The 2002 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Houston Nutt, the Razorbacks compiled an overall record 9–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for second in the SEC's Western Division. Because Alabama, which had the best record in the SEC West at 6–2, was ineligible for postseason play, Arkansas shared the division title with the other second-place finishers, Auburn and LSU. The Razorbacks advanced to the SEC Championship Game, which they lost to Georgia. Arkansas was then invited to the Music City Bowl, where the Razorbacks were defeated by Minnesota. The team played home games at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Schedule
Game summaries Boise State
Arkansas beat Boise State for their first win of 2002. An impressive day on the ground, 217 yards, coupled with seven Boise State turnovers, helped secure the Razorback victory."Arkansas 41, Boise State 14." Sep 7, 2002. Arkansas Downs Boise State 41–14 In Season Opener Arkansas Razorbacks Sports Network. Retrieved on February 25, 2008. A blocked punt, a passing TD and then a rushing TD put the Razorbacks off to a 21–0 advantage. After two field goals and a TD strike to Decori Birmingham, the Hogs were out to a 34–0 lead, but the Broncos got on the board twice to make it 34–14. A fake field goal gave the Hogs a first down before Jones hooked up with Richard Smith on an 18-yard touchdown pass that closed the scoring at 41–14.
South Florida
Thirty five first half points and 547 yards of total offense set the Razorbacks well on their way to their second win of the season, at the expense of the South Florida Bulls. Only a field goal with a minute left in the game kept the Razorbacks from having a shutout, which would have been their first in two years."Arkansas 42, South Florida 3." September 14, 2002. Razorbacks Improve to 2–0 with 42–3 Pasting of South Florida Arkansas Razorbacks Sports Network. Retrieved on February 25, 2008. Back-up quarterback Tarvaris Jackson led a 94-yard scoring drive of his own, after three scoring drives by Matt Jones. Jackson would eventually transfer from Arkansas to Alabama A&M after Matt Jones became the apparent starting quarterback."Vikings 2006 Draft Review." Round 2 pick 64 — Tarvaris Jackson, Alabama State Scout.com Retrieved on February 25, 2008. South Florida had eight consecutive wins, the second-longest win streak in the nation, coming into this contest.
Alabama
Both Santonio Beard and Shaud Williams went over 100 yards for Alabama as the Tide beat Arkansas 30–12 at home."Alabama vs. Arkansas." Box Score, Stats, and Game Summary. USA Today. Retrieved on February 25, 2008. The Razorbacks never were within striking distance, as the Tide jumped out to a 14–0 lead, the first touchdown being an 80-yard scamper by Williams on the first play from scrimmage. A Crimson Tide field goal and Matt Jones TD run pushed the score to 17–7, but the Razorbacks could not penetrate the end zone again, as the two teams swapped field goals. A fourth quarter 50-yard touchdown pass from Brodie Croyle finished the Hogs, who tacked on an intentional safety to make the final 30–12.
Jones struggled throwing the ball, going just 7-of-18 for 111 yards with two interceptions. The loss was only the fourth home loss under Houston Nutt.
Tennessee
A six-overtime shootout was the result of the meeting between the Volunteers and the Razorbacks at Neyland Stadium in 2002. The battle-tested Razorbacks had come out victorious from a seven-overtime affair against Ole Miss the year previous."2001 SEC Football Standings." 2001 SEC Results. SEC Sports.com. Retrieved on February 20, 2008. This was the longest game in NCAA Division I-A (now FBS) history. Arkansas' success in (especially multiple) overtime situations provoked Coach Houston Nutt into being quoted as saying at the beginning of the first overtime: "This is our game. We're ready.""Epic-tested Arkansas beaten in sixth overtime." Arkansas 38, #10 Tennessee 41 ESPN.com Retrieved on February 20, 2008. This overtime loss was the first for Arkansas in their football history."No. 10 Tennessee Slips Past Arkansas 41–38 In Six Overtimes." October 6, 2002. Tennessee 41, Arkansas 38 Arkansas Razorbacks Sports Network. Retrieved on February 20, 2008.
The game began relatively low-scoring, with the Volunteers holding a 17–3 lead for the majority of the game. Tennessee leading rusher Cedric Houston missed the game with a torn ligament in his left thumb. Arkansas had injury problems of its own, and became one-dimensional with Cedric Cobbs, the Hogs' starting running back, missing much of the second half with a turf toe injury. The Razorbacks got the ball with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter and scored two touchdowns in a span of 4½ minutes. The tying touchdown was a 92-yard touchdown pass to Richard Smith from Matt Jones. Said Jones of that play after the game, "The coaches have told us never to quit, and we were down seven at our own 8, I kept thinking about that." This was at the time the longest offensive play in the history of Arkansas football, since surpassed by Broderick Green's 99-yard rush against Eastern Michigan in 2009."Arkansas Football Record Book." Longest Play Touchdowns. Page 136. Hogwired.com. Retrieved on February 20, 2008.
Both teams swapped field goals for the first two periods. The third was scoreless, despite an opportunity for Arkansas to shut the door with a field goal attempt. Arkansas then scored on a Matt Jones run, but failed the two-point conversion, which is required versus an extra point in the third overtime or later. The Volunteers answered the call on their first play, a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tony Brown, but the Volunteers also failed the two, sending the game into a fifth extra period.
