OXFORD, Miss. -- Twice the No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels thought they'd finished off Arkansas on Saturday. Twice the Rebels were wrong.
Helped by a bizarre lateral play in overtime on which Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said divine intervention played a role, the Razorbacks tied Ole Miss in the extra period on Brandon Allen's sixth touchdown pass and won it on Allen's 1-yard dive for a two-point conversion and a madcap 53-52 victory.
This article originally appeared in the Nov. 8, 2015, edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporters who covered memorable Arkansas sports events of the past share their insights from today.
The Razorbacks (5-4, 3-2 SEC) beat Ole Miss (7-3, 4-2) for the second year in a row, knocked the Rebels off the inside track for their first outright SEC West title and scored 50-plus points in a third consecutive game for the first time in 99 years.
Arkansas rallied late in the fourth quarter to tie the game on Allen's 17-yard touchdown strike to Dominique Reed with 53 seconds remaining.
Then Arkansas stunned the crowd of 60,680 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with a fourth-and-25 conversion in overtime. Tight end Hunter Henry caught a pass at the 26, about 11 yards short of a first down, lateraled 15 yards over his head just as he was falling, and Alex Collins scooped the ball on a bounce and ran to the Ole Miss 11.
Two plays later, Allen connected with Drew Morgan on a 9-yard touchdown pass for Morgan's third touchdown and the Razorbacks were ready to decide the outcome with the gutsy two-point decision.
"During the long delay there, when they were sorting out what was going on, I told every player, 'We score a touchdown, stay on the field because we're going to go for two.' " Bielema said.
The Razorbacks gained 605 total yards to Ole Miss' 590, and Bielema said his two-point choice was made because offensive coordinator Dan Enos was riding a hot streak.
"I thought our offense was really clicking, to be quite honest, and Dan knew right where to go," Bielema said.
"We kind of had fortune going on our side there late, so why not roll the dice?" said Allen, who passed for a career-high 442 yards and a school-record six touchdowns.
Ole Miss thought it had won when Henry was inches from falling at the Rebels' 26, then they had victory in their grasp on Arkansas' first try at the two-point conversion.
Marquis Haynes sacked Allen on what looked to be the game-ending play. But referee Tom Ritter threw a flag on Haynes for grabbing Allen's face mask, and the Hogs had new life at the 1 to set up Allen's winning dive.
"I thought we rose up there at the end and were going to get it done," Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze said. "Then the craziness occurred."
Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly completed 24 of 34 passes for 368 yards and 3 touchdowns, and rushed for 110 yards and 3 touchdowns. Kelly's 478 total yards were the second-most in school history.
"Stinks," Kelly said. "No words to describe it. The ball just didn't go our way."
There might never be another play in Arkansas annals quite like the lateral, on which both Henry and Collins both mistakenly believed the Razorbacks had to score a touchdown rather than get 25 yards to the Ole Miss 15.
Arkansas was backed into the desperation fourth-and-25. Two Razorbacks ran go routes on the right side and Henry filled in with an under route. He caught Allen's pass 11 yards short of a first down with Tony Bridges bearing down on him.
"I knew if I caught the ball I wasn't going to break eight tackles, so I knew I had to try stay on my feet and make a play," Henry said. "I took a glance back and I knew everyone was back there and I just knew I had to chuck it in the air as far as I could.
"To be honest, I thought we had to score. ... When he went down, I thought we'd lost at first."
Collins, who picked up the loose ball on a bounce after it tipped off lineman Dan Skipper's hand, also thought the Razorbacks had to reach the end zone, so he lateraled back from about the 10-yard line and Reed fell on the loose ball.
"I was watching the play and I kind of put my head down because I saw him get wrapped up," Collins said. "I was thinking the play was over and we'd just lost the game. Next thing I know, I see the ball flying in the air and I'm trying to position myself to get it."
Center Mitch Smothers blocked a defender immediately after Collins recovered, Morgan screened off another player for several yards as Collins bolted left. Then tight end Jeremy Sprinkle drove another Rebel back to assure Collins would make the first down.
Asked if the lateral play had a name, Bielema said, "Hunter Henry. Divine intervention."
Several Ole Miss defenders started to celebrate as Henry was falling.
"I guess everybody thought the play was over," Ole Miss safety Trae Elston said. "A lot of people lolly-gagging around and not running to the ball. That's what created the play for 3, Collins, and he made a great play."
Morgan said it ranks among the most intelligent plays he's seen.
"I've been in many games where there were many smart plays, but that has been by far the smartest play I've been a part of, and I credit Hunter Henry for that, because no one said it in the huddle to toss the ball back if you're about to get tackled," Morgan said. "He just made a play on it, and it was awesome."
Sports on 04/05/2020