Arkansas-Miss State post game notes

Arkansas set school records for passing touchdowns and yards passing for a season.  Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson have combined for 30 touchdown passes and 3,413 yards.

The Razorback victory is their sixth straight in Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium and the fourth in four tries under head coach Bobby Petrino.  The win is also Arkansas’ fourth straight win overall, the longest winning streak with Bobby Petrino as the head coach.

Arkansas was 3-3 on red-zone possessions on the day. For the year, the Razorbacks are 38-39 on red-zone scores and have scored a touchdown on 29 of those possessions.

Bobby Petrino coached teams are 43-3 when scoring 30 or more points.

Arkansas is +12 in turnover margin this season. Last season the Razorbacks were -9. The Razorbacks had two fumble recoveries in today’s game.  

Arkansas has started seven true freshmen this season, the total ranks second nationally and first in the SEC.  

The Razorbacks have 29 touchdown drives this season under three minutes and 22 under two minutes.

This is just the second time in Razorback history that Arkansas has scored 40 or more points in at least six games during a single season.  The only other time was 2007 when the Hogs put 40 or more points on the board seven times.

D.J. Williams led the Razorback receivers in catches for the third time this season. He had four receptions for 30 yards. He is one of four Razorbacks to lead Arkansas in receiving this season (Jarius Wright 6-139 vs. Missouri St., 5-67 vs. Troy; Greg Childs 5-140 vs. Georgia, 5-85 vs. Auburn, 4-135 vs. Florida, 3-83 vs. Ole Miss; Joe Adams 6-81 vs. Alabama, 3-110 vs. Texas A&M, Eastern Michigan, 3-109; D.J. Williams 7-137 vs. S. Carolina, 6-57 vs. Auburn).  The Razorback receivers have combined for eight 100-yard receiving games this season and had just five last year.

The Razorbacks have outscored their opponents 97-47 in the first quarter this season.  Arkansas scored only 55 points in the first quarter last year.

Arkansas is now 13-6-1 against Mississippi State all time.

The Razorback defense sacked Mississippi State quarterbacks four times in the game.  The total ranks as the second-highest by the Razorbacks this season against an opponent (six vs. Florida).

Ryan Mallett was 18-34 for 313 yards and five touchdown passes on the day. He has 28 touchdown passes in 11 games this season.  Mallett’s 313 yards passing give him 3,195 for the season, making him the first Razorback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season and improving on Arkansas’ single-season record which he set against Troy on Nov. 14.  His five touchdown passes tie his school record which he has set two times prior to today.  In his last two games Mallett has thrown 10 touchdown passes.

Ryan Mallett’s 28 touchdown passes this season through 11 games are as many or more than the Razorbacks threw in every season dating back to the 1947 season.  Arkansas and former quarterback Clint Stoerner (1998) had thrown for 26 passes in a season one other time.  Mallett has passed for at least one touchdown in 10 of 11 games as a Razorback and in 12 of his 14 career starts.

Ryan Mallett matched Clint Stoerner’s school record for touchdown responsibility in a season with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Cobi Hamilton in the second quarter.  The touchdown pass also allowed him to be the first Razorback in school history to surpass the 3,000-yard mark in a season.  The touchdown responsibility record is the 11th school record Mallett has tied or set this season.

D.J. Williams had four catches for 30 yards to lead the Razorback receivers.

Joe Adams’ first catch was a 39-yard touchdown grab.  The catch continued his steak of catching at least one pass in every game he has played in (20 games).  It was his sixth touchdown grab of the season.

Jarius Wright made three catches on the day, including his fourth touchdown catch.

Cobi Hamilton made a pair of touchdown catches in the game, both for huge yardage.  His first was a 58-yard catch in the second quarter and was followed by a 64-yard touchdown reception.  It is the first two-touchdown and 100-yard game of his career and both receptions were career long catches at the time.

Dennis Johnson returned two kickoffs for 46 yards and set the Razorbacks’ season record for kickoff return yards.  His 940 return yards this season eclipse his school record of 905 yards he set last season.

Alex Tejada converted six extra-point attempts on the day. On the year, he is now 11-15 on field goal attempts and 53-54 on extra-point opportunities. Tejada now has 131 PATs which makes him Arkansas’ all-time leader for PATs in a career.  He broke his tie with former leader Bill McClard (125), a mark that had stood for 38 years.

Adrian Davis was credited with one sack on the day giving him 12.0 for his career.  He is now tied for 13th on Arkansas’ all-time sacks list.

Jake Bequette matched a career high with three sacks on the day.  He also had five tackles on the day, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Arkansas’ captains were DeMarcus Love, Ryan Mallet, Malcolm Sheppard and Michael Smith

Arkansas is 6-5 in coin tosses this season. The Razorbacks are 3-1 when they lose the toss.

Today’s attendance was 55,634. It is the 13th-largest in War Memorial Stadium history.