Arkansas vs. Mississippi State: Score and Twitter Reaction

The Arkansas Razorbacks continue to be a thorn in the sides of the SEC West elite, as they pushed the No. 1 Mississippi State Bulldogs to the brink in what proved to be a 17-10 victory for Mississippi State in Starkville on Saturday night.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Mississippi State is now 8-0 for the first time in over a decade:

Earlier in the year, the Razorbacks should've beaten the then-No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies, only to fall in overtime. Two weeks after that, Arkansas had a fourth-quarter lead over the Alabama Crimson Tide, but eventually lost 14-13.

Saturday's game was the fifth SEC contest in a row that Bret Bielema's team played an opponent ranked in the Top 10. Heading into the weekend, he said his aim wasn't simply to play talented opponents, but to beat them.

"We're setting all kinds of record for us as far as people that we’re playing, but we came here to set records for wins," Bielema said, per Robbie Neiswanger of the Arkansas News Bureau. "There's no better opportunity than this week against a very, very talented football team."

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Arkansas' rushing attack, when it's on, is enough to dominate the stingiest defenses in the nation. Mississippi State had the 23rd-best rushing defense in the country before Saturday, so that strength-on-strength battle was bound to decide the game.

In the end, Arkansas rushed for 163 yards as a team, which is about 100 yards below its season average. The Bulldogs defense wasn't lights-out, but it did just enough.

The Razorbacks gave Mississippi State fits for three-fourths of the game, until one defensive breakdown gifted the Bulldogs their first lead. Sophomore wideout Fred Ross was left wide open, and junior quarterback Dak Prescott found him for a 69-yard touchdown pass that put Mississippi State ahead 17-10 with 13:21 left in the fourth quarter:

On their next drive, the Razorbacks marched down the field and earned a 1st-and-goal at the Mississippi State 9-yard line. However, Bielema had a dilemma after his team failed to get in the end zone after their first three downs: Take the easy three points or go for the touchdown.

He opted to go for all the points, but sophomore running back Alex Collins was stuffed for no gain at the Bulldogs' 3-yard line.

Mississippi State couldn't kill the clock completely on their next drive, but it ate up 2:36. A long third-down conversion helped to extend the drive and take more precious seconds off the clock:

Arkansas got the ball back with 2:29 to play but couldn't get the game-tying score. Bulldogs defensive back Will Redmond intercepted Brandon Allen in the end zone with 15 seconds left to seal the victory.

It was Allen's only big mistake of the game. The junior QB threw for 238 yards on 22-of-43 passing. Collins was the team's leading rusher, with 93 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

Prescott didn't have a great game, but he did little to hurt his Heisman Trophy chances. He wound up with 331 yards passing, a touchdown and two interceptions in addition to 61 yards on the ground.

Mississippi State dodged a major bullet, but the best teams find a way to win even they aren't performing their best. For Arkansas, it's yet another heart-breaking defeat.

Bielema couldn't have asked for a better start from his team.

Arkansas took an early 3-0 lead with 9:50 left in the first quarter after a 36-yard field goal from sophomore Adam McFain.

The Razorbacks carried that slim advantage into the second quarter, which was the first time they'd done so in the SEC since last year's game against Mississippi State, per ESPN Stats & Info. Coincidentally, they lost that game, too:

Collins made it a double-digit game in the second quarter with a one-yard touchdown run. The key to any upset is capitalizing on mistakes, and that's what Arkansas did with the scoring drive. The Razorbacks had a short field after Bulldogs return man Jamoral Graham muffed a punt.

With the score, the top-ranked Bulldogs found themselves in a position foreign to them in 2014, per the SEC Network:

Arkansas' euphoria was short-lived, however, as Robinson barreled his way into the end zone from three yards out to cut the Bulldogs' deficit to three points, 10-7, with 7:30 until halftime. Michael Bonner of The Clarion-Ledger credited Robinson and Prescott for their roles in helping Mississippi State score its first points:

Although the Razorbacks carried their 10-7 lead into the second half, there was a sense that the Bulldogs' best football was yet to come. Wess Moore of Fox 16 in Little Rock also wondered if Mississippi State's superior depth would play a role as the game went on:

Sophomore kicker Evan Sobiesk tied the game at 10-10 with a 37-yard field goal late in the third quarter. That set the stage for Prescott's go-ahead TD pass that proved decisive and kept the Bulldogs alive in the playoff hunt.

Mississippi State gets a bit of a warm-up game against Tennessee-Martin before taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Egg Bowl on Nov. 29 also looms large on the horizon.

Arkansas may have to wait for that first SEC win a little while longer. The Razorbacks play No. 19 LSU two weeks from today and follow that with a meeting against No. 4 Ole Miss.