Mississippi State’s 42-21 loss to Arkansas Saturday afternoon followed a familiar storyline. Senior running back Anthony Dixon had yet another career day, but the Dawgs turned the ball over too often and allowed too many big plays on defense.
Dixon, fittingly, rushed the ball 24 times and gained 176 yards, also scoring two touchdowns. As a team the Bulldogs gained 327 yards on the ground as sophomore quarterback Chris Relf rushed for 68 yards, sophomore running back Robert Elliot gained 62 yards and freshman receiver Chad Bumphis ran it once for 49 yards.
The Razorbacks, in stark contrast, only rushed for 83 yards, led by running back Dennis Johnson who rushed 11 times for 50 yards.
However, the key to the game was passing. Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett put on a show, passing for five touchdowns and 313 yards. MSU head coach Dan Mullen said he was impressed by Mallett, but said his defense missed numerous opportunities.
“Five touchdown passes is a heck of a day,” Mullen said. “Our secondary didn’t make plays that were there to be made. We stopped the run against Arkansas. We just gave up too many big plays on the defensive side of the ball.”
The Bulldogs, on the other hand, passed for a total of 49 yards. Senior quarterback Tyson Lee completed 4 of 6 passes for 22 yards and was sacked four times. Lee was benched after halftime, and Relf led the Dawg offense for the remainder of the game, though he only passed seven times, completing four passes for 27 yards, compared to his 12 rushes for 68 yards. Bumphis said he does not blame the quarterbacks for the lack of production through the air.
“We just need to improve on breaking off our routes and getting open,” Bumphis said.
MSU has used Relf sparingly throughout the season, and this was the first time he played an entire half as the only quarterback.
Mullen has always spoken highly of Lee’s determination, but said the Dawgs needed improved quarterback play after a rough first half in Little Rock.
“We weren’t doing a great job in the first half at quarterback, so we had to mix it up,” Mullen said.
The Bulldogs did score the first points of the game, set up by an interception from freshman defensive back Corey Broomfield, who had two picks on the day. From the one-yard line, senior running back Arnil Stallworth capitalized on his only run of the game, scoring his first touchdown of the season and giving MSU the early lead.
Fortunately for the Razorbacks, it only took Mallett and company one minute and 46 seconds to tie the game at seven, scoring on a 39-yard strike from Mallett to receiver Joe Adams. The defenses battled for almost an entire quarter before Arkansas scored again on a 58-yard pass from Mallett to Cobi Hamilton with 12:35 remaining in the first half. Down 14-7, MSU was threatening to tie the game after a long punt return by Bumphis. However, an Arkansas defender caught up with Lee as he was winding up to pass and knocked the ball out of his hand.
The Hogs went on to score on yet another Mallett touchdown pass, increasing a lead they would never lose. Mullen said the fumble was game-changing and indicative of the Bulldogs’ struggles this season.
“After the fumble at midfield when we were down seven, we lost some momentum,” Mullen said. “We have found a way to make turnovers at critical points in games.”
The Bulldogs seemed to be back in the game in the second half, as Relf led MSU 94 yards for the score on the opening drive, once again making it a seven point game. Arkansas answered with another long touchdown pass, to which Dixon responded with a 70-yard touchdown run on the first play of the following drive. However, the Hogs scored 14 unanswered points to reach the final score of 42-21.
Senior linebacker Jamar Chaney said the reason for the loss is simple – a poor effort by his defense against a talented quarterback.
“They were real efficient at throwing the ball,” Chaney said. “They have a good young quarterback.”