• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Wilson leads No. 6 Arkansas past Mississippi State

Nov 20, 2011 - 7:38 AM Little Rock, AR (Sports Network) - Tyler Wilson threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns, and sixth-ranked Arkansas kept rolling with a 44-17 victory over Mississippi State.

Chris Gragg caught eight passes for 119 yards and a touchdown while Zach Hocker kicked three field goals for the Razorbacks (10-1, 6-1 SEC), who have won their last seven games.

"I'm very proud of our team. We did well in our preparation and executed well in all three phases of the game tonight," said Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino.

They will close the regular season next Friday against LSU in Baton Rouge, a contest that could decide the SEC West title.

Dylan Favre passed for 72 yards and a touchdown for Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6), which has lost its last two. It hosts Ole Miss next weekend to close the regular season.

"That's probably collectively as bad as we've played I think since I've been the head coach and that falls on my shoulders. We need to make sure we have a better performance out there on the field," admitted Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen.

Arkansas' offense got off to a good start, scoring on two of its first three drives. The Razorbacks had the ball first and went 66 yards in six plays, the final one being Wilson's 20-yard TD pass to Cobi Hamilton.

They went three-and-out on their next possession, which started at their own two-yard line. But after Bulldogs kicker Derek DePasquale made a 35-yard try, Arkansas took over at its own 32 and got into the end zone in seven plays.

Fullback Kiero Small plunged across the goal line from a yard out, giving Arkansas a 14-3 lead with 1:34 left in the first quarter.

The Razorbacks were threatening to turn the game into a rout early in the second quarter, with the ball inside the Mississippi State 10. But Wilson fumbled as he was sacked, and Bulldogs lineman Fletcher Cox returned it 52 yards to the Arkansas 28.

Tyler Russell's 13-yard pass helped to set up Favre's five-yard scoring run, which had the Bulldogs within 14-10.

However, Arkansas scored the next 30 points to take control. Wilson hooked up with Joe Adams on a 32-yard pass with two minutes left in the half, and Hocker's 44-yarder with five seconds to play give the Razorbacks a 24-10 lead at the break.

Gragg's two-yard TD reception and a 48-yard kick by Hocker pushed the lead to 24 points moving into the fourth, when Hocker kicked his third field goal -- from 27 yards away -- with 13 minutes to play.

Mississippi State fumbled the ball away during its next possession, which led to another Arkansas TD. Broderick Green's two-yard run made it a 44-10 game, and Favre capped the scoring with 15 seconds to play, when he found Malcolm Johnson with a 13-yard pass.

Game Notes

Arkansas owns a 15-6-1 series lead over Mississippi State, which includes wins in each of the last three seasons...The Razorbacks recorded 539 total yards while holding MSU to 211. They held the ball for just over 35 minutes.