By Clint Linder

When Arkansas took a late lead with 1:18 remaining to play against LSU, Hog fans began booking their New Years trips to Dallas, a Cotton Bowl bid seemingly in their grasps.

The pains of losing to Georgia at home and falling by three at Florida were washed away as the players celebrated on the sideline. The Hogs had pushed LSU to the brink of their first three game losing streak since topping the Tigers from 1927-29.

LSU (9-3 overall, 5-3 in the Southeastern Conference) would answer with a game-tying field goal to send the contest to overtime and Arkansas kicker Alex Tejada failed to answer Josh Jasper’s 36-yarder, giving LSU the win and a berth in the Capital One Bowl. Ole Miss (8-4, 4-4) earned the Cotton Bowl bid and the Hogs (7-5, 3-5) earned a trip to the Jan. 2 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., to take on Conference USA-champion East Carolina.

The game pits two programs with very different paths against one another. After failing to make a bowl in 2008 the Hogs return to the postseason, while the Pirates locked up C-USA’s highest bowl tie-in.

“We are just excited about having the opportunity to play,” wide receiver Greg Childs said. “We didn’t get to go the bowl that we wanted to at first since we lost the game, but since we have a chance to go to a bowl, we’ll make the most of it. We have to send the seniors off with a win so we can’t afford to lose this game.”

Sophomore receiver Joe Adams – voted second-team all-SEC by the AP, despite missing three SEC games due to a minor stroke – shared the same sentiments as Childs.

“We were disappointed that we lost to LSU and that was the last game of the season,” Adams said. “We were just trying to keep the boot for three years. With East Carolina, you still have to come with your A-game because I know that they are going to come with theirs.”

The Pirates took a different route to the Liberty Bowl, coming from a non-BCS conference and slowing down then-No. 18 Houston’s nationally top-ranked offense in East Carolina’s 38-32 win in the C-USA title game. The Pirates forced Cougars quarterback Case Keenum – the national leader in passing yardage – into a season-high three interceptions on the way to securing the first repeat conference championship in school history.

“East Carolina has a good team,” Mallett said. “Their defense is really good. They shut down a strong Houston team. Their front four is real good, so we’ll have to put together a gameplan and go out there and execute.”

East Carolina (9-4 overall, 7-1 in the C-USA) is the third-largest school in North Carolina with a student population of 27,703 and is on a four-game winning streak. The Panthers’ losses came to West Virginia, North Carolina, Southern Methodist and Virginia Tech.

The contest is the second straight Liberty Bowl appearance for East Carolina, after losing 25-19 to Kentucky last season.

“Having the chance to return to Memphis after our experience a year ago makes this trip even more special,” East Carolina head coach Skip Holtz, said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge of playing Arkansas, a program with a great tradition and history out of a conference which certainly speaks for itself. I know all of us are excited to be in this position again with another opportunity to perhaps accomplish something distinctive for this senior class.”

The contest gives second-team all-SEC quarterback Ryan Mallett an opportunity to add to his record-breaking season. The sophomore holds single-season passing records with 3,425 yards and 29 passing scores. The game will also match Arkansas’ SEC-leading offense against the No. 2 scoring defense in C-USA.

“We have a good task in front of us,” Mallett said. “But I think that if we go out there and execute, we’ll put on a good show.”

Student tickets for the Liberty Bowl go on sale on December 9th with a valid student ID.