STARKVILLE, Miss. — In 4:43 of the third quarter, the University of Arkansas fell apart.
Granted, the Razorbacks probably weren’t going to overcome a 24-6 deficit — it is hard to win when you can’t get in the end zone — but it seemed somewhat respectable. After all, they were still beating the spread, but then the clock struck midnight and the carriage was a bus to get the Hogs out of town.
It all started when the Arkansas punter dropped the ball deep in his own territory and Mississippi State recovered at the Hogs 4. There was 7:45 to play in the third quarter at that moment and 7:41 to play when the Bulldogs scored a touchdown that put them ahead 31-6. For the first time Saturday, they were beating the point spread that had climbed from 15 early last week to 20.
Smart money was going on the Dogs all week for a reason.
Arkansas tried to get something going but ended up with an interception that put the home team in play at its own 42. The Bulldogs had no trouble covering the 58 yards for another touchdown after the Hogs gave them 30 yards with two pass interference penalties. Nick Fitzgerald's 15-yard touchdown pass made it 38-6 with 3:02 to play, or a 4:43 span when the Razorbacks seemed lost and confused.
Storey's interception also paved the way for freshman quarterback Connor Noland, who behind Rakeem Boyd drove into Bulldogs' territory but came up with a third and 6 that saw Noland running for his life before he could unload the ball. Logic probably said when you are down 32 points to go for it on fourth down, and the Razorbacks did but Noland was crushed for a 10-yard loss. He’d get used to the feeling because it happened again on the next possession.
Only one defense in the SEC is better than MSU’s, and that is Alabama.
The Bulldogs got a 19-yard touchdown pass by Fitzgerald to make it 45-6 early in the fourth quarter, and the Hogs would eventually lose 52-6, more than double the point spread.
The loss leaves the Razorbacks with a trip to Missouri on Friday, where they can become the first Arkansas team to win only two games since 1952 and the first in school history to lose 10 games.
Saturday they could have escaped with a respectable loss. Instead, it took 4:43 for the Razorbacks to fall apart.