Top 5 Heartbreaking Losses for Arkansas Football
#4: 2011 vs. LSU, Hogs Lose 41-17
This was one of the rare Battle for the Golden Boot matchups where one side has just blown out the other. Arkansas was in the prime, and unknowingly at the end of the Bobby Petrino era. With Arkansas sitting at 10-1 and LSU at 11-0, this matchup was set to be one for the ages, especially since this rivalry has been built on close games. So having #3 vs. #1 was sure to be a thriller.
Well…we were wrong. The game didn’t start out awful, which is what makes this one so heartbreaking. After a Jarius Wright touchdown and a scoop and score, the Hogs jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, making it look like a cakewalk.
But like a Bobby Petrino midnight motorcycle ride, we crashed and burned.
LSU responded quickly and ferociously. After scoring one touchdown, LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu (The Honey Badger) returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown. LSU went into halftime with a 21-14 lead over the Hogs. The game only got worse from then on out. After a slow third quarter, the Hogs went into the final 15 minutes down by a touchdown. Sadly, the Hogs would never score again. LSU scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to put the final dagger in Arkansas.
The LSU 2011 matchup was one of the roughest in the rivalry’s history. The Tigers decided who would win that game. When they wanted to score, they scored. Had Arkansas won this game, there would have been serious debates on who would go to the national championship. At the time of this game, the top 3 teams in the nation were LSU, Alabama, and then Arkansas. Had we beaten LSU, all of the top three teams would have one loss, with all of those 1 losses coming from each other. But fate didn’t want us to win, and I guess I’ll just have to live with that.
LSU went on to face Alabama in the national championship that year, setting up a rematch from earlier that year. Alabama came out and did what Alabama does best, shutting out the Tigers 21-0. The Hogs went on to beat Kansas State in a non-competitive Cotton Bowl. Which was nice, I guess…
Next: Just a Spoonful of Sugar