HAWGWASH! Arkansas Stuns LSU 31-30

Razorbacks engineer fourth quarter rally handing LSU second straight loss, fourth consecutive SEC setback

by Matt Reynolds
Tiger Rag Assistant Editor

(At left) Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick threw a 24-yard, fourth quarter touchdown pass to rally Hawgs past LSU 31-30 (Photo by Beth Bonner DeVille)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark – Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick finished his career as a Razorback in style – toppling the battered and bruised defending national champions to keep claim over the “Golden Boot” for another season.

The senior connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass to London Crawford on fourth-and-1 with 22 seconds remaining to cap off a 16 point comeback and give Arkansas a 31-30 victory over LSU on Friday night.

Dick took over in the first series of the second half, after his younger brother, Nathan, started the game at quarterback.

Casey Dick went 18-of-29 for 197 yards and two touchdown throws in the final two quarters of play. Nathan Dick threw for 7-of-11 for 83 yards and a touchdown and an interception in the first half.

“My whole career has been a great experience with plenty of highs and lows,” Casey Dick said after the Arkansas win. “But this is something I can look back on and be proud of.”

(At left) Despite being sacked four times, Casey Dick still rallied Arkansas to 31-30 win (Photo by Beth Bonner DeVille)

CLICK HERE to listen to Trindon Holliday’s postgame comments.

Arkansas ends the season at 5-7, while LSU now slides to 7-5, with a realistic chance of now playing in the Liberty or Chick-fil-A bowl.

The loss marks the first defeat at the hands of a team that finished the regular season with a losing record since a 30-27 overtime loss to Tennessee in 2005. It’s also the biggest lead blown by the Tigers since surrendering a 21-point advantage in that same loss to the Volunteers.

The Tigers finished 0-5 on the year in games televised by CBS. Previous losses on CBS included defeats to Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Ole Miss.

The Razorbacks trailed 30-14 early in the third quarter when Casey Dick replaced his younger brother, Nathan, at quarterback. With the help of several LSU penalties, Arkansas slowly chipped away before converting twice on fourth down on the winning drive.

In the first start of his career, LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson looked solid in the first half, throwing for 96 yards on a touchdown, and running for 51 yards.

(At left) True freshman Jordan Jefferson got his first career start at Arkansas on Friday (Photo by Beth Bonner DeVille)

CLICK HERE to listen to Jordan Jefferson’s postgame comments.

After halftime, it looked as if Jefferson and Tigers were about to put the foot on the Hogs proverbial throat, when the freshman found a streaking Brandon LaFell for a 32-yard-touchdown strike to put LSU up by 16 points.

The walls came crashing down on the Tigers after that, as the Hogs out gained LSU 222-20 in total yardage in the final 28 minutes.

Casey Dick found a wide-open Jarius Wright for a 46-yard-touchdown connection to cut LSU’s lead to 30-21 with 7:23 seconds left in the third quarter.

After an LSU three-and-out, the Razorbacks would then begin a nearly nine minute drive that was heavily aided by costly LSU penalties.

LSU’s Tremaine Johnson was called for unnecessary roughness with Arkansas about to face fourth down and about 30 from deep in its own territory. Later in the drive, LSU defensive lineman Rahim Alem was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for kicking the ball off the field after the play was over, which gave the Razorbacks another first down.

Arkansas kicker Alex Tejada would cap off that drive with a 22-yard-field goal that cut LSU’s lead to just 30-24.

(At left) Les Miles leaves the field on Friday after losing to Arkansas 31-30 (Photo by Beth Bonner DeVille)

CLICK HERE to listen to Chris Hawkins postgame comments.

“Our players understand how much that hurts our team,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “You can’t make penalties like that and expect to win the game.”

As LSU’s offensive struggles continued, the Hogs were given several opportunities in the forth quarter to seal the comeback.

Casey Dick found a diving Crawford for the go-ahead touchdown to cap off an 11 play, 69 yard drive that took only a little over 1:30 seconds and put the Hogs up with less than half a minute left.

The Razorbacks chose not to kick to Trindon Holliday on the ensuing kickoff, and Chad Jones fielded the punch kick and returned it 17 yards to the Arkansas 46-yard-line.

(At left) Colt David’s 63-yard field goal attempt fell short as time expired. (Photo by Beth Bonner DeVille)

LSU had 21 seconds, with all three timeouts, to try and get the ball into field goal range for kicker Colt David. The Tigers ran two plays that were unsuccessful and Miles opted to send his senior kicker out to attempt a 63-yard-FG with two seconds remaining on the clock.

David’s kick never had a chance – missing short and left – sealing the emotional victory for the Razorbacks.

Check back later for full coverage………