RB Respect Month Vol. 2, Day 27: Arkansas' three-headed monster upsets LSU (2007)

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Welcome to day 27 of Running Back Respect Month™! Yesterday, Chris Brown and Bobby Purify secured back-to-back Big 12 North titles for MY Colorado Buffaloes against Iowa State in 2002. Here's where we're at today, and how the rest of the month looks:

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Today: Darren McFadden, Peyton Hillis and Felix Jones vs. LSU (2007)

If I could only watch one college football game for the rest of eternity, 2007 Arkansas-LSU would be high on the list I'm considering from. It comes pretty close to checking all the boxes when you talk about the best –and most impactful– college football games of all-time:

✅ Did it impact the National Title race?

✅ Did it impact the Heisman race?

✅ Did a star player (or multiple star players) have a legendary performance?

✅ Was it a close game with a shocking finish?

✅ Is it entertaining enough for you to sit down and watch it on a Saturday in the off-season?

✅ Does it have a permanent spot on ESPN Classic at its peak?

✅ Can you still talk about it decades later?

If the 2007 college football season was a beautiful orchestra of madness, Arkansas' 50-48 win at No. 1 LSU in triple-overtime was its loudest section of violins leading us through highs, lows and an eventual conclusion none of us saw coming. Its conductors? Hogs running backs Darren McFadden, Peyton Hillis, and Felix Jones:

McFadden is the obvious star here, so it's important that we start with him. His pure rushing numbers (32 carries, 206 yards, three TD) would be more than enough to earn him a spot in this year's RB Respect Month group alone. Then you factor in that he also played double-digit snaps at QB and went 3-for-6 passing with 34 yards and a TD? That's when you've got an all-timer. The "Wild Hog" formation with McFadden at QB wasn't just the story of this game - it became a main storyline in the whole sport by 2008. The threat of McFadden with the ball in his hands at the start of each play had the best defense in the country scared to death, and the Hogs eventually pounced with him through the air when the Tigers got too aggressive: