Photo: Ole Miss coach celebrates prematurely

Arkansas’ fourth-and-25 conversion in overtime last Saturday against Ole Miss was probably one of the craziest plays you will ever see.

Arkansas needed to get 25 yards or the game would be over. Tight end Hunter Henry caught a pass well short of the first down, and Ole Miss defenders Tony Bridges and Trae Elston converged to make a potential game-ending tackle.

At that point, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and others on the Rebels’ sideline began to celebrate, thinking the game was over. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t.

Hunter Henry’s lateral (if you want to call it that) helped Arkansas convert on fourth-and-25 and beat Ole Miss, 53-52, in overtime. (📷: Matt Bush / USA TODAY Sports)

A photo posted by NFL_CFB (@nfl_cfb) on Nov 7, 2015 at 5:27pm PST

Out of desperation, as this photo was being snapped, Henry blindly lateraled the ball backwards, hoping a teammate would get it and find a way to get a first down.

That is exactly what happened. The ball bounced on the turf near Arkansas running back Alex Collins, who picked it up and raced 29 yards for a first down. Two plays later, the Razorbacks scored, then won the game 53-52 on Brandon Allen’s two-point conversion run.

The win improved Arkansas’ record to 5-4, and it ended Ole Miss’ hopes of an SEC title.

Christian Malone