Do Razorbacks have argument for game being stolen by officiating?

Even if Arkansas were assessed many personal foul penalties, fourth quarter collapse ultimately falls on defense

Arkansas Razorbacks interim head coach Bobby Petrino during the third quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Razorback Stadium. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The fit Arkansas interim coach Bobby Petrino threw on the sideline early in the third quarter changed the whole complexion of Saturday's game against Mississippi State.

Going into halftime, the Razorbacks had committed just three penalties for a total of 35 yards, which aligned with how things have flowed in each game this season.

For the record, Arkansas averaged roughly five penalties for 46 yards going into Saturday's game, but were called for a total of 18 penalties for 193 yards with most coming in the second half.

Momentum changed, and what ever it was Petrino said to field judge Andy Britton on the sideline took the cake. The game was never called the same way again which likely cost Arkansas several chances for its first SEC victroy of the season.

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What led to this situation was a flurry of completely unecessary actions from the Razorbacks, out of control and losing composure by each play. Things got chippy and even if Petrino had his team's back, they continued to play edgier than they should have.

Mississippi State's Isaac Smith tackled Green to the ground on a quick shovel pass to tight end Rohan Jones for a successful two-point conversion.

Razorbacks' sophomore wide receiver CJ Brown decided the hit on his quarterback was a bit extra and decided to come off the sideline, interjecting himself after the play which drew a personal foul penalty.

While the officiating crew determined Brown came off the sideline to, replay clearly showed him at the bottom of the screen lined up for the two-point play.

That penalty alone drew the ire of Petrino, who probably knew each detail of the play drawn up, including his penalized wideout actually being in the field of play when called for the penalty.

Arkansas was backed up to its own 20 for Brown's antics, but Petrino's penalty marked the kickoff half the distance of the goal, the 10-yard line.

"I do want to say something, but I can't, you know, that's how they handcuff you," Petrino said following the loss. "But I'll just say, watch the video. And you know, the one thing I can say is they picked our quarterback up and souffle him, which is a really bad deal."

Once the Razorbacks stopped MSU at its own 40-yard line, it was issued an unnecessary roughness penalty as fullback Maddox Lassiter tackled the Bulldogs' kick returner Davon Booth out of bounds.

Two-plays later, safety Larry Worth was called for targeting with what appeared to be legally vicious hit in live action. Replay revealed Worth did lead with his helmet while making a form tackle, but the call was upheld and will keep him out of the first half of the Razorbacks game at LSU in two weeks.

The Bulldogs' ultimately assisted for touchdown by the Razorbacks with a rash of four penalties across five plays, flipping the momentum in a two score game.

While each of those calls were deserved, what continued to happen in the fourth quarter was abominable. Petrino's offense was stymied after taking a 35-21 lead with 13:43 left in regulation, but were called for seven penalties in the final 15 minutes for more yardage (67) than it actually recorded (21).

The Razorbacks were accessed a personal foul for a late hit by senior linebacker Xavian Sorey on Bulldogs' quarterback Blake Shapen on second-and-20, resulting in an automatic first down even after a 33 yard gain.

Mike Washington got things going quickly on Arkansas' very next drive, rushing for 14-yards down the sideline, but the play was called back for a hold by left guard Fernando Carmona.

As seen in the clip below, Carmona shoved his defender into the dirt for what is considered a pancake block by most crews. This time it was called a hold which stalled any momentum the Razorbacks gained off the long run.

Instead, Arkansas goes three-and-out while ultimately seeing its lead evaporate on its next defensive series.

They were back breaking [holding] penalties," Petrino said. "There's no question about that, but you got to overcome it. You still got to overcome that and get the first down and move the ball and eat the clock.

"We weren't able to do that, and I had to put our defense back on the field, and that's a bad deal."

Defensive end Quincy Rhodes notched one of his best performances of his college career with four tackles for loss and one sack. But, his final tackle for loss resulted in a play that was never called dead even with Booth's forward progress stalled.

From peewee to high school and beyond, players are taught to play through the whistle but it was likely Rhodes' toss of Booth to drop Booth for a 5-yard loss that drew the flag. Again, it was a late call that reenergized the Bulldogs' to get within kicker Kyle Ferrie's range but missed the attempt.

Of course, the unnecessary hits kept coming as Arkansas senior safety rolled into Ferrie's legs, resulting in a roughing the kicker penalty giving Mississippi State another attempt which was good from 46-yards.

During MSU's final offensive possession, Arkansas never gifted the Bulldogs penalty yardage, but it was bad coverage that allowed coach Jeff Lebby's teams to win its first SEC game in nearly three years.

With the Bulldogs stopped to fourth-and-four with 51 seconds left, Shapen found former Arkansas commit Anthony Evans on a short out route, breaking three open field tackles for paydirt.

Sure, there is a combination of unnecessary penalties that caused this game to sideways for a bit, but it was ultimately Arkansas' untimely defensive errors that grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory.

"[Officiating] was frustrating, but a lot of those penalties were self-inflicted wounds," senior defensive tackle Cam Ball said. "We just got to be more disciplined. We can’t make bonehead mistakes and bonehead plays, that starts with us. We can’t put it on the refs, we just got to do better."

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