‘Hit that ball.’ He’d been carrying it loose the whole game, so I put my head on the ball and it worked out for me.”
No. 22 Arkansas (5-2, 1-2 SEC) ran out the clock to beat the Rebels (3-3, 1-2) for the third consecutive season on a windy Saturday evening before a crowd of 73,786 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Up next: No. 23 Auburn, 5 p.m. Central Saturday, Jordan-Hare Stadium, ESPN
“This is a really good performance, a really good thing for our football team … and for all of those people who came out and made this happen after that disappointment last week,” Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said.
“It was huge not just for us but for the whole state,” said Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen, who directed his third game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime in his seventh start.
Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze dropped to 2-3 against the Razorbacks.
“It stings,” Freeze said. “It hurts. Give credit to them. We certainly leave here feeling like we let one get away.”
Arkansas took the lead on Jared Cornelius’ 6-yard touchdown run with 2:20 remaining to cap a 10-play, 56-yard march.
Keon Hatcher had a 10-yard catch on fourth and 4 at midfield on the drive, and he also caught an 11-yard pass on third and 9 to the Ole Miss 28. Rawleigh Williams broke free for a 22-yard gain to cap his career-high 180 rushing yards and set up Cornelius’ go-ahead score.
Arkansas’ ground game helped the Razorbacks win the time of possession 40:38 to 19:22. Arkansas rushed for 200 yards, its highest total against a Power Five opponent this season.
Ole Miss started its final possession at its 26. On third and 3, Jeremiah Ledbetter’s bull rush found its mark, as he sacked Kelly for an 8-yard loss. The Rebels then drew a false start flag to set up fourth and 16 from their 20.
Kelly looked to pass while rolling left, found nobody open, and bolted over left end and into the Arkansas secondary. Just as Kelly neared firstdown distance, Ramirez lowered the boom.
Ramirez said he warned his teammates about a quarterback run from Kelly before the snap.
Arkansas’ Allen completed 19 of 32 passes for 229 yards and extended his school record streak of games with multiple touchdown passes to seven.
Kelly completed 18 of 39 passes for 253 yards, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Kelly was the Rebels’ leading rusher with 14 carries for 89 yards and 2 touchdowns.
While the game was not a shootout on the level of Arkansas’ 53-52 overtime victory last season in Oxford, Miss., it featured plenty of fireworks.
Arkansas outgained the Rebels 429-403 in total offense, holding Ole Miss to 88 yards below its season average.
“I thought our defense played well in the second half and gave our offense chances to take control of the game, and we didn’t do that for a variety of reasons, whether a poor call, poor protection, uncharacteristically critical drops that really changed the last two possessions where we had chances to take control of the game and to go down and win it,” Freeze said.
Ole Miss drove to its 44 after the second-half kickoff with the score tied 20-20. Kelly threw deep for Van Jefferson down the middle, but defensive back Henre Toliver brought the ball down with one arm for an interception. Safety DeAndre Coley put a shoulder into Jefferson after the interception and drew his second targeting call of the season and was ejected.
The Razorbacks got into position to capitalize on the takeaway moments later. Allen delivered a 19-yard pass to Cody Hollister and drew a roughing the passer penalty. The 34-yard play put Arkansas at the 18.
The ball got loose on the next snap, hit a player’s leg and bounced back to the 42, setting up a second and 34 and snuffing the series.
After an Ole Miss three and out and short punt, the Razorbacks regained the lead with a 38-yard drive, sparked by Cornelius’ 20-yard catch on second and 16. A 7-yard toss play to Williams put Arkansas at the 2.
Ole Miss stopped two plays from there, but Allen rolled right and flipped a 2-yard touchdown pass to Williams for a 27-20 lead.
The Rebels caught a break on their next series. After driving to the Arkansas 22, Kelly threw a pass that was tipped at the line by Taiwan Johnson and picked off by diving linebacker Brooks Ellis. However, cornerback DJ Dean was flagged for lining up offsides, negating the takeaway.
Gary Wunderlich’s 33-yard field goal cut Arkansas’ lead to 27-23 on the second play of the fourth quarter.
Arkansas, winning the field position game, drove into Ole Miss territory later in the quarter. Allen did not spot defensive end Marquis Haynes on a third-and-10 pass, and the defensive end intercepted the pass and returned it 17 yards to the Arkansas 45.
Kelly used his legs to hurt the Hogs as Ole Miss drove for the go-ahead touchdown. After an 18-yard completion to Markell Pack, Kelly ran 11 yards to the 17. He threw incomplete in the end zone on first down, but scrambled over the left side and into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown on the next snap to put the Rebels ahead 30-27.
In the opening half, Arkansas broke on top with Dominique Reed’s 51-yard touchdown catch, his first of the season, on a deep post.
After Ole Miss pulled within 7-6 on Evan Engram’s 13-yard touchdown catch, Gary Wunderlich missed the extra point.
Arkansas extended its lead to 14-6 on Drew Morgan’s 13-yard touchdown catch at the 5:49 mark of the first quarter.
While the Razorbacks had to settle for two Adam McFain field goals in the second quarter, Ole Miss pulled even with Kelly’s 8-yard keeper with 1:24 left in the half.