Nebraska Blows Away Cyclones
Clint Stoerner's two touchdown passes to Anthony Lucas put Mississippi in a hole. The Arkansas defense and the elements then served to bury the Rebels.
Stoerner to lucas was good for 50 and 36 yards, the latter giving Arkansas (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) a 14-0 lead with 91 seconds left in the first half.
The wind chill was 29 when the second half began and a blowing rain made it worse.
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"We got behind 14-0 in the rain, then they turned the wolves loose on us," Mississippi coach Tommy Tuberville said. "They were going to force us to throw the ball, and it was a good plan. The weather didn't help us, either. When we got behind, we knew we had to throw it."
Mississippi (6-3, 3-3) had first downs at the Arkansas 18, 4 and 26 in the first half but failed to score.
Madre Hill's 17-yard scoring run upped the lead to 21-0 only three plays after the Rebels gambled on fourth-and-1 and quarterback Romaro Miller lost two yards on a broken play. A 73-yard pass from Stoerner to Lucas led to Todd Latourette's 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
The victory means Arkansas and Mississippi State are the only teams in the SEC Western Division with fewer than three league losses.
It was the Razorbacks' first shutout since beating Rice 20-0 on Nov. 23, 1991. Mississippi, which averaged 421 yards per game in the first eight games, had 204 in the first three periods and finished with 291.
The Rebels opened with four pass plays against a defense ranked No. 4 in the country against the run. On their first running play, Joe Gunn fumbled and Kenoy Kennedy recovered at the Arkansas 49.
On Arknsas' second play, Stoerner laid it up for Lucas running behind Gary Thigpen. Safety Anthony Magee was too late getting over to help and Lucas completed the 50-yard play.
The second TD pass -- the seventh of the year from Stoerner to Lucas -- came on third-and-14 from the Mississippi 36. Lucas ran a slant pattern, kept inside position on Timothy Strickland and caught the ball at the goal.
"Coach Nutt told us when No. 38 (Thigpen) walks up to the line that Clint should check off and go to me deep," Lucas said. "Clint did a great job of checking into the play and getting the ball there. It hung up a little and I had to move inside to make the catch."
Mississippi's first opportunity came after a face mask penalty on a punt return. The Rebels started from the Arkansas 31 and made a first down at the 18. After a delay penalty, Miller looked like he was going to make something on a scramble until Randy Garner dropped him for a 3-yard loss. Quenton Caver and others ran over Miller for a 10-yard loss and the Rebels punted 25 yards to the 6.
Kendrick Clancy stripped Stoerner of the ball and Eddie Strong recovered at the Arkansas 18. On third down from the 1, Deuce McAllister fumbled and Harry Wilson dove into the pile to recover.
Stoerner and Chrys Chukwuma made the big plays as Arkansas reached the Mississippi 21 before Armegis Spearman dropped Stoerner for a 17-yard loss.
"The fumble on our 1-yard line was huge," Nutt said. "That fumble and our ability to move the ball after it gave us a great deal of confidence. Our offensive line controlled the game from that point on."
The Rebels started from their 10 and reached the Arkansas 26 after they picked up a blitz and Grant Heard fought his way inside of David Barrett for a 53-yard pass. Heard couldn't handle Miller's low pass on first down and Barrett -- on a corner blitz for the first time this year -- hit Miller in the back on the next two plays and the Rebels punted after a penalty on a field goal attempt.
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