DALLAS With one run, Missouri running back Tony Temple found himself in the Cotton Bowl record books in multiple categories.
When the 72nd edition of the game was in the books Tuesday, the seventh-ranked Tigers stood tall with a 38-7 win over the No. 25 Arkansas Razorbacks in front of 73,114 fans.
"Obviously, Missouri played pretty well, and we did everything we could to help them," Arkansas interim coach Reggie Herring said. "I was kind of blind-sided because we came in focused and prepared and then played like this."
After forcing the Razorbacks, who finished 8-5, to a three-and-out situation, Missouri took the ball just 40 yards from the end zone. Temple made sure the Tigers (12-2) took advantage of that field position and bolted for a 40-yard touchdown to put the finishing touches on the game's scoring.
The touchdown was the fourth of the game, a Cotton Bowl record, for Temple. The Missouri back, who was named the outstanding offensive player, tallied 281 yards in the game another Cotton Bowl record to eclipse Dickey Maegle's record of 265 set in 1954.
While the Tigers were thriving in their postseason contest, the Hogs led by a make-shift coaching staff of sorts had their share of problems.
Arkansas, which donned all red uniforms for the first time in school history, finished the game with five turnovers, including four fumbles, in its 11th Cotton Bowl appearance. The loss made the second straight for the Razorbacks in Dallas, as Oklahoma defeated the Hogs 10-3 in the 2003 Cotton Bowl.
"We just weren't ourselves," Herring said. "This was a bad game overall. I'm kind of embarrased."
The Arkansas offensive performance was dismal at best. The Hogs managed just 164 yards on the ground, well below their average, and quarterback Casey Dick was 19-of-32 passing for 197 yard and an interception, which was returned 26 yards for a touchdown by William Moore in the third quarter. Moore was named the outstanding defensive player of the game.
Temple had scoring runs of 22, 4 and 4 before his record-setting run. That was quite different from Arkansas' Darren McFadden, who was the talked about running back heading into Tuesday's contest.
"They wanted it more," said McFadden, who received the Doak Walker award for the second straight year and earned the Walter Camp Award for the nation's player of the year. "We didn't get our want-to going until late. They did a good job of being prepared."
The Razorbacks didn't score until late, either.
With the Hogs trailing 28-0 in the third quarter, the Heisman Trophy runner-up capped an 11-play, 71-yard drive with a 5-yard trot on fourth down at the 3:08 mark. McFadden ran for 45 yards on the drive reached the 1,830-yard mark for the season, the second best in SEC history.
McFadden finished the game with 21 carries for 105 yards, his 10th 100-yard game of the season and 22nd of his career. That, though, was marred by Missouri's domination.
"What you saw today wasn't Arkansas football," Herring said. "The way we played today, we couldn't have beaten anyone."
Tiger coach Gary Pinkel said the evidence of that was in the performance, not by smartness.
"I think Arkansas is a real good football team. I don't think we outsmarted them," Pinkel said. "I think we outexecuted them."
The Hogs did stymie Hesiman finalist Chase Daniel. The Missouri quarterback was 12 of 29 passing for just 136 yards.
"They ciphered our passing game," Pinkel said of the Arkansas defense.
Whether this was the final game for McFadden and Felix Jones, who carried 10 times for 45 yards, in a Razorback uniform remains to be seen. However, Tuesday's game was the final time former Conway great Peyton Hillis will don a Razorback uniform.
"I'd say it's pretty poor," Hillis said of his final performance as a Hog. "I came in not at 100 percent and just didn't have a real good game.
"There have been a few ups and a lot of downs in my career here. That's what makes a man."
