Hogs defeat Mississippi State, 58-25, in SEC road clash

Razorback offense surges in rout of Bulldogs in Starkville

From the University of Arkansas

arkansasrazorbacks.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. — One week after struggling in a 24point loss, the Arkansas offense responded in a big way on Saturday. The Razorbacks (5-3, 3-2 SEC) put up 637 yards of total offense and 58 points in a 33-point win over Mississippi State (1-7, 0-5 SEC) on Saturday.

Entering this week's game, the Bulldogs defense ranked dead last in the SEC in almost every important statistical category. Following Saturday's road win, it should come as no surprise that Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman felt confident about how the offense matchup with Mississippi State in certain key areas.

'I just think the game, a lot of times, is about matchups,' Pittman said. 'So you look at it and you go, 'okay, so-and-so beat so-and-so by this many points, so we ought to be able…' Doesn't work that way.

It's how you match up with people. Our offensive line matched up extremely well with their defensive line, and we thought that was going to be a major advantage for us.

'It turned out that it was, you know. The first drive, we tried to establish that by, we gave it to [Braylen Russell] twice and then [Taylen Green] ran it in from maybe the six or five or something like that, and it was all three runs. And we were trying to establish our physicality. We felt like we matched up really good there.'

After rushing for just 38 yards in last week's loss to LSU, Arkansas turned things around on Saturday. The Hogs asserted their dominance on the ground early and often, finishing with 359 yards rushing, two touchdowns and averaged 9.7 yards per carry.

True freshman running back Braylen Russell received his first career start on Saturday after Ja'Quinden Jackson missed the game due to an ankle injury. The Benton (Ark.) native responded with a monster performance of 16 carries for 175 yards, including a 75-yard run to spur a 5play, 99-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. In the postgame presser, Pittman revealed that he had a conversation with Russell prior to the game about not wanting to regret his decision to start the freshman running back.

'Last night, I said, 'Hey man, don't make me look like a fool,' Pittman recalled after the game. '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.'

The running game wasn't the only bright spot of the Razorbacks' offensive performance, though. Arkansas arguably looked just as impressive through the air. Quarterback Taylen Green looked much healthier this week and continues to make better decisions throwing the ball.

Green finished 23 of 29 passing for 314 yards, 5 touchdowns and just one interception. He also got back to making defenses pay with his legs, rushing for 79 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Pittman explained the version of Green seen on Saturday is who he's been since arriving at Arkansas.

'That's the guy that I've seen since he got here,' Pittman said. 'If we can play better around him, the guy's incredible. Like I said before, I wouldn't trade him for anybody.'

'Just sticking to our game plan and not beating ourselves,' Green added after the game. 'A big thing we've been talking about is finishing drives, finishing in the red zone. Because we'll get in the red zone and stall out some-

See HOGS, page A10 HOGS

From page A7

times. I felt like we did a great job, all 11 on finishing drives.'

UP NEXT

Next up for the Hogs is a home against Ole Miss.

Kickoff against the Rebels is scheduled for either 11:00 or 11:45 a.m. (CT), and the game will be televised by ABC, ESPN or SEC Network.

FOLLOW THE HOGS

For more about Arkansas Razorback Football, follow the Hogs on Instagram, X, and Facebook. The online home of all things Arkansas athletics is arkansasrazorbacks. com