BATON ROUGE, La. — Tyrann Mathieu answered the call for a game-turning play when Louisiana State needed one, and the top-ranked Tigers piled on from there.
Mathieu returned a punt 92 yards for a tying score and LSU punished third-ranked Arkansas with 286 yards rushing, wiping out a 14-point deficit with a 41-17 victory Friday that secured a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
LSU (12-0 overall, 8-0 SEC) will play No. 13 Georgia next weekend in Atlanta for the SEC title.
The rivalry game with Arkansas (10-2, 6-2) was billed as the biggest at Tiger Stadium since 1959, the last time two teams ranked among the top three clashed in Death Valley. Billy Cannon lifted No. 1 LSU to a 7-3 victory over No. 3 Mississippi in that game with an 89-yard punt return for a score, so it seemed fitting the Tigers would get a similar score against the Razorbacks.
"I could hear my teammates in my ear saying, 'Man, we need you to go make a play,' " Mathieu said. "I was able to help the momentum really go in our favor. You have no idea how bad I just wanted to go out there and make a big play for our team. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that."
LSU trailed 14-7 late in the second quarter when Mathieu fielded Dylan Breeding's end-over-end kick at his 8, started left, made a hard cut straight upfield and angled left again.
"That was a huge turning point in the game," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "We were trying to get the ball punted to the sideline, but he miss-hit it a bit and punted it to the middle. ... (Mathieu) made a great cut and made us miss at the point of attack. He made a great play."
Arkansas took a 14-0 lead on Tyler Wilson's 13-yard TD pass to Jarius Wright and Alonzo Highsmith's 47-yard fumble return, but the Tigers stormed back and outscored the Razorbacks 41-3 from there.
"This football team, down 14 points, did not flinch," LSU coach Les Miles said. "There was never a question in anyone's minds on that sideline we were going to respond."
Other Top 10 game
No. 8 Houston 48, at Tulsa 16
Case Keenum threw for 457 yards and five touchdowns, Patrick Edwards had 181 yards receiving and four scores and the Cougars (12-0, 8-0 Conference USA) earned a berth in the C-USA title game by beating the Golden Hurricane (8-4, 7-1).
In the third quarter, Keenum and Edwards combined for a 33-yard TD on fourth-and-10 and a 38-yard score on fourth-and-one.
Houston, a three-point favorite over Tulsa, will host either Southern Mississippi or Marshall next Saturday for the conference title. Houston is seeking to become the first C-USA team to play in a Bowl Championship Series game.
Keenum, the nation's leading passer, has 42 TD passes and has been intercepted three times this season.
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