FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A year ago, quarterback Matt Jones did it all against Texas.
He completed half his passes, the longest for 54 yards, and behind his 102 yards rushing he kept the Longhorns off balance enough for Arkansas to leave Austin, Texas, with 38-28 victory.
Jones was set to turn the trick again Saturday and, with his team trailing 22-20, had the Razorbacks on the move three times in the fourth quarter. Twice drives died on interceptions, another died with Jones' fumble at the Texas 8.
"Our guys played their guts out, but you can't fumble the ball against a good team," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. "I told Matt to keep his head up and keep going. Texas is so fast and they come up behind you. He is not used to that."
Texas hung on to win 22-20, taking advantage of the Razorbacks' charity in the final quarter.
"We felt like the ... turnovers and the defense were the difference in the ballgame," Texas coach Mack Brown said.
After Chris Balseiro's 35-yard field goal with 9:58 left brought Arkansas within the final margin, Texas went three downs and out on its next two drives. With 8:04 left, Arkansas started at its 35 and, though needing only a field goal, aired the ball out and into Cedric Griffin's hands at the Longhorn 20 for the game's first turnover.
With 6:11 left, Arkansas started another drive, this time at its 48, and moved the ball a little more sensibly to the Texas 13. Looking at third and 8, Arkansas looked to Jones to make some magic again. But Larry Dibbles knocked the ball away as Jones scrambled and Phillip Geiggar recovered at the 8 for the Longhorns. The second turnover.
After holding Texas to five plays, Arkansas had a final chance with 48 seconds left. A 17-yard pass to Marcus Monk moved the ball to the Arkansas 43 and Jones ran 9 yards to the Texas 48 before throwing an interception to Geiggar on the final play.
MORE LATE SATURDAY GAMES: Everyone knew about Utah's offense after a 41-point performance against Texas A&M in the season opener. Now it's clear the Utes, ranked 15th, are solid on every unit. Alex Smith passed for two scores, and the visiting Utes held Arizona without a touchdown in a 23-6 victory. The Utes (2-0) flashed their offensive strength early, then held on with a defensive effort that included three fumble recoveries, a goal-line stand and an interception that set up a TD.
At Clemson, Reggie Ball threw an 11-yard pass to Calvin Johnson with 11 seconds left to lift Georgia Tech 28-24. Johnson, a freshman, reached high over the Tigers' Justin Miller just inside the goal line near the left sideline to haul in his third touchdown of the game. The wild matchup saw five touchdowns in the final 81/2 minutes, including three scores by Georgia Tech (2-0) in the final 4:36.
ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL: The upsets have begun and the little guys are moving into the Top 25. After ranked teams started the season 21-0, five fell to unranked opponents over the weekend, shaking up the media poll.
While No. 1 Southern California and No. 2 Oklahoma had no problems holding on to the top two spots with lopsided wins, four teams fell out of the rankings: Kansas State and Missouri from the Big 12, Clemson from the ACC and Oregon from the Pac-10.
They were replaced by No. 19 Fresno State, which won at Kansas State, No. 23 Boise State from the WAC, and No. 24 Louisville and No. 25 Memphis from Conference USA.
For Fresno State, it is looking like a repeat of the 2001 season. That year David Carr and the Bulldogs knocked off three teams from marquee conferences and made a run a breaking into the Bowl Championship Series.
"This team still has a long way to go," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. "Both teams are different, but they play with the same hunger and aggression. We've just got to keep playing like this."
With Kansas State and Missouri, which lost at Troy on Thursday, falling out of the rankings, it leaves Oklahoma and No. 6 Texas as the only Big 12 teams in the poll. It is the first time the Big 12 has had fewer than three teams ranked since the league started in 1996.
GEORGIA: Freshman tailback Danny Ware will miss at least one game after bruising a lung against South Carolina. Coach Mark Richt said while Ware won't play Saturday against Marshall, he should be ready for LSU on Oct. 2. Ware rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns in Georgia's opening win over Georgia Southern, but was held out against the Gamecocks after he coughed up blood on the sideline in the second quarter of the Bulldogs' 20-16 win.
With Ware limited to eight carries for 41 yards, Michael Cooper and Tyson Browning combined for 115 yards rushing. Another option at tailback against Marshall is Tony Milton, who spent last week working at fullback. Fullback Jeremy Thomas returns from a two-game suspension this week, allowing Milton to move back to tailback.
WEST VIRGINIA: Running back Kay-Jay Harris is questionable for Saturday against No. 21 Maryland because of a hamstring pull. The Mountaineers (2-0) lost Harris, a Tampa Bay Tech grad, early in a 45-20 win at Central Florida. With Harris out, Rasheed Marshall threw for four scores and ran for a fifth against UCF.
"It's not a major hamstring (injury). It's something we're going to have to monitor day to day and see if he'll be able to go," coach Rich Rodriguez said.
Harris was bothered by various leg injuries in the preseason, but set a school and Big East record with 337 yards rushing in the opener against East Carolina. The Mountaineers will need him if they hope to beat Maryland, which defeated West Virginia twice last year.
