3 things I liked about Arkansas' blowout of Alabama A&M, and 3 I didn't

Arkansas’ 52-7 win over Alabama A&M was what we expected to open up the 2025 season. On paper, this dominant victory over the Bulldogs should show that the Razorbacks are on pace for a decent year. But there is always room for improvement.

I was impressed with a lot of things the Hogs did that showed me that the team has improved from last season’s decent 7-6 season. However, there were some issues that I saw that the Razorbacks still need to work on. Thankfully, we are only in the beginning of the 2025 season.

Arkansas vs Alabama A&M: 3 likes and dislikes

I liked Arkansas’ opening drive.

The opening drive of the game saw Arkansas get the ball first. I thought QB Taylen Green did a good job leading the offense to a score on the opening drive. He went a perfect 4-for-4 passing with 41 yards and finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to WR CJ Brown over the middle on a crossing route. RB Mike Washington Jr. was solid on the ground with three rushes for 17 yards. The nine-play, 71-yard drive was a good way to start the season.

I didn’t like Alabama A&M’s opening drive.

The Razorback secondary gave up 68 yards through the air to Alabama A&M QB Cornelius Brown IV on the Bulldogs’ first offensive drive of the contest. Brown went a perfect 4 of 4 passing, with RB Maurice Edwards IV finishing off the drive with a six-yard run to the right for a touchdown to tie the game, 7-7, with 6:28 to go in the first quarter. The only two times Alabama A&M lost yards on the drive were because of false starts.

I liked how many chunk plays Arkansas got.

Green was slinging the ball effectively in the season opener with 322 passing yards and completing 24 of his 31 pass attempts as well as running for 41 yards on nine carries. He managed the game well and looks to have really worked on clock management. This was seen in the final minute of the first half with the Razorbacks leading, 24-7, with 1:05 remaining. After an incompletion, Green threw a strike to WR O’Mega Blake for 27 yards for a first down to the Alabama A&M 32-yard line. A defensive holding penalty on the next play gave the Hogs another 10 yards to the 22-yard line.

The drive started to look a little shaky after an incompletion, a one-yard loss, and a 10-yard holding penalty with less than half a minute to go. On 3rd & 21 at the 33-yard line, Green connected with Blake for 27 yards to set up a first and goal at the six with 13 seconds left. Green dotted up Blake again on the next play for a touchdown to close out the half, 31-7.

There were a total of 21 plays from scrimmage where the Hogs gained 10 yards or more, with 10 different receivers catching a pass.

I disliked how there wasn’t a lot from the second and third strings.

Backup QB KJ Jackson’s first drive of the season ended up being a touchdown that came on three plays, thanks to Washington. The New Mexico State transfer ran the ball for four yards on the first play of the drive and then for 30 yards for a first down to the Alabama A&M 27-yard line. Jackson threw a touchdown pass to Washington on a wheel route to the left side to cap off the drive and give the Razorbacks a commanding 52-7 lead with 13:51 left in the game.

After that exciting drive, there was not really much to talk about after that. The last three drives Arkansas ran were for 26 yards on a total of 11 plays. Jackson finished going 2-for-4 passing with 36 yards and a touchdown, while third-string QB Trever Jackson’s only pass attempt was an incompletion to RB Cam Settles.

I would have liked to have seen more from the backups like we had in last season’s season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. These guys are the future of the Razorbacks, and I am always intrigued by how we will look for years to come. Then again, we always have to take everything game by game and play by play.

I liked how the Razorback defense showed up in the second half.

After giving up a touchdown on Alabama A&M’s opening drive, Arkansas’ defense started progressively getting into the groove. After K Scott Starzyk nailed a 53-yard field goal to put the Hogs back up, 10-7, the defense forced the Bulldogs to go three-and-out on the next drive. Arkansas went on to make Alabama A&M go three-and-out six times as well as forcing a fumble with 14:45 to go in the fourth quarter when DB Shakur Smalls sacked QB Eric Handley at the Arkansas 39-yard line. He forced and recovered the fumble for the only turnover of the game. Which kind of leads into my next point.

I disliked that the defense didn’t cause many turnovers.

With how many stops the Arkansas defense had, we did not see a lot of turnovers created in the game. The Razorbacks had a -8 turnover margin in 2024, which was tied for 112th in the nation. Now I know part of that is the offense turning over the ball, but the defense has to not only get stops but also get abrupt turnovers to really shift the momentum.

It also made me feel a little uneasy with how many big plays Alabama A&M was making through the air in the secondary. The season is still young, and defensive coordinator Travis Williams will most likely be honing in on getting the defensive backs playing better in coverage.