Taylen Green threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two scores Thursday night during a 49-point first half as Arkansas whipped Arkansas-Pine Bluff 70-0 in each team’s season opener in Little Rock.
Green, a transfer from Boise State, completed 16 of 23 passes for 229 yards while rushing for 88 yards on just six carries. He didn’t play in the second half as the Razorbacks flooded the field with fresh faces against the outmatched Golden Lions.
In fact, the game was such a mismatch that the teams opted at halftime to shorten the second half to two 10-minute quarters. However, that didn’t stop Arkansas’ backups from collecting three more touchdowns, giving them TDs on all 10 possessions.
Ja’Quinden Jackson ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries as the Razorbacks piled up 687 total yards — 279 on the ground. Fourteen different receivers caught passes for Arkansas, which averaged nearly 10 yards per snap and rolled up 34 first downs on 70 plays.
Mekhi Hagens completed 11 of 23 passes for 123 yards for UAPB, which managed only 130 yards and 10 first downs. Nine of the Golden Lions’ 11 drives ended in punts and the other two concluded as time expired in each half.
Jackson’s 8-yard scoring jaunt less than three minutes into the game initiated a 28-point first-quarter blitz. Green added a 4-yard touchdown, followed by a 46-yard score from Jackson and Rodney Hill’s 4-yard touchdown at the 1:12 mark.
Green got his arm going in the second quarter, hitting Tyrone Broden and Ty Washington with 9- and 23-yard scoring strikes, respectively. Then Green ran 36 yards for a touchdown nine seconds before halftime.
Backup quarterback Malachi Singleton played most of the second half and led two scoring drives. Braylen Russell rushed for a 9-yard score at the 6:13 mark of the third quarter, followed by Singleton’s 4-yard touchdown with 8:14 remaining in the game.
Tyrell Reed Jr. capped the scoring with a 4-yard run with 36 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
