Good fortune, and a whole lot of Allen

OXFORD, Miss. -- In perhaps the wildest and craziest finish Arkansas football has ever seen, Brandon Allen became the 2015 king of overtimes as the Razorbacks tripped Ole Miss, 53-52, and the Rebels no longer control their own destiny as far as the SEC West title is concerned.

It is open for debate about which team was best, but there is no doubt which one was the luckiest, at least in overtime.

The Hogs twice appeared to have lost in overtime, only to have lady luck give them another chance.

First it was Hunter Henry who kept the game alive with a wild lateral on fourth and 25 that allowed the Hogs to pick up a first down, setting up Allen's 9-yard pass to Drew Morgan for a touchdown.

Arkansas wisely went for two, but the game appeared over when Allen was sacked. Then, a yellow flag hit the turf before Allen did. The defender had a handful of Allen's face mask, so instead of heading for the buses the Hogs lined up for a final shot at a miracle in Mississippi.

This time there was no pass. It was all Allen, the fifth-year senior quarterback who has blossomed into one of the best quarterbacks in the conference over the past three months.

Allen went right, got a good block on the corner, cut back and bulled his way into the end zone. Just like that, it was one of the saddest days in this beautiful hamlet since 1962 when William Faulkner, the state's most famous writer, died.

The No. 18-ranked Ole Miss Rebels were favored by more than 10 points, but it would have taken a healthier dose of luck in overtime just to survive.

Henry's lateral came after a 15-yard catch on fourth and 25 from the 40 with Arkansas trailing 52-45. As Henry was being brought to the ground 10 yards short of the first-down marker, he heaved the ball backward in pure desperation. The sellout crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was on its feet and cheering until the ball took one bounce and landed in the hands of running back Alex Collins, who sped left to the 9.

Collins fumbled at the end of the play, but Dominique Reed, who had two touchdown receptions, pounced on it at the 11.

Allen, who led the Hogs to a four-overtime victory over Auburn two weeks earlier, didn't just put on a show, he was the show. Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly also was outstanding.

Kelly, who a year ago was playing for East Mississippi Community College in Scuba, Miss., passed for 368 yards and 3 touchdowns and led all rushers with 110 yards and 3 more touchdowns. Kelly, who began his college career at Clemson before being asked to leave, played well enough to win.

Only this one was going to be whole hog instead of hotty toddy.

Allen and the Razorbacks could have spit on the fire and headed home. Instead they fought until the end, which might have been the sweetest night Bret Bielema has had as the Hogs' head coach.

Allen's overtime touchdown pass to Morgan was his sixth touchdown pass of the night, with three going to Morgan. Allen was 33 of 45 for 442 yards and didn't have an interception. He had six carries, including a 22-yarder on third and long in regulation, but the two-point conversion run is why the Hogs (5-4, 3-2 SEC) are one game away from being bowl eligible.

From start to finish it was impossible to say which team deserved to win. Arkansas was fighting to get bowl eligible; Ole Miss was trying to win the SEC West.

In the end only 15 yards separated them statistically. Arkansas had 605 yards, Ole Miss 590.

At the half only 13 yards separated the teams statistically.

Ole Miss was supposed to have been double-pumped to pay back the Hogs after getting shut out 30-0 last season. Instead of revenge, they needed to make one more play on Brandon Allen and didn't.

Sports on 11/08/2015