2010 Arkansas Razorbacks football team The 2010 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas in the 2010 football season . The team played five home games at Razorback Stadium and two home games at War Memorial Stadium . Coach Bobby Petrino was in his third year with the Razorbacks . They were members of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference . The Razorbacks finished the season 10 – 2 , 6 – 2 in SEC play and earned a berth in the Sugar Bowl , their first major bowl appearance in two decades , where they were defeated by Ohio State 26 – 31 . However , Ohio State later vacated all of their 2010 season victories due to an NCAA violation involving improper benefits to some of their players . Before the season . Players . Quarterback Ryan Mallett had successful offseason surgery on a broken left foot . The injury occurred during a conditioning drill , and will keep the Texarkana native out of spring drills . Sophomore defensive backs David Gordon and Hunter Miller were arrested on April 26 for possession of drugs . Offensive tackle DeMarcus Love was named to the Outland Trophy watchlist , and Ryan Mallett was named the frontronner for the Davey O ' Brien Award by The Sporting News . Mallett and tight end D . J . Williams also have been named to numerous preseason All - American teams . Earning All - SEC honors include Joe Adams , Greg Childs , Wade Grayson , DeMarcus Love , Jerry Franklin , Jake Bequette , DeQuinta Jones , and Jerico Nelson . Coach Bobby Petrino , Mallett , Williams , and back - up quarterback Tyler Wilson all appeared on ESPN ' s College Football Live . Wide receiver Carlton Salters left the football team on July 12 in order to pursue his professional baseball career . Schedule . NOTE : Ohio State ' s Sugar Bowl win was vacated after Ohio State ' s 2010 season was vacated . Arkansas ' loss in the Sugar Bowl remains a loss in the records . Personnel . Coaching staff . < / div > Game notes . Tennessee Tech . Arkansas met Tennessee Tech for the first time on the gridiron to open the 2010 season of lofty expectations . The Hogs started slowly , with TTU taking a 3 – 0 lead into the second quarter , but Arkansas was driving to close the first quarter , and running back Dennis Johnson scored from seven yards out for the Hogs ' first touchdown of the season . The Arkansas defense recorded a safety on the ensuing TTU possession . Arkansas running back Broderick Green leaped in for another Razorbacks score , making the lead 16 – 3 for Arkansas . The Razorbacks would also add an 85 - yard scoring pass from quarterback Ryan Mallett to Joe Adams before halftime . The Hogs came out strong in the second half , with Ronnie Wingo scoring another Razorbacks touchdown on the ground . Mallett began to click with his receivers at this point , finding Cobi Hamilton and Joe Adams for passing touchdowns . Arkansas did not punt in the contest , and won easily 44 – 3 . This was the first time under Bobby Petrino that the Hogs kept an opponent without a touchdown . Louisiana Monroe . Ryan Mallett threw for four hundred yards for the third time in his career , and Greg Childs had twelve catches as Arkansas ' offense rallied in the second half to finish the Warhawks . The Razorbacks offense looked lethargic in the first half , but the Arkansas defense was stout . The first score of the game came in the first quarter , Greg Childs hauling in a 19 yard touchdown pass From Ryan Mallett . Neither team would dent the scoreboard again until the third quarter , when Mallett took a quarterback sneak one yard to paydirt . Rudell Crim of Arkansas intercepted a pass , and the Hogs would drive for five minutes resulting Zach Hocker ' s first career field goal as a Razorback . Childs would again catch a Mallett touchdown pass , diving into the end zone to make the score 24 – 0 . At this point , Louisiana - Monroe would string a drive together and connect on a Luther Ambrose 25 yard TD reception from Kolton Browning . Razorback sophomore Ronnie Wingo would score on a screen pass to stretch the final margin to 31 – 7 . Arkansas ' offense had three turnovers in the contest , but the defense played well ; limiting ULM to under 200 yards of total offense . Georgia . The Razorbacks began the SEC season by meeting Georgia in Athens , Georgia . The Hogs looked to answer critics that believe the Razorbacks cannot win an SEC game on the road . Georgia was victorious in Razorback Stadium in 2009 shootout . The Hogs had to play without the services of top running back Dennis Johnson , who suffered a season - ending injury the week previous . The Bulldogs were playing without impact receiver A . J . Green , who was suspended for selling his jersey to an agent . The Hogs scored first only minutes into the game on a Mallett pass to Chris Gragg for a 57 - yard score . Georgia freshman QB Aaron Murray scored on the ground to even the score . The Hogs responded with a Knile Davis rushing score , and a Zach Hocker field goal to take a 17 – 7 lead into half . After the break , Georgia kicker Blair Walsh recorded a field goal , but Mallett found Ronnie Wingo to reply . Behind by fourteen points , Georgia stormed back with Tavarres King and Washaun Ealey both scoring touchdowns to knot the game in the fourth quarter . Georgia had a chance to win the game , but a sack by Jake Bequette that tore Murry ' s helmet off ended the drive and forced UGA to punt . Given a chance to win the game , Mallett completed two passes to D . J . Williams to move the Hogs to the UGA 40 . Childs caught a perfect pass from Mallett along the left side , and after breaking a tackle , dashed 40 yards for the game - winning score with fifteen seconds remaining . Mallett was 3 of 3 for 73 yards on the final game - winning drive , confirming his status as a Heisman Trophy contender . Texas A & M , Southwest Classic . The Arkansas offense exploded in the first half by racking up 317 yards in the second annual Southwest Classic . The Hogs were hurt on the scoreboard by penalites and missed kicks , however . Arkansas marched the ball down the field on the opening possession , running well and capping the drive with a Joe Adams touchdown reception . The Hogs defense forced a punt on the following Aggie drive , but Ryan Mallett threw a long interception on the Razorbacks ' first play . Texas A & M returned