Overtime thrillers are nothing new for Arkansas' heart-attack Hogs

In the matter of three weeks, Arkansas has gone from being one of the SEC’s biggest disappointments to arguably its most-exciting team. That’s thanks to surviving two of the most-thrilling games in the conference this year — contests that refused to be confined to regulation.

The most recent incarnation of the Heart-attack Hogs has come on the back – and sometimes gimpy leg – of quarterback Brandon Allen. The senior is a hometown hero who, if he keeps up his recent clutch play, might see the city of Fayetteville rename Maple Street in his honor.

Allen has led the Razorbacks to a 2-1 record in overtime this season alone, including a gutsy win in the first extra session of the Hogs’ Week 10 upset of No. 18 Ole Miss, in which head coach Bret Bielema and Allen opted to go for the 2-point conversion and the win, rather than the safe PAT to extend the game.

It’s Arkansas’ second overtime victory in the past three weeks after a four-OT classic against Auburn during Week 8. Bielema’s squad dropped a Week 4 contest with Texas A&M that also required more than the allotted 60 minutes to complete.

But a little extra football on Saturdays in Fayetteville shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Arkansas, after all, is one of the most prolific overtime programs in college football history. Only Delaware (20 games), Nevada (19) and Maine (18) have played in more overtime games than Arkansas’ 17 since the advent of the most-recent system, which was put into place in 1996.

Of all the teams in the Power Five conferences, only Missouri (12-5, .705) has a better overtime winning percentage nationally than Arkansas (11-6, .647).  Tennessee is also 11-6 (.647) in OT.

Missouri, which joined the SEC in 2012, has played in four overtime conference games, winning three. Tennessee and Arkansas are neck-in-neck for conference supremacy with 10 overtime wins apiece. Tennessee, in case you were wondering, won the only overtime tilt it has played against Arkansas. That 2002 contest in Knoxville finally ended with a 41-38 win for the No. 10 Vols that required six extra periods.

The Razorbacks are the only program in college football history to win two seven-overtime games. They beat Kentucky 71-63 during the 2003 season, tying the NCAA record for the longest game ever at a hair under five hours. Arkansas also needed seven overtimes in 2001 to eke out a 58-56 victory over Ole Miss. In fact, the Razorbacks are the only team to even play in two seven-overtime games.

Tennessee holds a slight edge in overtime games in SEC play. Both teams have 10 wins against conference foes, but the Volunteers needed two less games to get there. The Razorbacks particularly like taking the schools from the Magnolia State to overtime. Arkansas is 3-1 all-time against Mississippi State and 2-0 over Ole Miss.

The Bulldogs, as well as the Missouri Tigers, still loom on the Hogs’ schedule this season. Could another overtime thriller be on its way? It wouldn’t be the first time in Fayetteville.