KENTUCKY 21, ARKANSAS 20 : Lexington letdown
Posted on Sunday, October 19, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Arkansas Razorbacks went from elation to deflation in record time Saturday.
With a 13-point road victory in its grasp, Arkansas lost control with a critical turnover and horrendous field position as Kentucky stormed back for a 21-20 victory at Commonwealth Stadium.
“I’ve been around some strange games, but this one ranks right up there with the strangest,” said Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks, who finally beat Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino head-to-head in his fifth chance.
“This is probably the lowest of the lows we’ve experienced this year,” Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs said.
“That’s a hard one on us,” said Petrino, who nearly led Arkansas to conference road victories on consecutive playing dates for the first time in 19 years.
Arkansas tailback Michael Smith rushed for a career-high 192 yards and scored both of the Razorbacks’ touchdowns, but he was knocked out of the game with a probable concussion in the fourth quarter.
The Razorbacks (3-4, 1-3 SEC ) looked to be in control through three quarters and most of the fourth, but they had two turnovers inside the Kentucky 5 and didn’t fully capitalize on scoring chances.
Kentucky (5-2, 1-2 ) tied the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in school history, shook off a twogame losing streak and overcame an error-filled performance that included lax ball security and costly penalties.
An interception by cornerback Ramon Broadway, the Razorbacks ’ season-high fourth takeaway of the game, seemingly clinched the outcome. Arkansas had possession at its 41 with a 20-7 lead and 4: 54 remaining.
At that point, blue-clad fans were streaming out of Commonwealth Stadium, having seen their Wildcats misfire on offense most of the evening and commit a series of key penalties and turnovers.
“The stands were about half empty, and it wasn’t looking very good for us,” Brooks said.
However, reserve tailback DeAnthony Curtis was hit by linebacker Johnny Williams on the next snap and fumbled. Kentucky safety Ashton Cobb recovered the ball.
“I don’t know how we got that ball out on that running play,” Brooks said.
Kentucky quarterback Mike Hartline, who had been booed on several occasions during a shaky outing, threw a 32-yard flag route touchdown pass to freshman Randall Cobb two plays after the fumble to pull the Wildcats within 20-14.
Then, after London Crawford’s short kickoff return to the Arkansas 17, the remaining Kentucky faithful in the stands got worked up.
“Once we got a spark, the energy definitely picked up on our sideline,” Brooks said.
Arkansas was forced to punt deep in its own territory, and Cobb’s 13-yard punt return put Kentucky in business at the Razorbacks’ 35. For the third time on the night, the Wildcats needed only two plays for a touchdown, as Hartline found Cobb again for a 21-yard score with 2: 21 to play.
“There was a lot on our shoulders knowing this was a must-win game to stay in the running for the SEC championship,” Cobb said. “It’s all about heart and seeing how deep you can dig to get the job done.”
The Razorbacks’ last chance didn’t go anywhere. An illegal formation penalty, the Hogs’ 13 th infraction of the night, backed them up 5 yards, then quarterback Casey Dick made a mistake by catching his own batted pass for a 3-yard loss. On fourth-and-18 from the 5, Dick’s desperation throw for Greg Childs was intercepted by Marcus McClinton, giving the Wildcats their fourth takeaway and clinching the comeback.
“I think saying we gave the game away is an understatement,” Luigs said. “We had them right where we wanted, had them where they were about to quit, and somehow they found their way back into the game.”
Dick was 11 of 29 passing for a seasonlow 94 yards.
“This one hurts,” Dick said. “We thought we had the game in control, and the bottom line is that we have to find a way to play good at the end and make plays.”
Kentucky avoided an 0-3 league start that would have probably buried its chances in the SEC East.
“This game is huge,” Kentucky linebacker Micah Johnson said. “Getting this win lightens things up, and if we can keep this heart and fight, with little mistakes, we can beat anyone.”
Arkansas’ failure to score touchdowns after reaching the red zone proved extremely costly, such as Smith’s first-quarter dive from the Kentucky 1-yard line that wound up in a lost fumble.
“We had a lot of chances to win that football game, starting in the first quarter when we had the ball down in there and didn’t get any points, and fumbled on the 1 and threw an interception at the [Kentucky 4-yard line ],” Petrino said. “All of those things add up and end up hurting you.”
A Shedrick Johnson fumble recovery early in the third quarter at the Kentucky 7 yielded only Shay Haddock’s 19-yard field goal.
Then an unusual 20-play, 87-yard Arkansas drive that featured three Kentucky penalties for Razorbacks first downs flamed out at the Wildcats’ 6-yard line on Smith’s 35 th and final run of the night. Haddock’s 23-yard field goal put the Razorbacks on top 20-7 with 10 minutes left, just enough time for a twotouchdown comeback.
“We never got a big enough gap in the score, and that allowed them to come back and beat us,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said.
“It was just a very strange football game at that stage, one in which they looked very dominant and in control,” Brooks said.
Arkansas won the coin toss and deferred for the second consecutive week to a team that was struggling on offense, and again, the move paid off.
The Razorbacks forced a punt after three plays, forged a couple of first downs on a run and a catch by Smith and gained the upper hand on field position.
Even though the Hogs didn’t immediately capitalize — Dick’s deep throw down the left sideline for Childs was intercepted by David Jones — they had the Wildcats pinned deep in Kentucky territory. When defensive tackle Malcolm Sheppard pressured Hartline into a rushed throw on third-and-3 from the 11, the resulting overthrow wound up in the hands of safety Elton Ford for his first career interception and a 23-yard return.
Freddy Burton picked up a personal foul on the turnover, pushing the ball back to the 24. Smith went to work from there, gaining 6 yards off right end, 3 off left tackle, 3 more behind a two-tight-end set on the left side, then 10 yards up the middle. Smith cruised over right tackle for the touchdown, Arkansas’ first in the first quarter this season, and a 7-0 lead.
The insertion of running quarterback Randall Cobb helped the Wildcats gain a first down, but moments later, the Razorbacks were back on the move.
Smith had a 51-yard gain to reach the Kentucky 28, and Dick scrambled for 12 yards — nearly reaching the end zone — on a third-and-8 snap from the 13. That inability to break a tackle at the 1-yard line would prove costly.
Two Smith runs failed to gain ground, and when the junior tried to stretch the ball over the goal line on third down, it was knocked out and recovered by Kentucky’s Corey Peters.
The turn of events swung momentum into Kentucky’s favor for the next several minutes, but the Wildcats couldn’t turn it into points.
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