The Razorbacks came into this game riding high. After convincing wins over the Cincinnati Bearcats and the South Carolina Bearcats, the 10th ranked Razorbacks were expected to roll over the Missouri Bears. That however, was not the case. From the start the Bears were able to exploit the Razorbacks defense, producing big plays through the air and wrestling a controlling 17-0 lead in the early portion of the second quarter. On the Razorbacks first four possessions the Hogs went three and out twice and punted the ball away twice as their offense struggled to find its footing. While it looked like it would turn into a blow out by half time the Razorbacks came storming back, scoring 14 unanswered points before the half. The Hogs were even able to pull even at 17-17 before Missouri scored a 47 yard td on 4th and 1 to go up 24-17. Missouri State eventually took a 27-17 before the Arkansas Razorbacks came storming back to take the lead in the 4th quarter courtesy of a 75 yard touchdown by Rocket Sanders on a tunnel screen and an electrifying punt return touchdown by Bryce Stephens. The Hogs outscored the Bears 21-3 in the 4th quarter to put the game out of reach. Petrino’s return to Fayetteville was a bigger challenge than anybody expected but the 4th quarter heroics kept the Hogs from falling in a would be trap game.