Mississippi State rallies from 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Arkansas 38-35

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Blake Shapen threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Evans III on fourth down with 48 seconds left, lifting Mississippi State over Arkansas 38-35 on Saturday for its first Southeastern Conference victory of the season.

The Bulldogs (5-4, 1-4 SEC) trailed by 14 points with 13:43 left before Shapen led scoring drives of 75, 43 and 69 yards to overcome the deficit. Arkansas (2-7, 0-5 SEC), which entered with the seventh-ranked offense in FBS, lost a total of 15 yards on its final three drives.

Shapen, who completed 16 of 28 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, missed a chunk of the third quarter after taking a hit on the first play of the second half when Arkansas was flagged for a roughing-the-passer penalty. Back-up Kamario Taylor entered and led two scoring drives, one capped with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Evans and the other with a 20-yard touchdown run before Shapen returned.

“We needed an old guy to be able to go win this game, felt that way and he did,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said. “Came back in, plays unbelievably tough and he leads us down the field to go win the game in the fourth quarter.”

Davon Booth started the fourth-quarter comeback with a 2-yard touchdown run and Kyle Ferrie followed on the next drive with a 46-yard field goal to trim the deficit to four points. The Razorbacks ran just three plays on the ensuing drive before punting, setting up Mississippi State’s go-ahead score.

Arkansas led 13-7 at halftime behind a touchdown pass from Taylen Green to Rohan Jones and two field goals by Scott Starzyk. Green added an 8-yard rushing touchdown followed by a 20-yard score on the ground by Mike Washington Jr. that provided Arkansas with a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter.

Taylor and Braylen Russell traded touchdowns on the next two possessions before the Bulldogs’ rally.

Green finished 19-of-31 passing for 194 yards and a score with another 46 yards rushing on 17 carries. Washington added 116 yards rushing with a touchdown.

Arkansas hurt itself by committing 18 penalties for 193 yards. Petrino talked around the subject after the game.

“You know I can’t say anything,” Petrino said. “I do want to say something but I can’t. That’s how they handcuff you. I’d just say watch the video.”

Brenan Thompson, who caught a 32-yard pass on fourth-and-7 to put the Bulldogs into Arkansas territory on their go-ahead drive, had six catches for 107 yards. Evans caught five passes for 111 yards.

Mississippi State won its first SEC game since Oct. 21, 2023, a victory that also came over the Razorbacks. Saturday’s win also snapped a four-game losing streak.

Arkansas is yet to win under Petrino, who took over for Sam Pittman in late September. The Razorbacks remain winless in SEC play just six seasons after back-to-back winless seasons in-conference.

Mississippi State will host Georgia on Nov. 8.

Arkansas travels to LSU on Nov. 15.

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