For the second consecutive week, the No. 9 LSU football team was mostly outmuscled at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. But this time, the double-digit defeat was in its own house to an unranked conference opponent, which used three bigs plays to drive its fourth straight win
Arkansas junior running back Alex Collins rushed for 141 of the Razorbacks’ 299 yards on the ground, while the Arkansas defense sacked LSU sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris five times to secure a 31-14 victory on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium
“It was tough,” said sophomore running back Leonard Fournette. “We have to come out with better practicing, better preparation and everything. It was our second loss. My job is to keep [the team] together. Keep them focused, not point fingers. Of course everybody hates losing, but basically just talking to them.”
In the Battle for the Golden Boot, the Tigers (7-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) trailed the entire way, only closing the gap to 21-14 early in the third quarter. The Razorbacks (6-4, 4-2 SEC) extended it’s lead to 10 points with a field goal on the ensuing drive and took control of the game with a 69-yard touchdown run on a reverse by sophomore receiver Jared Cornelius early in the fourth quarter.
Despite both physical and mental mistakes by his team throughout the game, LSU coach Les Miles said tonight was not a “hangover” from last week’s loss to the Crimson Tide. 
In fact, Miles took sole blame for the defeat.
“I just look at it as that I like my quarterback,” he said. “I like my tailback. I think this offensive line is pretty good. I has to be something that I am not getting done.
“Our guys are giving great effort. I have to do better. I have to give them the right stuff.”
Harris completed 21-of-35 passes for 271 yards, but he turned the ball over twice and was consistently pressured by the Arkansas front seven. After a 31-yard outing against Alabama, Fournette responded with 91 yards on 19 carries. But a rash of penalties and negative plays, including eight tackles for losses, prevented the LSU offense from gaining any rhythm throughout the game.
“We have to do better at executing,” said LSU sophomore wide receiver Malachi Dupre. “We’re putting ourselves in situations that wouldn’t be in if it wasn’t for silly penalties and things that we can fix mentally. You take those away, and we don’t have to call certain plays that are more difficult than others to execute.
“I just feel like we can do better mentally. We’ll get more victories that way. We’re a much better team than we played tonight. 100 percent.”
The Tigers opened up the second half with dominating drive, led by a few bruising runs by Fournette. After a 25-yard completion to junior receiver Travin Dural, Fournette mixed in carries of 12 and 13 yards for a total of 42 yards on the drive, punching in a one-yard touchdown.
Arkansas then scored 10 unanswered points to finish the game, highlighted by Cornelius’s scoring burst off the left sideline.
“It’s a little bit of a misdirection play,” said Arkansas senior quarterback Brandon Allen. “It get the defense eyes looking in the wrong place. We kind of figured they were going to expect us to keep going up the middle like we had been. Then, we hit them with a little misdirection and Jared did a great job running the ball.”
After getting shut out in last year’s road loss to the Razorbacks, the first 29 minutes of wasn’t much kinder to LSU. Arkansas outgained LSU 255-110 in total yards in the first half despite LSU creating two first-half turnovers.
After a fumble by on the opening possession of the game, LSU went backwards on its first drive with a four-yard loss by sophomore Fournette and a sack of Harris on third and long.
The Razorbacks used the momentum of the early defensive stand for an explosive play on its next series. Arkansas senior quarterback Brandon Allen hit junior receiver Dominique Reed on a crossing route, and Reed sprinted past LSU defensive backs for a 52-yard touchdown.
LSU then punted on its next two possession, giving way to a 80-yard scamper by Collins for a 14-0 lead. The Tigers seemed to have a promising drive developing on the next series as they reached the Arkansas 30-yard line early, but a facemask penalty on senior offensive tackle Vadal Alexander killed the drive, forcing LSU to punt again.
LSU later came up with an interception when Jamal Adams picked off Allen’s pass in the end zone on fourth and four from the Tiger 33-yard line, but Harris was sacked for the fourth time on the next possession, fumbling the ball away in the process. Collins would score from five yards out two plays later to give the Razorbacks a 21-0 lead.
But Harris and the Tigers found life in the final minute of the quarter, marching 92 yards on nine plays. The drive ended with a five-yard touchdown reception by Dupre, which deflected off Dural’s hand.
Even with all the momentum in LSU’s direction on the first possession after halftime, the Tigers didn’t have enough to rally, a frustrating feeling for senior safety Jalen Mills.
“Of course, in a game like this, us players for LSU are sore losers,” Mills said. ‘We don’t come her to lose at all. That feeling of coming in second or losing in a game is not something that we get too comfortable with and that we really like.”