Barring an unlikely series of events, top-ranked LSU blew its shot to play for a national championship in the most painful way on Nov. 23, losing 50-48 to unranked Arkansas in three overtimes on its own field.

"We understand what it's cost us," LSU coach Les Miles said. "We understand what it means."

LSU (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will still play Tennessee for the SEC championship on Dec. 1 in Atlanta, but the game won't mean as much as it would have if the Tigers were still the front-runners in the national championship race.

"Right now, there's a goal of our football team taken off the board," Miles said, "and it's sad."

Sad? How about something stronger?

"It's just devastating," defensive end Kirston Pittman said. "It's over, or at least it looks like it's over, but we don't know that right now."

The Tigers opened the season at No. 2 in the initial polls and moved to No. 1 on Sept. 30. Even though they lost -- in three overtimes -- at Kentucky on Oct. 13, it didn't knock the Tigers out of the national title race.

Despite the loss at Kentucky, LSU survived close calls with dramatic finishes in wins against Florida, Auburn and Alabama. When then-No. 1 Ohio State lost to Illinois on Nov. 10, the Tigers returned to the top spot the next day.

After all those close calls and clutch plays, living on the razor's edge finally came back to cut the Tigers.

"We always play good when we need to," LSU tight end Richard Dickson said. "Sometimes it's too late, though. We should have put that game away earlier. You can only win so many close games.

"It's a mental and physical drag. We've been doing this for so long, and it just kind of caught up with us."

Whatever it was, the Tigers had their chances to win the game, producing 204 rushing yards, 209 passing yards and three touchdown passes and a touchdown run from quarterback Matt Flynn.

The defense, however, didn't play its normal role, allowing season highs of 385 rushing yards and 513 total yards. Every time LSU seemed to take control, the Razorbacks found an answer.

The Tigers took a 6-0 first-quarter lead when they came up short in the red zone on their first two possessions. Arkansas responded with a nine-play, 97-yard drive for a 16-yard second-quarter touchdown from tailback Darren McFadden, giving the Razorbacks a 7-6 halftime lead.

On Arkansas' first possession of the second half, McFadden raced 73 yards for a touchdown and a 14-6 lead. With 5:46 left in the third quarter, fullback Peyton Hillis gave Arkansas a 21-14 lead on a 56-yard touchdown run.

With the score tied at 21-21 midway through the fourth quarter, Flynn and tailback Jacob Hester connected for a 54-yard touchdown pass. However, senior receiver Early Doucet lined up on the line in the slot, turning himself into an ineligible receiver and wiping out the touchdown.

Two plays later, Flynn completed a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Brandon LaFell on third-and-eight from the LSU 41, but center Brett Helms picked up a penalty for holding. The Tigers had to punt, and Arkansas responded with a 24-yard touchdown pass from McFadden to Hillis for a 28-21 lead.

With LSU leading 35-28 in the first overtime, Arkansas faced fourth-and-10 and picked up the first down on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Casey Dick to Hillis. Three plays later, facing third-and-8 from the LSU 10, Dick and Hillis combined for a touchdown pass that kept the Razorbacks alive.

"A lot of guys are going to lose sleep over that," Pittman said. "We had them fourth-and-10, and the quarterback sat back there and he had some time to throw the ball and he found the guy wide open."

Nearly every time the LSU defense folded, the offense responded -- until the very last play of the game.

LSU receiver Demetrius Byrd had already caught two touchdown passes on slant routes when the Tigers tried the same thing on their two-point conversion attempt in the third overtime. This time, Arkansas cornerback Matteral Richardson maintained his inside leverage and never allowed Byrd to get inside him in the end zone. When Flynn tried to squeeze the ball in, it went straight to Richardson for the game-winning interception.

"Matt played a heck of a game," Hester said. "That was probably his best game as a leader. He led the team. He never got flustered or anything, but it's a tough loss."

It was just one more mistake in a game laced with shortcomings and failures.

"You look at that game," Miles said, "and there's so many different ways to win it. You try to review your calls and review the things that you could have done to make a difference, and I certainly -- when I look at this film -- I'll look first at me and some of the calls that were made."

The Tigers can't afford to reflect or stay down for too long.

"We still look forward to playing another game, a very big game," Miles said, "a very important game, bigger than the one we just played -- for the title."

--DT Glenn Dorsey's impact always goes beyond stats because of his ability to control the line of scrimmage and provide a foundation for the defense. Through 12 games, Dorsey has 61 tackles, 11.5 for loss and six sacks with four pass breakups and four quarterback hurries. He's played the past four games with a nagging right knee injury and played the past two with a sore lower back that often forced him to the sideline against Arkansas, but he still managed to make five solo tackles. When he's not making plays, Dorsey is at least controlling his area and allowing his teammates to make plays. Dorsey is a finalist for the Lombardi Award, the Outland Trophy and the Bednarik Trophy and a semifinalist for the Nagurski Award and the Lott Trophy.

