In one of the most emotional games in recent memory, Mississippi State came up short against Arkansas Saturday night, falling 38-31 in double overtime.
Junior running back Vick Ballard, who caught an unlucky break in overtime when he fumbled trying to get the ball into the end zone, summed up the outcome of the game for the Bulldogs when he described watching the replay of his fumble on the video board.
“It makes me sick to my stomach,” Ballard said.
Playing in front of an announced crowd of 56,406, the fourth largest crowd in Davis Wade Stadium history, Mississippi State (7-4, 3-4) battled back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. However, in the second overtime, a Ryan Mallett touchdown pass to Knile Davis sealed the game for the Razorbacks.
For the second time in as many weeks, big plays cost the Bulldogs in a huge way. After giving up three long touchdown plays against Alabama last week, Arkansas scored on plays of 62 and 89 yards Saturday. Two red zone turnovers cost Dan Mullen’s team as well, and they may have been the difference between victory and defeat.
“You can’t do those things and win championship level games,” Mullen said. “You’re talking about two top 20 teams playing tonight. That’s not winning football.”
Coming into the game, the focus was on Mallett and the Razorbacks’ high-powered passing attack, but running back Knile Davis was the one that carried the hog offense. Davis rushed for a career-high 187 yards on 30 carries, including a 62-yard touchdown run. His performance marked the first time a Bulldog defense had allowed 100 yards on the ground since Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram of Alabama accomplished the feat last season.
“We knew he was a good running back,” senior defensive end Pernell McPee said. “We knew he was gonna get yards, but we didn’t think he was gonna get that many yards.”
In a losing effort, MSU quarterback Chris Relf had a career day of his own, throwing for a career-high 224 yards and rushing for 128 yards and one touchdown. Relf accomplished this despite leading receiver Chad Bumphis being sidelined for parts of the second half and overtime with an injury.
Receiver Chris Smith was in the midst of a breakout game, catching five passes for 78 yards before a foot injury kept him out of the game.
Vick Ballard’s three-touchdown performance put his name high on some of the lists in the MSU record books. His 15 rushing touchdowns are one shy of the single-season record, and he is the first Bulldog to rush for three touchdowns in three separate games since Keefer McGee in 1995.
Despite the offensive explosion, the Bulldogs still found themselves down 31-21 with 10:06 left in the game after a one-yard touchdown run from Davis.  MSU responded with a  14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 5:35 off the clock.
On the ensuing Arkansas drive, Johnthan Banks forced a fumble that was recovered by defensive end Fletcher Cox, giving the Bulldogs the ball at their own 46 yard-line down 31-28. MSU had the opportunity to drive the field and send the game to overtime with a field goal or win in regulation with a touchdown.
“When you have adversity in the second half, you want them to know that the game is never over until the referee tells us we gotta go,” defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “For us to come up with a turnover like that is something that will give us confidence for a long time.”
Derek DePasquale kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime. Both teams’ first overtime possessions ended without a score, as Ballard’s fumble into the end zone ended the Bulldogs’ possession, while Arkansas missed a field goal to send the game into a second overtime.
Arkansas scored on the first possession of the second overtime on a seven-yard pass from Mallett to Davis, and the Bulldogs were unable to answer with a touchdown of their own, giving the Razorbacks a 38-31 victory.
As the Bulldogs deal with an emotional senior night loss, they will now turn their attention to this week’s Egg Bowl matchup with Ole Miss, who is also coming off an emotional loss against LSU.