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FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (Ticker) -- This time, Clint Stoerner cradled the ball with two hands and got his revenge against third-ranked Tennessee. Stoerner connected with Anthony Lucas on a 23-yard touchdown with 3:44 left in the fourth quarter to lift Arkansas to a 28-24 upset of Tennessee in a Southeastern Conference battle and virtually ended the national championship hopes of the Volunteers (7-2, 4-2 SEC East) The win was especially sweet for Stoerner, who failed to protect the ball and inexplicably fumbled with 1:43 remaining in last year's game at Tennessee when it appeared Arkansas had the win sealed. Given a second life, Tennessee took advantage of Stoerner's turnover and marched for the winning touchdown in a 28-24 victory. Both teams entered the game with 8-0 records and the Volunteers went on to win the national championship. After the heartbreaking loss, Arkansas lost two of its next three games. The play lives in Tennessee lore and Arkansas infamy, but Stoerner showed his mental toughness today with a brilliant performance, passing for 228 yards and three touchdowns and rallying the Razorbacks from a 24-14 deficit. Ironically, this year's revenge game for Arkansas finished with the identical score as last year's heartbreaking loss in Knoxville. "It's tough to describe. I know I hold a lot of stuff in," Stoerner said. "Everybody talks about how well I handled myself with the media after the game last year. I feel we really deserved this. What happened to us last year just wasn't right. This is icing on the cake. I didn't care how we won the game, just as long as we came out on top." Stoerner hit Boo Williams with a 53-yard bomb with 6:02 left in the third quarter to pull Arkansas (6-3, 3-3 SEC West) within 24-21. On the winning touchdown, Stoerner pump faked before he rifled a pass over the middle to Lucas, who raced down the left sideline, cut inside past cornerback Dwayne Goodrich and made a leaping catch in the end zone. "This is one of the best endings I could have imagined, especially for the seniors," said Lucas, who finished with six catches for 96 yards. "Coach (Houston) Nutt told us all to play hard and told the younger guys to send the seniors out right. On the last drive, Coach just said whoever gets the call has to step up and make the play." Tennessee drove 51 yards to the Arkansas 17-yard line, but Tee Martin threw an incompletion in the end zone on a 4th-and-6 with 1:23 left. Cedrick Wilson attempted to make a diving catch, but could not shake free from Arkansas cornerback David Barrett, who had blanket coverage on the play. With the crowd of 52,815 in a state of delirium, Stoerner clutched the football with both hands and took a knee on three plays as time expired. After he downed the ball on the first play, Tennessee called a timeout with 1:18 remaining. On the next play, Tennessee was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for making contact with Stoerner before the snap. After the teams briefly scuffled on the field, Stoerner successfully downed the ball on the next two plays as time expired. "Clint Stoerner came back," said Arkansas coach Houston Nutt. "He's lived with last year's game for a year, even though it wasn't his fault. He is a man. He never backed down from accepting blame. This victory has to be very sweet to him." Tennessee, the defending national champion, had risen to No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series poll after last week's win over Notre Dame. But today's loss likely ends their chance to repeat. "You have to give Arkansas credit, they played their hearts out," said Tennessee coach Philip Fulmer. "We were outcoached and outplayed today. You have to give credit to their coaches, players and fans." Tennessee had won six straight since a 23-21 loss at Florida on September 18. The Volunteers had also won nine of the 10 previous meetings from Arkansas. Today's loss was just the second in 22 career starts for Martin, who was 22-of-44 for 311 yards with an interception. "We knew it would be a good challenge after last year," Martin said. "It always hurts to lose. I've had a great career and I look forward to finishing it out strong." Freshman Cedric Cobbs rushed for 107 yards on just 15 carries for Arkansas. On Tennessee's second play from scrimmage, Barrett picked off a pass by Martin which was deflected twice and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown two minutes into the game. "Right off the bat, Tee threw the ball to me and they got an interception for a touchdown," said tailback Jamal Lewis. "It is difficult right now. No one can believe we lost this game." "On the interception, I just came out to play and it kind of happened," Barrett said. "The ball was tipped and it just came right to me." Tennessee responded with a 12-play, 54-yard drive which resulted in a 43-yard field goal by Alex Walls with 7:17 left in the first quarter. A turnover set up Tennessee's first touchdown after Constantin Ritzmann recovered a fumbled punt return by Rossi Morreale at the Arkansas 30. Seven plays later, Lewis scored on a one-yard run 49 seconds into the second quarter. Arkansas came back with a seven-play, 72-yard drive which resulted in a six-yard TD pass from Stoerner to tight end J.D. Davenport with 10:46 left in the second quarter. Cobbs rushed for 33 yards on five carries and Stoerner hit Lucas with a 33-yard pass during the drive. Tennessee followed with a seven-play, 80-yard TD drive. Martin connected with Wilson on a 44-yard play and scored on a 19-yard run with 8:05 left in the half. A 28-yard touchdown run by Travis Henry with 8:46 left in the third quarter increased Tennessee's lead to 24-14.
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