--WR Early Doucet's season got off to a strong start but he missed four consecutive games before playing a limited role in the Kentucky game and coming back in a big way against Auburn. Despite missing so much game time, he came back to play an important role in victories over Auburn and Alabama, and still stands second on the team with 45 receptions for 445 receiving yards and four touchdowns. His experience has been a boost for LSU's young receivers this season but he made an inexplicable mistake in the Arkansas game, wiping out a 54-yard touchdown pass by lining up on the line in the slot, turning himself into an ineligible receiver.

--OLB Ali Highsmith remains one of the most important and active players on one of the nation's best defenses. Highsmith is second on the team with 86 tackles to go with 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, seven quarterback hurries, eight pass breakups and a forced fumble.

--CB Jonathan Zenon is capable of giving defensive coordinator Bo Pelini a chance to get creative and take chances with the other nine defenders because he can leave his corners in man-to-man coverage, but he has struggled in man-to-man coverage late in the season and opponents haven't been afraid to attack him. Zenon has 35 tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble and six pass breakups.

--CB Chevis Jackson is the other half of LSU's shutdown cover corners, allowing the safeties and linebackers to get more involved in the run game and the pass rush. Opponents originally spent more time going after Jackson than Zenon, but that's changed in recent weeks. Jackson has done his part with 37 tackles, four interceptions and 12 pass breakups.

--SS Craig Steltz's nose for the ball makes him a constant threat for a turnover and he has responded with six interceptions, a fumble recovery and three forced fumbles. Steltz, one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award given annually to the nation's top defensive back, leads LSU with 89 tackles to go with five tackles for loss and seven pass breakups.

--QB Matt Flynn's been hurt by an ankle injury early in the season, dropped passes and his own inconsistency at times, but he's played his best football in recent games. Flynn has a knack for making big plays when they're needed the most and he's passing for 203.0 yards per game with 17 touchdown passes and four touchdown runs, but he's also completing just 55.1 percent of his passes with 10 interceptions.

GAME BALL GOES TO: LB Ali Highsmith -- The entire defense made its share of mistakes in a 50-48 three-overtime loss to Arkansas, and Highsmith made a big one when he got beat one-on-one for a touchdown pass. However, in a game in which the defense got burned time and time again, Highsmith was one of the few highlights with a career-high 19 tackles.

KEEP AN EYE ON: QB Matt Flynn -- It will be easy to remember Flynn for throwing the game-ending interception on a two-point conversion in the third overtime, but the Razorbacks don't even get into a position to win without Flynn bouncing back from a poor first half by passing for three touchdowns and running for a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We'll look at this and see that there were some opportunities to win, and that'll be hard. This team fought like hell." -- LSU coach Les Miles.

LOOKING GOOD: WR Demetrius Byrd -- Byrd caught his fifth and sixth touchdowns of the season on a 7-yard reception in the third quarter and a 2-yard catch with 57 seconds remaining in the game.

K Colt David -- David has become one of LSU's most reliable players. With field goals of 32 yards and a career-long 49 yards against Arkansas, he has kicked 35 career field goals and a school-record 23 this season. His four extra points extended his consecutive PAT streak to 66, the fourth-longest streak in LSU history.

RB Jacob Hester -- Hester scored his 10th and 11th rushing touchdowns of this season and finished with career highs in yards (126) and carries (28). His biggest play of the game, a 54-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, was wiped out by a penalty.

STILL NEEDS WORK: Penalties -- LSU's four penalties for 35 yards were the Tigers' fewest this season, but two of those penalties were critical. WR Early Doucet, a senior with considerable playing experience, lined up on the line in the slot, drawing a penalty for illegal formation and wiping out a 54-yard touchdown pass to Hester with 8:30 left in regulation. Two plays later, Arkansas rushed two defenders and dropped 10 and WR Brandon LaFell still caught a 27-yard pass on third-and-eight from the LSU 41-yard line. However, LSU center Brett Helms got flagged for holding on the play. LSU punted on the possession and Arkansas scored on its next possession for a 28-21 lead.

Run defense -- LSU entered the game ranked No. 2 in the nation in run defense, allowing 78.3 yards per game, and gave up 385 rushing yards against Arkansas, including touchdown runs of 73 and 65 yards.

DB Danny McCray -- There's a lot of fault to be distributed throughout the defense but McCray stood out for repeatedly getting caught out of position and getting burned for big plays, including a touchdown pass that put Arkansas ahead 28-21 in the fourth quarter and a first down on a fourth-and-10 pass in the first overtime.

ROSTER REPORT: In fairness to the defense, injuries took a toll at various points in the Arkansas game. Senior All-America DT Glenn Dorsey entered the game with knee and lower back problems, played at less than 100 percent and often had to take himself out of the game to stretch his back. Starting SS Craig Steltz, one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, tried to play through a hamstring injury. Starting FS Curtis Taylor took a first-half shot to the face that required attention and also missed playing time because of an ankle injury.

QB Matt Flynn and starting offensive linemen Ciron Black and Carnell Stewart also played through injuries.