Arkansas (1-0) looked sharp for the most part in its 52-7 victory over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (0-1) Saturday evening, with the Razorback offense being the main talking point. The defense started out a little slow for the Hogs, but eventually caught up to speed and proved they are still solid.
Arkansas vs. Alabama A&M: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
The Good
The opening drive showed that the Arkansas offense was just as impressive as last year, with QB Taylen Green going a perfect 4 of 4 passing with 41 yards and a touchdown. The Razorbacks finished up the drive with a 16-yard passing touchdown from Green to WR CJ Brown on a crossing route over the middle with 10:09 to go in the opening quarter. RB Mike Washington Jr. contributed with 17 rushing yards on three carries.
After getting a big stop late in the first quarter with a 10-7 lead, Arkansas started off the second quarter with a big touchdown pass from Green to WR Raylen Sharpe on a 35-yard vertical route to extend the lead to 10 on a nine-play, 75-yard drive with 13:41 left.
All was quiet for eight minutes until the Hogs forced the Bulldogs to punt with 4:32 left in the first half. Arkansas worked swiftly with Green picking up a first down to the Alabama A&M 38-yard line on a 26-yard run on 3rd & 9. He followed up with a 29-yard strike to 30-year-old WR Monte Harrison to set up 1st & goal at the nine. After a four-yard run by RB Braylen Russell, Green dotted up WR Jalen Brown with a five-yard touchdown pass on an RPO to put the Razorbacks up by three possessions, 24-7, with 2:05 to go.
The Razorback defense forced a quick three-and-out to put the offense right back on the field with 1:05 remaining in the first half. Green and the Arkansas offense were quick with another score again on a 27-yard pass to WR O’Mega Blake on the second play of the drive on 2nd & 10 to the Alabama A&M 32. A few plays later, the Razorbacks were facing 3rd & 21 on the 33-yard line. Green threw a strike to Blake for 27 yards to set up a first down and goal at the six. Green connected with Blake again on the very next play for a touchdown to give the hogs a comfortable 24-point halftime lead.
At the end of the first half, Green was 18 of 25 passing with 246 yards and four touchdowns with 33 rushing yards on seven carries. Blake led the way in receiving with 111 yards and a touchdown on six receptions. Washington had a decent half with 45 yards on the ground on seven rushes.
The Arkansas defense opened up the second half by once again going for a three-and-out. The Razorbacks started their drive on their own 34 with 14:15 left in the third quarter. After RB Rodney Hill ran for a seven-yard gain, Green hit Jalen Brown for 29 yards to the Bulldogs’ 30-yard line. Three plays later, the Hogs found the endzone once again with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Green to CJ Brown for his second receiving touchdown of the game to extend the lead, 38-7, with 11:07 remaining in the third quarter.
The defense remained consistent by forcing Alabama A&M to go three-and-out once again. The Arkansas offense had a more lengthy drive on 12 plays with a time of possession going for 6:08. It still concluded with a touchdown on a five-yard pass for Green’s sixth passing touchdown of the day. TE Andreas Paaske caught the touchdown to give the Hogs a 45-7 lead with 2:53 left in the third quarter.
QB KJ Jackson got some time on the field with 14:45 remaining in the fourth quarter. Washington was the star of the drive by first picking up four yards to start the drive and breaking out for a 30-yard gain to the Alabama A&M 27-yard line. Jackson threw a touchdown pass to Washington on a wheel route to the left side to show high promise for the backup quarterback and give Arkansas a 52-7 lead. Neither team’s offense scored for the rest of the game as the second and third strings played out the remaining 13:51 of the game.
The Bad
Arkansas allowed 6.5 yards per play to Alabama A&M in the first half. The Hogs gave up way to many big plays, especially in the passing game. The secondary allowed seven plays in the first half of over 10 yards. Luckily, those big plays cleared up in the second half.
The Ugly
After Arkansas opened up the game with a touchdown, Alabama A&M answered right back by a score of its own to tie the game, 7-7, with 6:28 left in the first quarter. QB Cornelius Brown IV was a perfect 4-for-4 through the air with 68 yards. RB Maurice Edwards IV completed the drive with a six-yard touchdown run to the right side. The Razorbacks with a drive that looked promising, but ended with a 53-yard field goal by K Scott Starzyk to begin his career as a Hog.
Conclusion
Overall, it was pretty much what everyone was expecting. Arkansas came away with a blowout victory, but still has a couple of things to work on defensively. The next test for the Hogs will be in Little Rock against in-state opponent Arkansas State next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and will be the first-ever meeting between the Razorbacks and the Red Wolves.