the interception to the two yardline , but couldn ' t score until fourth down . The ensuing Razorbacks possession ended when Mallett threw a 71 - yard touchdown pass to Cobi Hamilton , following a very successful play action fake . Arkansas had the potential for six more points , but a Zach Hocker miss and a botched fake attempts cost the Razorbacks more points . Mallett led a 63 second drive before halftime which ended in a Ben Cleveland touchdown reception , but Texas A & M responded with a quick score to make it a 21 – 14 lead for the Hogs at half . The game became a defensive affair in the second half . Arkansas sealed the game in the fourth quarter with two run - heavy possessions that ate the clock . Texas A & M had a chance to tie the game with little time left , but failed and instead turned the ball over for the fourth time . The win gave the Hogs a 2 – 0 edge in Southwest Classic games . Auburn . Arkansas traveled to Auburn , Alabama for an SEC shootout between Ryan Mallett and Auburn ' s Cameron Newton . Entering the game , Arkansas and Auburn were the SEC ' s top two offenses , respectively , with the Razorbacks also ranking third nationally in passing offense . The game would provide plenty of points as promised , but changed complexion dramatically when Mallett left the game with a concussion in the second quarter . Razorbacks junior Tyler Wilson would come in and throw for over 300 yards and 4 TD , but also throw two costly interceptions late . The game was also marred by many questionable calls by officials that hindered Arkansas . The primary calls were Mario Fannin ' s fumble prior crossing the goal line and a fumble by Broderick Green despite being down . A statement by Arkansas ' athletic director Jeff Long indicates that the University has " registered our concerns regarding several officiating calls and review decisions made by replay officials " . Arkansas began the scoring on a Mallett pass to Van Stumon , who caught just his second career pass for a seven yard score . After Auburn responded , Arkansas engineered a twelve play drive that ended with a Broderick Green TD run . On the ensuing Auburn possession , Mario Fannin fumbled the football prior to crossing the plane of the goal line . The call was reviewed but upheld as a touchdown . This was the first of many questionable calls to hurt Arkansas . This call was later explained by the SEC offices that an on - field official had signaled touchdown , despite indisputable video evidence that no official ever indicated touchdown . Auburn would also block a punt . Tyler Wilson would relieve an injured Mallett in the second quarter , throwing a touchdown pass to Greg Childs on his second drive . This made the score 21 – 27 in favor of Auburn at the half . Wilson would hit Childs for another TD in the second half , but Auburn would return the subsequent kickoff 99 yards to negate the score . Wilson replied with by completing a long flea flicker pass to Childs , followed by two passes to Joe Adams to hit paydirt . Wilson and the Razorbacks would drive again , scoring on another Childs TD reception and two point conversion reception . This scoring frenzy gave Arkansas a 43 – 37 lead . Auburn would respond with a passing TD , and controversy would ensue on Arkansas ' next possession . Running back Broderick Green fumbled the football after being tackled . After a long review period , the play was not overturned and Auburn took possession . This call was heavily questioned by Bobby Petrino and the Razorback coaching staff . Auburn would continue to a 65 – 43 victory . A positive for the Razorbacks was receiver Greg Childs , who caught nine passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns . LSU , Battle for the Golden Boot . Arkansas met LSU in Little Rock , and the Hogs earned a season - defining 31 – 23 victory . Arkansas ' second - ranked offense met the Tigers ' top - ranked defense , but the Hogs recorded 464 yards of total offense against the Tigers . Arkansas ’ s sophomore running back Knile Davis rushed for 152 yards , including nine straight rushes on the final Arkansas drive , and Ryan Mallett broke the school record with 60 touchdown passes in the contest . Cobi Hamilton of Arkansas had three catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns of 80 + yards , including a long score with six seconds remaining before halftime . Stevan Ridley had two rushing scores for LSU , and Jordan Jefferson completed 16 of 27 passes for 184 yards . Arkansas and LSU both closed the regular season at 10 – 2 , with Arkansas finishing second in the SEC West behind Auburn . On December 5 , the Razorbacks were invited to the 2011 Sugar Bowl . This is Arkansas ' first ever BCS berth , as well as the Razorbacks ' first major bowl appearance since the 1990 Cotton Bowl . 2011 Sugar Bowl – Ohio State . The Ohio State Buckeyes headed to the Superdome to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks . The Buckeyes came into the game 0 – 9 against the SEC in bowl games . The Buckeyes struck first , with Dane Sanzenbacher recovering a fumble in the end zone after Terrelle Pryor fumbled on the 3 yard line . Arkansas struck back with Ryan Mallett connecting with Joe Adams on a 17 yard pass . Dan Herron added a 9 yard run , and Sanzenbacher and DeVier Posey caught touchdown passes of 15 and 43 yards respectively to give the Buckeyes a big lead . Zach Hocker hit a 20 yard field goal as time expired and the Razorbacks were down 28 – 10 at the half . In the third quarter , the momentum shifted Arkansas ' direction . Hocker and Devin Barclay traded field goals , then Mallett connected with Jarius Wright for a touchdown , then made the two - point conversion on a pass to D . J . Williams to pull within ten . The Razorbacks closed the gap further in the fourth , on a safety by Jake Bequette and another field goal by Hocker . With just over a minute left , Arkansas blocked Ohio State ' s punt and recovered on the 18 yard line . However , Mallett ' s second pass attempt was intercepted and the Buckeyes ran out the clock and won , 31 – 26 . Initially Ohio State ' s first bowl win over an SEC opponent , Ohio State ' s win was subsequently vacated when Ohio State later vacated their entire 2010 football season because of NCAA violations involving improper benefits to some of their players .