FORT WORTH, Texas — Austin Allen’s 5-yard touchdown run, with a key push from center Frank Ragnow at the goal line, capped Arkansas’ wild 41-38 double-overtime victory at No. 15 TCU on Saturday.
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The Razorbacks (2-0) snapped TCU’s 14-game home winning streak, which was the third-longest in the country, and won for the sixth consecutive time at Amon G. Carter Stadium before a crowd of 48,091.
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 2-0; TCU 1-1
STARS Austin Allen passed for 223 yards and 3 TDs and scored the game-winning touchdown in double overtime on a 5-yard run. Rawleigh Williams rushed for 137 yards on 28 carries TURNING POINT Dan Skipper blocked Ryan Graf’s potential game-winning 28-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining, forcing overtime
KEY STATS Arkansas won the turnover battle 2-0; Toby Baker averaged 50.7 yards on six punts and impacted field position all game
UP NEXT The Razorbacks return to campus to face Texas State on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
“I think we’re a very, very good football team, and hopefully people will take notice of that now,” Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said.
Arkansas’ past three road victories have come against ranked teams, adding to upsets at No. 18 Ole Miss and No. 9 LSU last year.
“I’d put that up against anybody in the country,” Bielema said. “To win on the road is the signature of a good program, and hopefully this gives us confidence.”
TCU (1-1) stormed back from a 13-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to take a 28-20 lead, but it could not hang on.
“You feel like you gave one away,” TCU Coach Gary Patterson said. “They’re going to be upset when they watch the film.”
Allen had three touchdown passes, the game-winning rushing touchdown and also caught a tying two-point conversion from Keon Hatcher late in regulation. He followed blockers over the right side on third and goal for the game-winning score.
“That was a lot of fun right there,” Allen said. “I just wanted to do everything I could to get in that end zone. I felt like I wasn’t going to be denied. I think I got an extra push from some of the guys.”
UP NEXT Texas State, Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network alternate channel
TCU’s Ryan Graf kicked a 37-yard field goal on the first series of the second overtime to put TCU ahead 38-35, but it left the door open for Arkansas’ game-winning possession.
Earlier, Arkansas linebacker Brooks Ellis had a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown, Dan Skipper had a critical blocked field goal at the end of regulation, and the Razorbacks rallied from eight points behind after losing what looked like a firm handle on the game in the fourth quarter.
TCU trailed 20-7 early in the fourth quarter, but after Cole Hedlund missed a 22-yard field goal that would have put the Razorbacks ahead by 16, the game took a crazy turn.
Kenny Hill, who directed a comeback victory over Arkansas while at Texas A&M in 2014, nearly put a dagger in the Hogs again. Hill guided the Horned Frogs on three fourth-quarter touchdowns, scoring two of them himself.
Hill, who rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 377 yards, also committed a key mistake after his 5-yard run put the Frogs ahead 28-20 with 2:05 remaining. Hill was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for making a throat-slash gesture.
The 15-yard penalty was assessed on the ensuing kickoff, which Dominique Reed returned 22 yards to the Arkansas 42.
Allen directed a four-play touchdown drive from there, connecting twice with Drew Morgan for 30 yards, hitting Jared Cornelius with a 17-yard throw, then finding Keon Hatcher for a 16-yard score with 1:03 left. Allen caught a reverse pass from Hatcher for the tying two-point conversion.
TCU’s KaVontae Turpin returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards to put TCU in position to win in the final seconds. The Horned Frogs thought they got a touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage at the Arkansas 27, but receiver Emanuel Porter — who caught the would-be touchdown — was penalized for an illegal touch after going out of bounds on his own.
TCU gained 16 yards on its next three plays, but Skipper blocked Graf’s 28-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining. It was the sixth blocked field goal of Skipper’s career.
Arkansas struck first in overtime, on Jeremy Sprinkle’s 19-yard touchdown catch from Allen.
The Razorbacks forced TCU into third and 12, but Hill found Taj Williams for a 13-yard tying touchdown to end the first extra period.
TCU outgained its visitors 572-403, but it committed key mistakes — such as a fumble inside the Arkansas 5, the Ellis pick-six against Hill and several major penalties, including Hill’s gaffe and a chop-block call that preceded Ellis’ touchdown.
Although Hill had the bigger numbers, he was upstaged by Allen, who completed 17 of 29 passes for 223 yards and 3 touchdowns. Rawleigh Williams rushed for 137 yards for the Razorbacks.
The renewal of this old Southwest Conference rivalry turned in Arkansas’ favor in the early going, as two takeaways by the Hogs kept TCU off the scoreboard in the opening half.
The Razorbacks had a productive opening possession, triggered by Allen’s bootleg pass for 12 yards to Morgan on their second snap. On a second-and-9 play from the 41, Williams took a toss sweep 37 yards around left end behind blocks from Skipper, Hatcher and Cody Hollister.
Arkansas appeared to reach the TCU 2 on Morgan’s diving catch, but the replay booth overturned the call. Hedlund came on to give the Hogs a 3-0 lead after the 8-play sequence.
TCU opened aggressive. After driving to the Arkansas 37, Hill rambled 21 yards on fourth and 4, although an illegal block cut into his gain. Deonta Gray bolted inside the Arkansas 10 on a toss play on the next snap, but he lost the ball trying to spin away from Jeremiah Ledbetter and Dre Greenlaw fell on it at the Arkansas 4.
Arkansas leaned on its ground game late in the first quarter to initiate a time-consuming, 13-play sequence that stalled inside the TCU 10. The series was sparked by Allen’s dump pass to fullback Hayden Johnson for an 18-yard gain, and it also included Sprinkle’s 14-yard reception and six carries by Williams.
Allen missed Hatcher by a foot on a third-down pass in the end zone, and Hedlund booted a 27-yard field goal to make it 6-0.
On TCU’s next possession, a chop block put the Frogs behind the sticks and Arkansas made them pay. Defensive linemen Tevin Beanum and Taiwan Johnson got pressure on Hill, forcing a pass in the flats for running back Kyle Hicks. Ellis jumped the route and returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown.
Trailing 13-0 at halftime, TCU finally got its uptempo attack in gear. The Horned Frogs went fast and cashed in with an 84-yard touchdown drive. Hill went 6-for-6 passing for 77 yards on the series.
Hill found Hicks for 26 yards down the middle to reach the Arkansas 9, then Hicks sprinted through the middle for a touchdown on the next play to make it 13-7.
Morgan’s touchdown catch from Allen made it 20-7 late in the third quarter.