The first half of the Arkansas vs Mississippi State game that ended up as 33-point walloping for the Hogs felt out of sorts for many Razorback fans.
Not because of the score, which was 31-10 at the break — Arkansas’ largest halftime lead in an SEC road game since 2016. Rather, the issue was how things arrived to that point. More than perhaps any point in the recent past, SEC referees had reviewed multiple replays that went Arkansas’ way.
Arkansas State transfer tight end Seydou Traore looked like he had a pair of touchdowns, only to be ruled just short of the goal line both times. The two calls were reviewed — and deemed touchdowns by the SEC Network commentators — but stood as called on the field.
Those decisions were costly for the Bulldogs, who managed just 3 points on those two possessions instead of 14.
The first situation came on a third-and-2 play when Michael Van Buren found Traore in the flats. Hudson Clark, who started at cornerback, came up and tackled him. Traore stretched the ball out and at least got extremely close to the goal line, but there wasn’t enough video evidence to overturn the call.
On the very next play, Mississippi State dialed up a quarterback keeper with backup Chris Parson and Eric Gregory blew it up for a turnover on downs.
Later in the second quarter, the tight end reeled in a deep ball as he fell into the front pylon at the goal line. Thinking he scored a touchdown, Traore chunked the ball into the stands in celebration.
However, the official ruled him down inside the 1 and he earned an unsportsmanlike penalty, which backed the Bulldogs up to the 16. Once again, there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the call. This time, they had to settle for a field goal.
It was a pleasant change for Arkansas football fans, who have become accustomed to questionable replay reviews going against the Razorbacks. Just last week, LSU had a targeting penalty surprisingly overturned that was critical in Arkansas not being able to pull off a comeback.
Making it even more surprising is that it came at an opposing SEC program’s home field, where you can sometimes expect some home cooking from the officials — especially calls as close as those.
See our post-game coverage here:
For highlights from Arkansas vs Mississippi State game, see below:
Arkansas vs Mississippi State Updates
13:06, 1Q — Arkansas 7, Mississippi State 0
You couldn’t draw up a better start for the Hogs. Landon Jackson notched a strip sack — and recovered it — on Mississippi State’s second play and the offense needed just three plays to cover the 23 yards to the end zone. After a couple of runs by Braylen Russell, Taylen Green kept it and scored on an 8-yard run that featured a nasty juke by the quarterback and nice block by Andrew Armstrong.
11:45, 1Q — Arkansas 7, Mississippi State 7
A couple of plays after a face mask penalty wiped out a would-be sack, Mississippi State made the most of it by scoring on a 54-yard swing pass from Michael Van Buren to Davon Booth.
8:50, 1Q — Arkansas 10, Mississippi State 7
The Razorbacks put together a promising drive that started with a 30-yard catch and run by Luke Hasz, but it stalled out inside the 10. They had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Matthew Shipley.
2:09, 1Q — Arkansas 17, Mississippi State 7
After getting a fourth-and-1 stop near the red zone from its defense, Arkansas opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 and Bobby Petrino dialed up a perfect call. Out of I-formation, the Razorbacks faked a handoff to Braylen Russell and Taylen Green hid the ball behind his back before passing to a wide open Luke Hasz, who had snuck out, for a 14-yard touchdown.
END of 1Q — Arkansas 17, Mississippi State 7
10:50, 2Q — Arkansas 24, Mississippi State 7
Mississippi State missed a 42-yard field goal and Arkansas capitalized by marching 76 yards in just five plays. It was capped by a perfectly placed pass from Taylen Green and nice catch by Jordan Anthony for a 27-yard touchdown.
1:54, 2Q — Arkansas 24, Mississippi State 10
After the unsportsmanlike penalty backed the Bulldogs up to the 16, Arkansas’ defense came up big with a third-down sack of Van Buren. That forced
0:16, 2Q — Arkansas 31, Mississippi State 10
In a two-minute drill, Arkansas had a long catch and run by Tyrone Broden wiped out by penalty, but it didn’t matter. The Razorbacks still marched down the field and scored a touchdown, with Andreas Paaske catching a wide open 1-yard touchdown on another beautiful play design by Petrino.
HALF — Arkansas 31, Mississippi State 10
11:23, 3Q — Arkansas 34, Mississippi State 10
Arkansas got the ball to start the second half and went right down the field before stalling out in the red zone. It had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Matthew Shipley.
6:51, 3Q — Arkansas 41, Mississippi State 10
Andreas Paaske hadn’t been targeted with a single pass all year, but has now caught three passes today — including two touchdowns. The latest was a 7-yard score. It was set up by a fourth-down conversion on which Green kept a play alive with his legs before finding Russell for a first down.
4:40, 3Q — Arkansas 41, Mississippi State 17
The Bulldogs responded with a nice 6-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 31-yard touchdown catch and run by Kevin Coleman Jr. It was reviewed, as he nearly stepped out of bounds, but the call stood.
3:57, 3Q — Arkansas 41, Mississippi State 25
Two plays after Taylen Green was picked off, Mississippi State scored again. This time it was a 4-yard keeper by Van Buren. The Bulldogs tacked on a two-point conversion to make it a two-score game.
END of 3Q — Arkansas 41, Mississippi State 25
14:04, 4Q — Arkansas 44, Mississippi State 25
A holding penalty on first-and-goal put the Hogs in a tough spot, but they still got a 29-yard field goal out of it. Shipley’s kick pushed Arkansas’ lead back to three possessions.
5:51, 4Q — Arkansas 51, Mississippi State 25
It looked like the Bulldogs were about to score, but Hudson Clark punched the ball out just shy of the goal line and Arkansas recovered. The Hogs then needed only five plays to cover 99 yards, with a 75-yard rumble by Russell being the big blow. Green found Hasz for a 15-yard touchdown to cap the drive.
4:50, 4Q — Arkansas 58, Mississippi State 25
Two plays after an interception by Xavian Sorey, Arkansas tacked on another touchdown via a 3-yard run by Dubinion.
FINAL – Arkansas 58, Mississippi State 25
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