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Arkansas stuns LSU, wins SEC West

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Razorbacks looked to each other for support, holding hands on the sideline as No. 18 LSU was poised to capture the Southeastern Conference West Division title Friday.

But after Matt Jones' 31-yard touchdown pass to DeCori Birmingham with nine seconds left led to a 21-20 victory, the Razorbacks could only look skyward for an explanation.

"Coach (Houston) Nutt said about two or three weeks ago that an angel had been sent to us, and I really believe that," said Jones, who was 2-for-13 for 46 yards when Arkansas took over at its 19 with 34 seconds remaining. Jones completed two of his three passes for 81 yards.

Kicker David Carlton's 35-yard extra-point attempt after a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration sneaked inside the left upright and left Arkansas (9-3, 5-3) as stunned as LSU (8-4, 5-3).

The victory tied Arkansas with LSU and Auburn at 5-3, but the Razorbacks beat both and advanced to the SEC title game against Georgia on Dec. 7 in Atlanta. LSU would have advanced if it had won.

The ending was similar to how the Tigers beat Kentucky on Nov. 9, when Devery Henderson caught a 75-yard pass that had been batted amid a crowd of players on the game's final play for a 33-30 victory.

"First of all, I feel very bad for our players," LSU coach Nick Saban said. "We won a game in 13 seconds and then lost this one in (34) seconds. It's just the way the ball bounces, and we were the victim today."

Arkansas had to score twice in the last half of the fourth quarter. Fred Talley's 56-yard run with 6:33 remaining cut the Tigers' lead to 17-14, and LSU responded by taking 5:53 off the clock to set up John Corbello's 29-yard field goal with 40 seconds left.

With 34 seconds left, the Razorbacks lined up at their 19. Jones completed a 50-yard pass to Richard Smith on the first play.

"I couldn't believe Richard Smith got behind that guy," Jones said. "Our play wasn't designed to go to Richard, but they let him get behind them. If I could have thrown the ball about 10 yards farther we would have scored on that play."

After an incompletion from the LSU 31, Jones found Birmingham in the back right corner of the end zone. The sophomore slipped behind Randall Gay and leaped over him for the ball. LSU's Travis Daniels was too late to break up the pass.

"It was a triple post route, and Matt threw it deep in the end zone and I just jumped up and made the catch," said Birmingham, who had 14 receptions and two touchdowns coming into the game. "I kind of gave (Gay) a little stick to make him think I was running a much shallower route. He bit for it, so we went a little deeper."

Arkansas was penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration, however, setting up a 35-yard extra point. Carlton's kick was long enough, but it curved left before flying through the goal posts.

LSU quarterback Marcus Randall accounted for two touchdowns and threw for 203 yards on 14-for-25 passing to give LSU a 20-14 lead before Arkansas' comeback.

The sophomore threw a 67-yard touchdown to freshman Skyler Green, and his 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put the Tigers seemingly in control.

Big 12

NO. 13 COLORADO 28, NEBRASKA 13: Last season Chris Brown ran wild on the Huskers. This time it was a freshman named Brian Calhoun.

Calhoun, No. 4 on the Buffaloes tailback depth chart, ran for 137 yards as Colorado earned its first victory in Lincoln, Neb., since 1990.

Fullback Brandon Drumm added two touchdowns for the Buffaloes (9-3, 7-1), who were already Big 12 North Division champions coming in. They go to Houston for the Dec. 7 conference title game against Oklahoma having won eight of nine after a 1-2 start.

"We weren't fancy or pretty this season," Buffs coach Gary Barnett said. "We just played hard and found a way to get the job done."

Calhoun had all but one of his 20 carries in the second half as Bobby Purify sat out with a sore knee and sprained ankle. Purify had filled in for Chris Brown, the nation's third-leading rusher, who was held out because of a bruised sternum.

Barnett opted to use Calhoun instead of third-stringer Marcus Houston after Purify left in the third quarter.

"I wasn't surprised," Calhoun said. "I knew Chris wouldn't be able to go, and I knew Bobby had an ailing knee, so I prepared myself all week to be the man to carry the ball."

The Huskers (7-6, 3-5) ended their worst regular season since 1961, when they were 3-6-1. The Buffs denied them a chance to extend an unprecedented streak of nine-win seasons to 34. Nebraska could have reached nine by winning the game and a bowl.

"I'd be surprised if any team ever makes a run at that," Nebraska free safety Philip Bland said of the streak.

The Huskers, who have lost four of their past six, had a losing conference mark for the first time since 1968, when they went 3-4. They bounced back the next season (9-2) and won the national title in 1970 (11-0).

For the first time since '90 Nebraska didn't beat a ranked opponent.

Despite all the struggles, Nebraska will get invited to a bowl, and the Huskers must win that game to stretch their streak of winning seasons to 41.

Calhoun led a Colorado rushing attack that generated 253 yards, 178 after halftime.

"They went in at halftime and said, 'We're going to run the ball,' " Nebraska linebacker Scott Shanle said. "The first half, it surprised me they threw the ball so much. The second half, they didn't go away from their running game at all. They were getting 5 or 6 yards on first down."

After Dale Endorf's 49-yard field goal put Nebraska up 13-7 early in the third quarter, Colorado used consecutive scoring drives for a 21-13 lead.

"The bottom line is that we were in the ballgame," Nebraska coach Frank Solich said, "but we didn't get the things done that needed to get done in order to make it work."

NO. 10 TEXAS 50, TEXAS A&M 20: Chris Simms did something no quarterback had done in 55 years: lead the Longhorns to three straight wins over the Aggies.

Simms passed for 278 yards and three touchdowns for the home win, which will fuel speculation Aggies coach R.C. Slocum will be fired after the 6-6, 3-5 season.

Texas (10-2, 6-2) broke open a tight game with 27 straight points in the second half.

The game was played four days after A&M freshman defensive tackle Brandon Fails died after collapsing in his dorm. Aggies players wore stickers with his No. 89.

Roy Williams caught touchdown passes of 75 and 38 yards from Simms, Michael Huff returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown and Nathan Vasher went 60 yards with a punt return to score.

Pac-10

ARIZONA ST. 34, ARIZONA 20: Mike Williams ran for a career-high 162 yards and four touchdowns as the Sun Devils scored the last 21. Arizona State (8-5, 5-3) clinched at least a tie for third place in the conference and gave second-year coach Dirk Koetter his first victory in the Territorial Cup rivalry. The victory probably will give Arizona State a berth in the Sun Bowl. Arizona (4-8, 1-7) lost its 11th consecutive home conference game.

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