COLUMBIA, Mo. - Marcus Murphy scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 12-yard run with 4:38 remaining, and Markus Golden recovered a fumble to seal No. 17 Missouri's 21-14 victory Friday against Arkansas and send the Tigers to the SEC championship game for the second straight season.
Missouri (10-2, 7-1) tied it at 14 early in the fourth quarter with a 98-yard drive capped by Jimmie Hunt's 4-yard TD reception and a reverse pass by receiver Bud Sasser to Darius White for the 2-point conversion.
Arkansas (6-6, 2-6) was driving for the tie when Kentrell Brothers stripped Alex Collins and Golden recovered with 2:13 to go at the Missouri 35 to thwart Arkansas' bid to tie it.
The Razorbacks had won two straight, both shutouts against ranked teams.
A sellout crowd of 71,168 stuck around for the fourth quarter surge by the Tigers. Fans mobbed the field after Maty Mauk's kneel down ended it while stadium personnel took down the goal posts to prevent fans from toting them off to a nearby tavern. Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind" - a nod to the site of next Saturday's SEC Championship - played while the stadium slowly emptied.
It's the fifth division title in eight seasons for Missouri (two in the SEC and three in the Big 12), which also reached 10 victories for the fifth time in 14 seasons under coach Gary Pinkel.
Brandon Allen passed for two touchdowns and Arkansas led 14-3 in the second quarter. Jonathan Williams had a 23-yard scoring catch, Dan Skipper blocked a field goal and punter Sam Irwin-Hill ran for a first down and pinned Missouri at the 2 early the fourth.
Missouri had one interception and could have easily had two more turnovers in the second quarter. Trey Flowers stripped Mauk on a sack and Taiwan Johnson recovered at the Tigers 19 with 1:16 to go, but officials ruled after video review that Mauk's arm had been going forward with the ball and the Tigers had enough time for Andrew Baggett's 51-yard field goal to end the half.
The schools exchanged turnovers on consecutive plays near midfield in the second, Golden's forced fumble on Williams followed by D.J. Dean's interception on a tipped pass for Arkansas. Missouri avoided another turnover when Murphy muffed a fair catch but recovered the fumbled punt.
Arkansas held opponents scoreless for nine straight quarters and a total of 148 minutes, 58 seconds before Baggett's career-long 52-yard field early in the second to cut the gap to 7-3. Flowers' 12-yard sack on third down pushed the Tigers back before Baggett beat his previous best by 8 yards.
Williams had an easy trip to the end zone on a 23-yard touchdown reception that capped the Razorbacks' opening drive.
