Another fade, then out: Hogs blow 14-point lead before Bielema fired

FAYETTEVILLE -- High-powered, fast-acting Missouri dialed down its offensive switch to "slow" mode late in the game, calmly driving 75 yards in nearly five minutes for Tucker McCann's field goal with five seconds left to capture a 48-45 shootout against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday.

The drama of the game, played before an announced crowd of 64,529 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, took a quick turn moments later when Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema was fired by interim Athletic Director Julie Cromer Peoples in a room underneath the stadium.

Bielema, 47, was dismissed at the end of a 4-8 season that included numerous heartbreaking results such as this penalty-filled game in the 4-year-old Battle Line Rivalry game.

Missouri (7-5, 4-4 SEC) won for the third time in four games against Arkansas and won its sixth game in a row. The Tigers piled up 696 total yards in 102 plays, and quarterback Drew Lock passed for 448 yards and 5 touchdowns to break the single-season SEC record with 43 touchdown passes.

The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (4-8, 1-7 SEC) lost for the third time this season in the final 17 seconds of a game or in overtime. The Razorbacks led 28-14 in the first half, but they lost for the 13th time under Bielema when holding a lead entering the fourth quarter and lost a game when leading by 10 points for the 10th time. Eight of those losses have come against SEC opponents Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Missouri.

"From a personal standpoint, we focused on the task at hand. I just asked for the guys just to try to be their greatest," Bielema said. "That's all I wanted them to do. I didn't say go win for me or anything else. Just go out and be as good as humanly possible for the seniors to get a trophy.

"Give a lot of credit to Missouri. They played a great game and have played well down the stretch. It just kind of summarizes the whole year for us. Just where we're at moving forward."

Missouri will go bowling after opening the season 1-5.

"I'm proud and happy for our seniors to go get a chance to now do something that hasn't been done very many times in college football, go get an eighth win after starting 1-5," Missouri Coach Barry Odom said.

Arkansas lost all three of its trophy games for the third consecutive season, with a 50-43 loss to Texas A&M in overtime, a 33-10 loss at LSU and the 48-45 loss to the Tigers.

The game got chippy on several occasions, with multiple personal foul calls. Missouri had 10 penalties for 77 yards and Arkansas drew 8 flags for 76 yards.

Players from both teams appeared to chirp at each other throughout the game, and Missouri receiver J'Mon Moore rushed to the Arkansas sideline to celebrate as soon as it ended. Personnel from both teams separated players for a couple of minutes near the Arkansas sideline before Moore was ushered back toward midfield.

A procession of Arkansas players and assistant coaches gave Bielema extra-long hugs as they departed the field for the final time in 2017.

The loss and Bielema's firing dampened what was Arkansas' biggest scoring outburst of the season and its fifth-highest total yardage with 446 yards.

Several Razorbacks also turned in huge performances.

Senior cornerback Henre Toliver intercepted two passes and had 63 yards on those returns and also had a 33-yard punt return. The Razorbacks scored touchdowns after his 28-yard interception return at the end of Missouri's first possession and after his punt return late in the first quarter.

Tailback David Williams had his best game as a Razorback with 75 rushing yards, 38 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. His 16-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter put Arkansas ahead 21-7. His 22-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter gave the Razorbacks a 28-14 lead.

No Arkansas players were made available for postgame interviews.

Lock was picked off twice, but he led scoring drives on eight of 12 other possessions and had only one three-and-out series. His 43 touchdown passes surpassed the former SEC record of 40 held by Kentucky's Andre Woodson (2007).

Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen completed 14 of 29 passes for a season-high 313 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Devwah Whaley capped a 77-yard Arkansas drive late in the third quarter with a 28-yard touchdown run to put Arkansas on top 35-31. The teams traded the lead three more times after that.

Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam caught the second of his two touchdowns, an 8-yard crossing route, to give the Tigers a 38-35 lead with 12:59 left in the game.

Arkansas responded with De'Vion Warren's 46-yard kickoff return that set up a 49-yard touchdown drive. Williams caught a short screen pass from Allen in the right flat on third and 10 and weaved down the right sideline for a 24-yard score to put Arkansas back ahead 42-38.

The Tigers answered quickly with an 89-yard drive that took only 2:28. Lock found J'Mon Moore for a 25-yard touchdown to cap the series, which gave Missouri a 45-42 lead.

"We just ended up giving up too many plays," Bielema said. "Defensively, the long ball was probably the breaking point."

Connor Limpert's 42-yard field goal forged a tie with 5:00 left on the clock to set up Missouri's game-winning sequence.

Missouri tailback Ish Witter rushed for a game-high 170 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 39 carries.

Moore led the Tigers with 160 receiving yards on 10 catches. Emanuel Hall got behind the Arkansas defense twice in the first half to haul in touchdown passes of 55 and 56 yards. He finished with 111 receiving yards before leaving the game with a leg injury. Okwuegbunam had five catches for 63 yards.

Sports on 11/25/2017