Saturday, November 11, 2017 12:00 PM (ET)

No. 24 LSU pulls away from Arkansas

The Sports Xchange
Nov 11, 2017

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Senior quarterback Danny Etling threw touchdown passes of 45 and 68 yards to wide receiver D.J. Chark to power No. 24 LSU to a 33-10 victory over Arkansas Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

Running back Derrius Guice added 147 yards rushing yards and three second-half scores for the Tigers.

Guice, who recorded his fourth 100-yard game of the season, scored on runs of 6, 33 and 1 yards. Chark entered the game leading the SEC with a 23.5-yard average on 25 catches, but he had not scored this season. On both of his touchdown receptions, Chark beat the Arkansas secondary by 5 yards and scored with ease.

Etling finished 11-of-16 passing for 217 yards. Chark caught four passes for 130 yards.

LSU (7-3, 4-2 SEC) scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the second half to break open a 7-7 game to take a 26-10 lead. On the first two of those scores, Connor Culp hooked the PAT wide left. Guice got the first two scores, cutting back for a 6-yard touchdown and then hitting a big hole on the left side for a 33-yard score.

Arkansas (4-6, 1-5) scored on its first series of the second half with Connor Limpert's 38-yard field goal. But Etling connected with Chark on the 68-yard bomb eight seconds into the fourth quarter to ice the game.

LSU controlled most of the first half defensively, not allowing Arkansas to run a play beyond midfield, until the final two minutes of the second quarter.

Trailing 7-0, Arkansas had gained just 46 yards on its first five series, each of which ended with a punt. The Razorbacks were backed up again on their 14-yard line 5:25 before halftime, but quarterback Austin Allen engineered a 10-play, 86-yard drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Devwah Whaley 12 seconds before intermission.

Whaley made one of the two big plays on the drive -- a 21-yard draw -- and Allen connected to tight end Jeremy Patton on a throwback pass that gained 27 yards to the LSU 28, the first Arkansas possession past midfield.

LSU took a 7-0 lead on Etling's 45-yard pass to a wide open Chark in the first quarter.

NOTES: LSU RB Derrius Guice recorded his 10th career 100-yard rushing game. ... Arkansas coach Bret Bielema fell to 11-27 in the SEC in his five seasons with the Razorbacks. ... LSU has allowed just 11 total points in the fourth quarter in the last five games. ... Arkansas QB Austin Allen made his first start since injuring his knee against South Carolina five weeks ago. He had thrown a TD pass in 17 of his previous 18 starts but was shut out by the Tigers. He finished 13 of 23 for 140 yards. ... Arkansas has to win its last two games against Mississippi State and Missouri to be bowl-eligible. ... LSU honored two former Tiger baseball players: third baseman Alex Bregman and pitcher Will Harris, who each played big roles on the Houston Astros' World Series championships. In the World Series, Bregman had two homers, seven hits and five RBI, including a game-winning, walkoff single in Houston's 13-12 Game 5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.