Arkansas fumble turns into a 33-yard gain and a go-ahead TD two plays later

Arkansas David Williams pushes past Mississippi State defender Johnathan Abram to score a touchdown on Saturday. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
Arkansas David Williams pushes past Mississippi State defender Johnathan Abram to score a touchdown on Saturday. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

Mississippi State’s ability to recover fumbles hasn’t been at its best in 2017.

Arkansas was at the Mississippi State 34 in the third quarter on Saturday and called a running play for running back David Williams.

Williams fumbled on the play. But a Mississippi State player appeared to inadvertently kick the football forward.

As players for both teams scrambled to get the ball, it was finally recovered by wide receiver Brandon Martin on the Mississippi State 1. Really.

(via CBS)
(via CBS)

Arkansas RB Devwah Whaley ran the ball into the end zone two plays later to give the Hogs a 21-14 lead over the No. 16 Bulldogs.

The lead didn’t last for the rest of the second half. Mississippi State scored a go-ahead touchdown with just seconds to go to beat Arkansas 28-21. The loss puts Arkansas at 4-7; the Hogs will miss a bowl game.

And it may put the future of coach Bret Bielema in even more doubt. Earlier this week the school parted ways with athletic director Jeff Long, the man who hired Bielema to coach the Razorbacks. Bielema is now 29-33 in his Arkansas career with a game against Missouri to end the season on Friday.

Earlier this season, Mississippi State couldn’t recover a Louisiana Tech fumble that kept rolling and rolling and rolling backward down the field. Louisiana Tech eventually recovered to keep possession, but ended up facing a 3rd and 93.

Just fall on the ball next time, Mississippi State.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!