CONWAY -- On a night when its offense sputtered, the University of Central Arkansas leaned on its defense and special teams to spoil Bobby Petrino's return to Arkansas.
UCA scored 14 points off four Missouri State turnovers and got a key punt return score from wide receiver Tyler Hudson as the Bears battled back from a 13-point, second-half deficit to pull out a 27-20 victory Saturday night at Estes Stadium.
Petrino, who spent four seasons as the head coach at the University of Arkansas before being fired in 2012, appeared to be well on his way to notching his first victory at Missouri State after his team built a 20-7 lead in the third quarter. But big plays by UCA ruined those plans.
"We were in a position where we had an opportunity to win the game," Petrino said. "The punt return for the touchdown, and then [UCA] had a fumble return ... they were hard to overcome. I still thought we had a chance to do that, but they got stops on two fourth downs.
"Our guys prepared well, and I think our defense did a really nice job defending them, but offensively, we just did not make enough plays to score enough points to win the game."
Hudson also caught a 7-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to help UCA (2-1) snap out of an offensive funk and post its eighth come-from-behind victory in its past 16 games. Running back Kierre Crossley added a touchdown run for the Bears, who played for the first time since Sept. 3 and had a hard time getting its offense in gear.
UCA had 108 yards in the first half, including only 28 in the second quarter. UCA, which averaged nearly 140 yards rushing in its first two games, finished with 98 yards on the ground and punted 10 times. Quarterback Breylin Smith, who was sacked three times, completed just 9 of 24 passes for 79 yards with 1 interception.
Yet, the UCA defense kept Missouri State at bay long enough for the Bears to procure contributions elsewhere. The four takeaways were a season high for UCA, which got a 30-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown from linebacker Dre Matthews early in the fourth quarter.
"I can't tell you how exciting it is, the belief these guys have in our team," UCA Coach Nathan Brown said. "It looked bad at times. We were down 20-7, on offense we didn't play our best game, special teams had blunders, but the defense kept us in the game throughout."
UCA sacked quarterback Jaden Johnson nine times, five of which occurred in the first half. Johnson finished 25 of 44 for 249 yards with 1 interception for Missouri State (0-2), which led 17-7 at halftime. Junior all-purpose back Kevon Latulas caught 6 passes for 83 yards, and ran 12 times for 63 yards.
The game got off to a wild start, with each team swapping turnovers within the first few plays.
After forcing Missouri State to punt on its first possession, Smith was picked off by Missouri State defensive back Jeremy Webb, who returned it 25 yards. UCA got the ball back on the very next snap when defensive back Deandre Lamont recovered a fumble by Missouri State running back Greg McCalister.
The Bears moved 47 yards in five plays after the turnover, with the big boost coming on Smith's 42-yard pass to Hudson. UCA would come up empty when kicker Hayden Ray hooked a 22-yard field goal attempt to the left.
Missouri State took advantage of its first scoring chance in the second quarter for a 3-0 lead on Jose Pizano's 47-yard field goal with 12:04 left in the half. Petrino's team would find themselves in the end zone less than two minutes later.
Latulas blocked a punt from UCA's Seren Hughes-Ford, picked it up and sprinted 16 yards for the touchdown to put Missouri State up 10-0.
The UCA defense came up with another pivotal turnover to keep the Bears afloat. Linebacker Malik Wilson recovered a Johnson fumble at the Missouri State 7. Two players afterwards, Crossley sprinted around the right side for a 4-yard touchdown with 7:38 left before halftime to cut UCA's deficit to 10-7.
Johnson responded by engineering a 10-play, 65-yard drive, with running back Keshun Parker barreling in from 3 yards out to put his team back up by 10.
Missouri State extended its lead to 20-7 midway through the third quarter when Pizano finished an eight-play, 59-yard march with a 31-yard field with 8:49 to go, but UCA put together a three-play, 34-yard drive toward the end of the period to inch closer.
Smith eluded a pair of tacklers to find Hudson open for a score with 1:24 showing, slicing Missouri State's lead to 20-13. Matthews' scoop and score with 14:48 remaining in the fourth tied the game at 20-20, and Hudson's 57-yard punt return for a touchdown with 14:11 left gave UCA a lead it wouldn't give up.
"Just our team, we didn't ever give up," Matthews said. "The defense played extremely well. I contributed a little, but I thought we played solid. I'm glad our offense picked up and held the ball as long as they could to chew some time off the clock."
Missouri State drove deep in UCA territory on two of its final possessions, but turned the ball over on downs each time.
"I warned these guys about [Missouri State] all week," Brown said. "They are an impressive team when you look at them on film. They brought in a transfer quarterback and a new coaching staff with Coach Petrino. We know his coaching style, the culture he runs, and he wins where he's at.
"So we knew it was going to be a battle. We know that any win is a good win at this point, especially in a season like this."