College Football | Another 1 bites the dust
BATON ROUGE, La. - The college football team formerly known as No. 1 learned the correct pronunciation of Arkansas has nothing to do with Kansas, which now has a much better chance of playing in the national championship game than Louisiana State.
Arkansas destroyed the defense also formerly known as No. 1 with 513 yards of offense, including 206 by tailback Darren McFadden, in a 50-48, triple-overtime victory over the Tigers in front of 92,606 at Tiger Stadium on Friday.
Razorbacks offensive guard Robert Felton ridiculed the “Ar-Kansas” pronunciation LSU coach Les Miles used throughout the past week.
“I ain’t no Ar-Kansas,” Felton said. “I bet he knows how to say it now.”
Embattled coach Houston Nutt may have saved his job with his school’s first victory over a No. 1 team since it beat Texas in 1981.
“For three or four hours, all I know is we were the best team in the country today,” said Nutt, who improved to 7-1 in overtime games.
The Tigers (10-2) no longer have a legitimate chance to play in the Bowl Championship Series national championship game on Jan. 7 after losing their first November game since 2002, also to Arkansas, and losing at home for the first time in two years. A 13-point underdog, Arkansas improved to 8-4.
“This is tough to swallow right now,” said tailback Jacob Hester, who led LSU with 126 yards on 28 carries.
Hester caught an apparent 54-yard touchdown from quarterback Matt Flynn for a 28-21 lead midway in the fourth quarter, but the play was called back because LSU receivers, as they have often done this season, lined up wrong.
“This team’s not happy,” Miles said. “We understand it cost us. We understand what it means. Nobody’s happy. Right now, a goal’s off the wall. Zap.”
LSU’s dream died suddenly when Arkansas cornerback Matterral Richardson intercepted Flynn’s two-point-conversion pass intended for receiver Demetrius Byrd in the end zone, ending the game.
“If they’d have played Ar-Kansas, they might have won,” Richardson said with a smile.
LSU had just cut Arkansas’ lead to 50-48 on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Flynn to receiver Brandon LaFell. Arkansas took a 50-42 lead at the opening of the third overtime on a 3-yard touchdown run by fullback Peyton Hillis and made the mandatory two-point conversion with a 2-yard run by tailback Felix Jones.
“Ain’t going to motivate a team tonight,” said Miles, who has to get his crestfallen team up a week from Saturday to play in the Southeastern Conference championship game against Georgia or Tennessee in Atlanta. “Tonight, they’re going to be sick.”
LSU fans, players and coaches may be replaying one play over and over. LSU took a 35-28 lead in the first overtime on a 12-yard TD run by Flynn and moments later lined up on defense for a fourth-and-10 play by Arkansas from the LSU 25-yard line. Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick dropped back against little rush and calmly found Hillis for a 13-yard gain to the LSU 12.
“We had them on their heels on fourth-and-10,” defensive end Kirston Pittman said. “We should’ve taken advantage of that situation.”
At Texas A&M 38, No. 13 Texas 30
Dennis Franchione gave Texas A&M another victory over Texas. Then the embattled coach handed in his resignation.
While there were no Big 12 titles or bowl victories in Franchione’s five seasons, his tenure ended on a high note, a victory over the Longhorns that gave the Aggies (7-5, 4-4 Big 12) consecutive wins over their hated rival.
“This team has been special all year to me,” Franchione said. “And I thought they played a wonderful game.”
Then, Franchione announced he was resigning. He accepted a buyout from the school.
“I’ve always said that coaches exist for only one reason - the players,” he said. “We want them to know that we love them, feel blessed for our time together and will miss them.”
The victory over Texas was too late to save Franchione, coming after four losses the previous five games and his secret e-mailed newsletter for big-money boosters.
Stephen McGee threw for a career-high 362 yards with three TDs and scored on a hard-driving run. Holder T.J. Sanders got his only career TD when he capped A&M’s 95-yard drive with a 5-yard run on a fake field goal, and the defense forced three turnovers (two fumbles, interception) by Texas quarterback Colt McCoy.
Texas (9-3, 5-3), which after its first 0-2 conference start since 1956 had won five straight games, still has an outside shot of making it to the Big 12 championship game if 10th-ranked Oklahoma loses to Oklahoma State today.
“It’s really hard,” Texas defensive back Brandon Foster said. “You never enjoy losing, but losing to the Aggies is just even worse.”
A&M athletic director Bill Byrne said a national search would begin immediately to find Franchione’s successor.
At No. 14 Hawaii 39, No. 17 Boise State 27
HONOLULU - Colt Brennan threw five touchdowns to break the major-college career record, and the Warriors beat Boise State to win their first outright Western Athletic Conference title.
Brennan finished 40 of 53 for 495 yards for the Warriors (11-0, 8-0), who set a school record with 12 straight wins and denied the Broncos (10-2, 7-1) a sixth straight conference championship.
The WAC heavyweights traded scores and the lead until Brennan erupted for three TD tosses in the third quarter to give the Warriors their largest lead, 39-27, heading into the final quarter.
The quick-striking Warriors, who have won 21 of its last 22 games and lead the nation in scoring, ran out the clock with their rare running game to seal the win as the crowd chanted, “BCS! BCS!”
Brennan has passed for 126 TDs in his three-year career at Hawaii, which beat Boise State for the first time in seven tries. Brennan broke the record, throwing his 122nd, in the first quarter.
Gannett News Service and The Associated Press
contributed to this article.