Arkansas’ offense explodes for 58-25 win

By Jason Pattyson

Arkansas put on an offensive show in Davis Wade Stadium racking up 673 yards of offense, the 7th highest yards recorded in a game in Razorback history, in a 58-25 rout of the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday. 

The tone was set early and often that the Razorbacks would establish the run early and often. The Hogs are now one away from becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since 2022. This was a get-back game, a chance to get the offense back on track after LSU all but shut it down the week before, and they did in a big way. 

Home is where the heart is.. Sort of

Rewind to October 21st, 2023. Fans maligned this team offensively due to the poor performance, and Dan Enos was let go that weekend. This offense averaged 20.4 points a game in SEC play in away games and 9 points at home in that same metric. The Razorbacks that were on this roster last year have looked forward to paying State back for being such unwelcoming guests last year. The Offense did just that. Racking up 643 yards of offense, Taylen Green became the fifth Razorback to toss five touchdowns in a game, joining Ryan Mallett, Tyler Wilson, Brandon Allen, and KJ Jefferson. Fans love the home games, and the proof, for now, is this team plays better on the road than at home. Could it just be the matchups?

It was Braylen Russell’s day to show the world.

Heading into the game Saturday, freshman Running back Braylen Russell has had an increased workload as the season has progressed. He had been patiently waiting for his chance to shine for a full football game load of work after splitting time with starting senior back Ja’Quinden Jackson. Before Saturday, Russell had tallied 302 yards on 43 carries and two scores; he got a full workload and produced. He ran the ball 16 times for 175 yards. He knew earlier in the week he would get this uptick in frequency with Jackson sidelined with an ankle injury. Head coach Sam Pittman had this to say postgame.

“He doesn’t say a whole lot. My meeting with him was more, ‘Hey, I got confidence in you.’ We got a good relationship and I wanted him to know that the head coach thought a lot of him and that I was excited for him to take over. He didn’t say a whole lot. Last night, I said, ‘Hey man, don’t make me look like a fool.’ I start running my mouth and then of course in the locker room he said, ‘I don’t think I’ve made you look like a fool coach.’ I said, ‘No, I appreciate you for that.’ But he’s a really good kid and had a hell of a game.”

Chunk plays galore gave the offense a boost 

Braylen Russell had one of the last chunk plays Saturday afternoon with a 75-yard scamper from the Razorback’s two-yard line, and Dubinion capped the day with a 21-yard run. Before that, Arkansas gashed Mississippi State all afternoon. The Hog offense tallied 26 chunk plays that resulted in a gain each play of more than 10 yards. That was the Bobby Petrino effect today. This team is different from last year’s, but this fan base has been yearning for big plays, and they got that today. 

9 and 23 

Taylen Green connected with nine different receivers, hauling in 23 receptions and passing for 314 yards and five scores. The passing percentage was the difference today. He was 23-29, which is a 79% completion rate. He has completed 67% of his passes over the last four SEC games, and yes, he can play quarterback in the SEC. Andreas Paaske and Luke Hasz had a day benefiting from Green’s accuracy. Paaske recorded his first three catches this season, 19 yards, and two were for scores. Hasz had a day, too, snagging four catches for 59 yards and two scores. 

“I think they double-covered Andrew a lot today. He had a great attitude about it and did some really good things. I said at halftime with Andrew, I said, ‘We’re going to get you the ball.’ Pittman said after the game. “It wasn’t because he was down. He said, ‘Hey coach, I don’t care. We’re moving it.’ He had a great attitude, too. But you asked about Luke and I’m just glad to see him catching and having success because he’s blocked well all year.”

Turnovers? Who said turnovers

Taylen Green was hit with an interception, but that should not have counted as Andrew Armstrong was run over from behind by the defensive back, who tipped the pass to a Bulldog defender for the turnover. The offense took advantage of excellent field position from the opportunistic defense that had not forced a turnover in the three previous games dating back to Auburn. There, they forced five turnovers, four interceptions and a fumble. 

Today, they forced three fumbles and two interceptions. The first was the tone-setter on the third play of the game, when Landon Jackson stripped Michael Van Buren and recovered it to give Arkansas the ball at the Bulldog 23. The onslaught ensued from there with the Bulldog miscues. 

“Yeah, one thing coach has been pressing to me all the way up into this week, I’ve got about seven or eight QB hits this year where the ball’s getting thrown as I’m hitting him,” Senior Defensive line Landon Jackson said postgame. “He was like, when you get back there, ‘make sure you come through with that outside arm and try getting the ball out instead of trying to get the kill shot’. So, my biggest thing when I got back there was, let’s try to get the ball out. Worked a good cross chop, fit pretty well and then got back there and made sure I got the ball out.”

Ground and pound and back to basics

The run game returned to the production fans are used to watching from this offense. The backs accumulated 359 yards on the ground and two scores on 37 carries. This was a big difference from last week’s 19 carries and 59-yard output against LSU. This team’s identity is a ground-and-pound attack, a message head coach Sam Pittman and Offensive Coordinator Bobby Petrino wanted to send to the team and the Bulldogs. Entering the game, the Hogs averaged 150 yards on the ground, which is third in the league; today, 359 yards. 

All the credit and praise go to the offensive line. They opened holes for Green, Russell, and Dubinion, who also rushed for 98 yards. The zone running scheme was so successful that the punt unit was called on just once, even though the offense went 0-7 on the third down. They were 9th in the nation in conversion percentage on third down at 52% success rate. Russell benefitted most of the day from the cutback lanes. The zone run scheme worked to perfection, and Green and Dubinion could pick the holes they wanted to run through due to the spacing up front. 

“Our offensive line matched up extremely well with their defensive line, and we thought that was going to be a major advantage for us, and it turned out that it was, you know.” Pittman said postgame