FAYETTEVILLE — Mississippi State won the lowest-scoring offensive game Arkansas has played as a Southeastern Conference team Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Playing with a back-up quarterback, the Bulldogs scored their only touchdown early in the second quarter when running back Jo’Quavious Marks caught a 2-yard pass from Mike Wright.
It was the only score needed.
Mississippi State did not allow an Arkansas touchdown and won 7-3 in front of an announced crowd of 71,505 that showed its frustration throughout the afternoon.
Boos rained down on multiple occasions as the Razorbacks (2-6, 0-5 SEC) stumbled their way through a sixth consecutive loss, and fifth by a single possession.
"We have a lot of talent on offense," Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. "We ought to be playing better than what we are. That's me. I've got to figure that out."
Mississippi State (4-3, 1-3) won its first SEC game. The Bulldogs entered the day allowing 39.3 points per game in conference play, which was the second-worst scoring defense in the SEC, just ahead of Vanderbilt at 39.5.
Arkansas’ only points came on its first drive when Cam Little kicked a 24-yard field goal to give the Razorbacks a 3-0 lead. The score followed an interception by Al Walcott at the Mississippi State 35 on the Bulldogs’ second offensive play.
Walcott, a Baylor transfer, won the Crip Hall Award as the Razorbacks' best defensive player on Homecoming.
The Arkansas offense reached the Mississippi State 6 following his interception, but quarterback KJ Jefferson threw short to tight end Ty Washington in the end zone on third down.
Scoring chances were few from there.
Arkansas punted on its next four possessions before a conservative drive that bled the final 2 minutes, 12 seconds of the first half.
Little was set up to attempt a 51-yard field goal after the Razorbacks reached the Mississippi State 33 late in the third quarter, but a delay of game penalty caused Pittman to opt for a Max Fletcher punt that was downed at the Bulldogs’ 3.
"I did not want to call a timeout at that point because I wasn't even sure I wanted to kick a field goal, to be perfectly honest with you," Pittman said.
Backed up against the enclosed north end zone, Mississippi State committed three false start penalties on the ensuing possession before Wright hit Justin Robinson for a 30-yard gain on third-and-11 from the 2.
Later in the drive, Wright had a 63-yard touchdown run called back because of an illegal blindside block penalty against Robinson on the first play of the fourth quarter.
A Mississippi State penalty later in the quarter might have saved the Bulldogs. It appeared Walcott had recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, but whistles blowing the play dead for a false start were drowned out by the roar of the crowd.
Arkansas’ fourth quarter possessions resulted in an interception by Jefferson to Shawn Preston, a punt, and two turnovers on downs in the final 2:11, including a failed Hail Mary on fourth down on the game's final play.
Mississippi State kicker Kyle Ferrie missed a 29-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining. Ferrie is a freshman who went to high school at Harding Academy in Searcy.
The Razorbacks were held to 200 yards on offense, their second-lowest total of the year behind a 174-yard performance against Texas A&M, the SEC's leading defensive team.
Jefferson, a Mississippi native, completed 19 of 31 passes for 97 yards and had a streak snapped of 18 games with a touchdown pass.
"Maybe he just had a bad day because he had a good week of practice," Pittman said. "I don't believe there's any type of injury there. I would have known about that. Maybe weeks of getting hit in the pocket have rattled him. I don't know."
Jefferson, who was not made available to media members after the game, was sacked four times, which resulted in 36 lost yards. The Razorbacks rushed 37 times for 103 yards, a 2.8-yard average.
"When you can't consistently run the football, you've got problems scoring in the red area, in the red zone," Pittman said. "We actually had some decent runs today, but we're so feast and famine.
"We just can't be consistent as what we need to be. And all of those things...it all falls back on me. Sitting here where we're sitting is not acceptable for anybody."
Mississippi State gained 205 yards. Wright, playing in place of 38-game starter Will Rogers, completed 8 of 12 passes for 85 yards and led the Bulldogs with 60 rushing yards on 11 attempts.
"Whenever you go on the road in the SEC, that’s one of the hardest things you could ever do," said Wright, a transfer from Vanderbilt who added, "Whenever you go into a hostile environment and come out and still win that’s a big step for our program.”
First-year Mississippi State coach Zach Arnett said Wright delivered a great speech to the team before the game.
"He had them certainly a lot more fired up than I tend to get them going in my speeches," Arnett said, "so I have to let him keep doing it.”
The Bulldogs played their first game since a 41-28 victory over Western Michigan on Oct. 7 to snap a a three-game losing streak.
“They’re hard to come by obviously on the road, so we will take it however we can get it," Arnett said. "Both teams [were] fighting hard for their first conference victory and we were fortunate enough to make enough plays today and come out with a victory. [I’m] really proud of our guys."
Arkansas failed to score a touchdown at home for the first time since a 52-3 loss to Alabama to end the 2020 season.
The 10 combined points were the fewest in an Arkansas SEC game, eclipsing 13 combined points in the Razorbacks' 10-3 losses at Mississippi State in 1992 and at home to Auburn in 2003.
It was Arkansas' lowest-scoring conference game since a 7-0 loss to Baylor on Oct. 8, 1966 — 25 years before the Razorbacks departed the Southwest Conference.
Arkansas is not scheduled to play again until Nov. 4 at Florida. The Razorbacks must beat the Gators on the road for the first time, then win out against a home schedule of Auburn, Florida International and No. 20 Missouri to become eligible for a bowl game.