Arkansas enters short week on emotional high

LITTLE ROCK - The most amazing number to come out of Arkansas&#39; seven-overtime, 71-63 victory over Kentucky wasn&#39;t in the game summary.<br> <br> It was in the training room.<br> <br> The Razorbacks had plenty of sore legs in need of attention Sunday and Monday, but not one player suffered a new injury.<br> <br> ``For seven overtimes, we came out in remarkably good shape,&#39;&#39; Arkansas sports information director Kevin Trainor said.<br> <br> Now, Arkansas (5-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) has to refresh those weary legs for South Carolina (5-4, 2-4) this Thursday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.<br> <br> ``These guys are young enough where if they do work at it with the whirlpool, the rehab and you run, within two days, if nothing&#39;s too serious, they&#39;ll come around,&#39;&#39; Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said Monday. ``But this is my first true experience with Thursday night coming off a Saturday night game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> South Carolina also had a frantic game last week, falling 43-40 at Ole Miss after scoring the final 26 points of the game. The Gamecocks arrived home in time to see most of the Arkansas-Kentucky classic on ESPN2, but they are the team making two road trips in seven days.<br> <br> South Carolina coach Lou Holtz, who coached seven years at Arkansas from 1977-1983, didn&#39;t put much stock in his team&#39;s play after trailing 43-14 late in the third quarter.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m not going to congratulate our comeback,&#39;&#39; he said. ``You are supposed to play 60 minutes.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Nutt could have said the same thing about his team&#39;s performance during the first 60 minutes, especially since the Razorbacks led 21-7 in the third quarter.<br> <br> However, Arkansas turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter and penalties either gave field position back to Kentucky or put the Wildcats in position to tie the game.<br> <br> Arkansas made up for those mistakes in overtime.<br> <br> Quarterback Matt Jones threw two touchdowns and he rushed for another on fourth down. He completed a pair of 2-point conversion passes, one to Mark Pierce to extend the game to the fifth overtime and one to George Wilson to send it to the final overtime.<br> <br> Jones, who has played in 22 overtimes periods in three seasons and the three longest games in NCAA history, finished the game with a school record 372 yards of total offense. He passed for 260 yards and rushed for 112, the fifth 100-yard rushing game of his career.<br> <br> ``When defenses get tired and you start to hit your 95th and 100th plays, (Jones is) still in good enough shape he can still run,&#39;&#39; Nutt said. ``It helps you when people start to bring pressure because he can escape pressure. He is one of the reasons why we&#39;re very good in overtime.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Arkansas is 4-1 in overtime games with Nutt and 3-1 with Jones at quarterback. The only loss was to Tennessee 41-38 in six overtimes in 2002.<br> <br> The Razorbacks are 3-1 following their overtime games under Nutt, with the only loss to Auburn this year, two weeks after beating Alabama in two overtimes.<br> <br> The off week took the air out of Arkansas&#39; momentum after the Alabama victory, something Nutt said has been essential to playing well after overtime games.<br> <br> ``You&#39;re always concerned with how many people are in the training room and this is the time of year when you&#39;ve got a lot of people beat up,&#39;&#39; Nutt said. ``But it seems to re-energize us. It seems to give us a lift we&#39;ve needed in recent years.&#39;&#39;