Arkansas 24, Mississippi State 21

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Matt Jones passed for 215 yards and Pierre Brown returned a blocked field goal 76 yards for a touchdown to lead Arkansas past Mississippi State 24-21 on Saturday.<br> <br> Jones was 18-of-27 for the Razorbacks (5-5, 3-4 Southeastern Conference), who beat the Bulldogs for the sixth straight time and remain in the hunt for one of the league&#39;s eight bowl spots.<br> <br> Arkansas must defeat LSU next week in Little Rock where they are 17-0 under coach Houston Nutt to qualify for a school-record seventh straight bowl.<br> <br> Omarr Conner pulled the Bulldogs to within three points with his 2-yard touchdown pass to Eric Butler with 10:44 remaining.<br> <br> The Bulldogs (3-7, 2-5) got the ball back with 5:38 left when Darren Williams intercepted Jones at the Mississippi State 18. But Arkansas forced a three-and-out, then ran out the clock to snap its four-game road losing streak.<br> <br> De&#39;Arrius Howard added 125 yards rushing and a 2-yard touchdown for the Razorbacks, who used a big play on special teams to take control.<br> <br> Elliott Harris broke through the Mississippi State line and blocked Keith Andrews&#39; game-tying 37-yard field goal. Brown scooped it up and raced down the right sideline, making it 24-14 in the third quarter.<br> <br> Jones, the SEC&#39;s leading rusher among quarterbacks, was held to seven yards rushing 62 below his average.<br> <br> Still, his 1-yard quarterback sneak helped Arkansas take a 17-14 lead and erase an early 14-point deficit. Jones&#39; scoring run capped an 18-play, 66-yard drive keyed by three fourth-down conversions.<br> <br> The Bulldogs had the ball inside the Arkansas 1 in the closing seconds of the first half, but ran out of time-outs and couldn&#39;t score.<br> <br> Conner finished 20-of-27 passing for 214 yards and two touchdowns.<br> <br> McKinley Scott had seven catches for 111 yards, and Jerious Norwood ran for 109 yards on 23 carries.<br> <br> Conner was nearly perfect in leading Mississippi State to touchdowns on its first two possessions.<br> <br> He completed his first eight passes, including a 30-yarder to Scott which set up Norwood&#39;s 4-yard touchdown. His 26-yard TD toss to Tee Milons made it 14-0.<br> <br> Chris Balserio made a 42-yard field goal for Arkansas.<br> <br> Among those in attendance were Thomas Hamill, the Mississippi dairy farmer held hostage for three weeks in Iraq.

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