Tennessee's Jabari Davis then ran into the end zone, but fumbled the ball as he crossed the plane of the goal line, but teammate and backfield mate Troy Fleming fell on the ball giving Rocky Top a six-point lead. Quarterback Casey Clausen was then sacked on the two point try. De'Arrius Howard ran in for the Hogs, but an interception by Tennessee's Julian Battle kept the game continuing to a sixth overtime. David Carlton kicked a 47-yard field goal for Arkansas in the sixth overtime, but future NFL All-Pro tight end Jason Witten caught a touchdown pass from Casey Clausen, ending the game in dramatic fashion, 41–38.
Auburn
Arkansas came out strong after their six overtime game with Tennessee. The Hogs Fred Talley rushed for 241 yards, 80 of those in one play, in a 38–17 upset of the Tigers at Auburn."Razorbacks not too weary to upset Auburn." Arkansas at Auburn Recap. ESPN. Retrieved on February 20, 2008. 241 yards remains to this day the most given up by an Auburn defense to a single rusher. Talley was a pleasant surprise fill-in for injured starter Cedric Cobbs. Talley lead the Hogs in a 426-yard rushing effort as a team. Talley had only 123 yards in the first four games of the year. Fullback Mark Pierce also had a 44-yard run on a fourth-and-one, with Matt Jones adding a 70-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter.
Auburn seemed the likely one for a big day on the ground with a touted running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. A year previous Cadillac had his break-out game against Arkansas, moving him from third to first on the depth chart at the expense of the Razorbacks. Said Arkansas defensive tackle Jermaine Brooks on Williams, "We gave the Cadillac a flat tire" and, "we just got sick and tired of [hearing about Williams]. If you stop him, you stop Auburn."
Kentucky
Arkansas' ground game continued to impress, with 293 yards, 182 of those from freshman Fred Talley. Overall, Arkansas had 515 yards of total offense to UK's 332. Quarterback Matt Jones set career marks with 15 completions and 210 yards."Kentucky 29, Arkansas 17." Oct 19, 2002. Kentucky Rallies In Second Half For 29–17 Victory Over Arkansas. Arkansas Razorbacks Sports Network. Retrieved on February 25, 2008. None of this, was enough as Kentucky managed a 29–17 victory.
Kentucky drove the opening kickoff 40 yards and kicker Taylor Begley hit on a 50-yard field goal. Arkansas had their field goal blocked on the ensuing possession, but fullback Mark Pierce later rumbled for a 34-yard score for the Razorbacks. An Arkansas field goal added to the lead to make it 10–3. Jared Lorenzen threw a touchdown pass right before halftime, but the extra point was blocked by Pervis Osborne of Arkansas. Arkansas held a one-point edge coming out of halftime when the Wildcats came out with a twenty-point scoring flurry. First a Matt Jones interception gave the Wildcats good field position, setting up an Artose Pinner TD run. Then, an 86-yard punt return by Derek Abney gave Kentucky a 22–10 lead, following a missed extra point. Razorback De'Arrius Howard scored from one yard out, but Jared Lorenzen hit Aaron Boone on a screen pass that went 18 yards to paydirt. Arkansas had two red zone opportunities in the fourth quarter, but neither team could dent the scoreboard, and Kentucky won, 29–17.
Ole Miss
Arkansas ran for 257 yards, and Ole Miss QB Eli Manning threw for 414 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions."Arkansas Rips Ole Miss 48–28." October 26, 2002. Hogs Force Five Turnovers Against Rebels Arkansas Razorbacks Sports Network. Retrieved on February 24. The first points of the game came for the Rebels when Matt Jones was called for intentionally grounding in the end zone, which by rule is scored a safety. Ole Miss gained a 2–0 lead, but fumbled near the close of the first quarter, resulting in a Razorback field goal. Lerinezo Robinson for the Hogs then returned a fumbled kickoff eight yards for a touchdown, giving Arkansas a 10–2 lead. Jonathan Nichols of Ole Miss then hit a 48-yard field, but a Jimmy Beasley interception of Eli Manning set up Arkansas for a 34-yard option keep touchdown by Matt Jones, giving an edge to the Hogs, 17–5. Manning then connected with Justin Sawyer, but the two point play was no good. First a field goal, then a touchdown closed out the first half for the Razorbacks, the TD set up by a 55-yard punt return by Decori Birmingham, to the Ole Miss 20.
The Rebels began the second half with 25-yard field goal. A 63-yard run by Fred Talley set up another Razorback touchdown, and Razorback Tom Crowder recovered the kickoff fumbled by Ole Miss in the end zone, to push the score to 41–14. Manning completed a drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass, but with just over ten minutes left, it was too little to late. Each team then added another touchdown before the Razorbacks homecoming game went final, 48–28. The Razorbacks' outstanding ground game was helped out by five Rebels turnovers, which led to 24 Razorback points.
Troy State
The game was dominated by both defenses, despite a lopsided finish. Troy State's ninth-ranked defense held Arkansas under 150 total yards and six first downs."Razorbacks Shut Out Troy State 23–0." Troy State at Arkansas Recap. Arkansas Razorbacks Sports Network. Retrieved on February 22, 2008. Arkansas shut out their first opponent since blanking Southwest Missouri State 38–0 in 2000. Special teams stepped up for the Hogs, and two blocked punts, one recovered in the end zone, helped out a struggling offense.
South Carolina