All zeroed in
Second shutout in a row makes Hogs 6-5, bowl eligible
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is riding the perfect formula for a late-season push to a bowl game: Shut everybody out.
The Razorbacks earned a slice of notoriety Saturday, slamming No. 8 Ole Miss 30-0 on a rainy senior day before a crowd of 64,510 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium and a national television audience.
Arkansas (6-5, 2-5 SEC) backed up its 17-0 shutout of No. 17 LSU by jumping on the Rebels (8-3, 4-3) right out of the gate and becoming the first unranked team with back-to-back shutouts of ranked opponents.
“I know this, we’re playing as good as anybody,” Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said. “You put us in a room right now with anybody, I think we could hold our own very, very well.”
The Razorbacks shut out back-to-back conference opponents for the first time since 1965 and shut out Ole Miss for the eighth time in 61 meetings.
“We knew all along what type of defense we are,” Arkansas defensive captain Trey Flowers said. “I guess it could
come as a surprise, but we knew all along, so it’s just a matter of letting everyone else know.”
Arkansas forced six turnovers — four from Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace — including Rohan Gaines’ back-breaking 100-yard interception return in the third quarter.
“Our defense has been unbelievable,” senior offensive tackle Brey Cook said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Tailback Jonathan Williams rushed for 81 yards to push his total to 1,013 for his first 1,000-yard season. Alex Collins, who had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, added 79 yards to reach 965 yards in pursuit of his second consecutive 1,000yard season.
Arkansas lost starting quarterback Brandon Allen to a hip injury in the second quarter and had its struggles trying to score from the 1 against the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense, but the Razorbacks’ defense was as relentless as the all-day rain.
Two weeks after riding a 17-game losing streak in SEC play, the Razorbacks have back-to-back shutouts and bowl eligibility to boot for the first time in three seasons.
“I’ve been through the tough times, and it’s tough not making a bowl game,” Gaines said. “I think the seniors deserve it all. They deserve the world.”
Ole Miss, which still had an outside shot at making the first College Football Playoff entering the weekend, outgained the Razorbacks 316-311, but could not overcome three lost fumbles and three interceptions, two of them coming off Wallace by Tevin Mitchel and Gaines from inside the Arkansas 20.
“It was a tough one,” Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze said. “They put it to us pretty good. I was concerned all week, for whatever reason, that we weren’t really locked in totally.”
Arkansas sent Wallace out for a short time with a minor ankle injury and harassed him throughout the game.
“No doubt, we were getting at him mentally and physically,” Flowers said. “He’s a quarterback of great caliber, so it’s obvious if you want to win you’ve got to be able to disrupt him. I think we were able to do that for the most part.”
Allen led the Hogs on scoring drives on his first three possessions, but had to come out early in the second quarter with a hip injury with Arkansas ahead 17-0. Bielema said he thought Allen would be able to return for Friday’s game at Missouri.
The rain wreaked havoc on Ole Miss’ ball security, and it impacted decision-making to open the game.
Bielema decided he would defer if Arkansas won the opening coin flip. That turned out to be a master stroke.
The Razorbacks held Ole Miss on three downs and took over at their own 48 after a short punt.
Keon Hatcher ran 12 yards on an end around on Arkansas’ first snap, then Alex Collins bounced around left tackle Dan Skipper for a 15-yard run to the Ole Miss 25. Allen fired a 25-yard touchdown strike to a diving Hatcher on a post pattern inside cornerback Mike Hilton on the third play of the series.
Moments later, linebacker Martrell Spaight forced a fumble on a Wallace run and Flowers recovered at the Rebels’ 29. Nine plays later, Adam McFain kicked a 22-yard field goal and Arkansas led 10-0.
The Hogs continued their early onslaught after the Rebels’ Kalio Moore caught the kickoff on the sideline and ran out of bounds with it at his 2, which led to a punt from deep in Ole Miss territory. AJ Derby had a 13-yard catch and Drew Morgan grabbed an 18yard pass before Williams slashed 12 yards to the 4.
Ole Miss stopped three consecutive plays from the Arkansas 1 to seemingly get off the field, but end C.J. Johnson was offside on fourth down. Collins capitalized on the extra play, diving over the middle of the line for a touchdown and a 17-0 lead with 1:09 remaining in the quarter.
Austin Allen came on in the second quarter and completed 3 of 5 passes for 65 yards. He drove the Hogs into field-goal range late in the second quarter, though McFain missed a 37-yard try after Allen took a 9-yard sack. Allen produced a 41-yard scoring drive in the third quarter, keyed by his 33-yard pass to Hatcher, as McFain’s 31-yard field goal made it 20-0.
Ole Miss got in gear with a hurry-up series that produced first-down gains on four consecutive plays before the Hogs’ defense came through with its biggest play of the day. Wallace stared down a wheel route for Jaylon Walton on the left edge of the end zone, but Gaines read it all the way, intercepted on the goal line and motored 100 yards for a touchdown that iced the victory.