While college football is a sport that thrives on chaos and underdogs getting shocking results, most of the time the team with significantly more talent wins. LSU is a football team with significantly more talent than Arkansas. They won 33-10.
Austin Allen came back for the Hogs but was clearly not 100% healthy. Or if he was he still didn’t fully trust his arm, under throwing multiple targets. Statistically it wasn’t a horrible game for Allen, he finished 13-23 for 140 yards and a passer rating of 107.7. He had many chances to have a better game though.
Arkansas was in the game the entire first half thanks to their defense. The two teams went into the half tied at 7. LSU got a deep ball to DJ Chark to open the scoring. Arkansas answered with a drive at the end of the half that was capped off by a 1 yard Devwah Whaley run.
The second half was where LSU flexed their muscle, especially on the ground. Derrius Guice got 99 of his 147 yards and all three of his touchdowns in the second half. Chark also got to burn the secondary a couple more times and finished with 130 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Cole Kelley did get the last few possessions of the game, and wasn’t any more effective than Allen was. He finished 3-10 for 36 yards and an interception. Oh and the TJ Hammonds count for this game was just three. He had two negative yard plays and got back to even on the final carry. David Williams led the team rushing with 81 yards and 6.2 yards per carry. Whaley had 51 yards and 4.2 yards per carry.
Arkansas now needs wins against Mississippi State and Missouri to reach bowl eligibility, something that certainly isn’t happening with the current state of things. There was nothing particularly exciting or surprising about this game, which is really the first time that’s happened this year for this team. Just 60 minutes of losing to a superior team while the season, and likely Bielema Era, comes to a close.