Hogs a potent cog in SEC’s bowl dominance
MEMPHIS — In front of what amounted to a home crowd — probably 50,000 of the 61,136 were Hog callers at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium — the Arkansas Razorbacks closed their season in impressive fashion, beating Kansas State 45-23.
Alex Collins, the Liberty Bowl MVP, had a phenomenal game, running for 185 yards on 23 carries and scoring 3 of the Hogs’ 5 rushing touchdowns.
Brandon Allen completed 20 of 26 passes for 315 yards and a touchdown to tattoo his Razorbacks career as a success.
The defense allowed the Wildcats to convert their first two third downs, which led to a short-lived 10-7 lead, but allowed only one the rest of the way.
It was the end of the SEC’s impressive showing in bowl games — with only the championship game between Alabama and Clemson remaining. The conference’s eight victories broke the single-season bowl record while losing only two. The only conferences to score victories over the SEC were the Big 10, which was 1-3 against the SEC, and the ACC, which was 1-1.
Michigan beat Florida — which fell apart after losing starting quarterback Will Grier to a suspension, dropping its final three games — and Texas A&M — where its two top quarterbacks transferred between the regular-season finale and bowl game — lost to Louisville.
The SEC outscored all opponents 366-199.
Most of the country was amazed by Alabama’s defensive performance against Michigan State, but the Razorbacks’ offense Saturday turned heads as it amassed 569 yards — 254 on the ground and 315 in the air.
A highlight of the game occurred on back-to-back plays with the Razorbacks leading 31-23.
On a third and 13 from its own 43, Arkansas’ Hunter Henry went in motion and pulled up like he was going to block for Collins. The Wildcats’ defense bit — hard. Henry then streaked down the left sideline and hauled in a 43-yard pass from Allen to the Kansas State 14.
Collins attacked the gut of the defense on the next play. He broke five tackles and scored his third touchdown with 12:04 to play to effectively end the game, although the Hogs would mount a final scoring drive of 80 yards capped by a Kody Walker rushing touchdown.
It was the Razorbacks’ third consecutive bowl victory and the second in back-to-back seasons, and those are both firsts for the school.
The game started a bit shaky when Allen threw an interception on the the third play of the Hogs’ first possession. That resulted in a 27-yard touchdown drive for Kansas State.
Allen and the Razorbacks settled down and scored on four of their next five possessions.
The Hogs’ defense bent but didn’t break, and shaky special teams play was propped up by a galvanized offense.
But not everything was joyous for the Hogs. The first half produced the scariest moment of the week, when wide receiver Dominique Reed had to be carted off the field.
A vicious helmet-to-helmet blow sent the junior receiver to the ground — most likely out cold — but there was no flag, which makes no sense in this target-and-concussion-conscious time in football.
There was a 20-minute delay before Reed was transported off the field, but it was reported he was talking and smiling as he was carted away.
Arkansas ended that drive with its only field goal and held a 24-13 lead at intermission.
The Hogs’ first three touchdowns came on runs of 22 and 13 yards by Collins and a 13-yard end around by Jared Cornelius.
The Hogs’ offense was mostly unstoppable, and 29 of their 68 plays were in Kansas State territory.
It was the crowning game in a season that started 2-4 for an Arkansas team that was not on anyone’s bowl radar. But Allen and the Hogs closed with six victories out of their last seven games, and they were a big factor in the SEC’s postseason dominance.