ATLANTA - Reggie Fish drifted back around his own 5-yard line that area on the field where a returner often lets the punt drop. The ball had been kicked over his head, and Fish was turned at an awkward angle, but he tried to catch it anyway.<br>
<br>
Just like that, Arkansas' best shot at its first Southeastern Conference championship was gone.<br>
<br>
``Just bad judgment,'' Fish said. ``Just a boneheaded play, and I tried to catch it over my shoulder.''<br>
<br>
Fish muffed Eric Wilbur's punt in the third quarter, and Wondy Pierre-Louis recovered in the end zone, giving No. 4 Florida a lead it wouldn't relinquish in its wild 38-28 win over No. 8 Arkansas in the SEC championship game Saturday night.<br>
<br>
The Razorbacks had rallied valiantly from a 17-0 deficit, taking a 21-17 lead in the third quarter when defensive lineman Antwain Robinson intercepted a shovel pass and raced 40 yards to the end zone in front of thousands of delirious Arkansas fans.<br>
<br>
The Razorbacks allowed a successful fake punt on the ensuing possession, but Florida's drive eventually stalled, and the Gators appeared to have wasted a timeout when they called one before sending Wilbur out to punt on fourth-and-1 from the Florida 41.<br>
<br>
``I was going to go for it there,'' Florida coach Urban Meyer said before explaining that he was talked out of it.<br>
<br>
Instead, the Gators received a gift from Fish perhaps the most crucial twist in a game that included three touchdown passes thrown by non-quarterbacks.<br>
<br>
Fish said he didn't realize how far he'd backtracked before trying to field the punt.<br>
<br>
``I realized afterward I had (gone) way too far,'' he said.<br>
<br>
After Fish's fumble, Felix Jones let the ensuing kickoff bounce to the end zone for a touchback, a cruel reminder of what Fish likely could have done.<br>
<br>
On Florida's next possession, Percy Harvin raced 67 yards for a touchdown, through the type of hole Arkansas struggled to create for Heisman Trophy candidate Darren McFadden. That made it 31-21 before the teams traded two more touchdowns.<br>
<br>
``We had other opportunities,'' receiver Marcus Monk said of the muffed punt. ``You just can't put it all on that play.''<br>
<br>
The Razorbacks lost for the third time in three SEC title game appearances. Arkansas scored three points in each of the first two, and the Razorbacks appeared headed for another nightmare early in this one. Jeremy Davis missed a 40-yard field goal in the first quarter, and Florida's Jarred Fayson blocked Jacob Skinner's punt deep in Arkansas territory, setting up Chris Leak's 9-yard touchdown run that made it 10-0.<br>
<br>
Turned out the game was far from over but neither were the Razorbacks' special teams mishaps.<br>
<br>
``Any time you're in a championship game and you get a punt blocked and then well, you drop one for them for an easy score you can't give away points,'' Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. ``We all know that. That really hurt.''<br>
<br>
Fish is not Arkansas' regular punt returner. Peyton Hillis was out with a bruised thigh and didn't make the trip.<br>
<br>
``No excuses for that at all,'' Fish said. ``I've had plenty of reps in practice just one of them plays. I made a dumb decision on it, and the chips didn't fall my way.''<br>
<br>
The 5-foot-7 Fish was in the spotlight once before this season, when he hid behind the offensive line against Auburn and took a discreet handoff for a big gain on a trick play. Now, Fish's fumble will likely be mentioned in the same breath as quarterback Clint Stoerner's in 1998. Stoerner fumbled as Arkansas was trying to run out the clock against Tennessee and the Razorbacks ended up losing that game after an 8-0 start.<br>
<br>
Arkansas didn't play that well for that long again until this season.<br>
<br>
``I really thought we had momentum there, especially that third quarter, really had the momentum on our side until that fumbled punt,'' Nutt said. ``That really hurt.''
