Arkansas redshirt junior quarterback Taylen Green wowed in a vintage Bobby Petrino offensive performance to lead a 58-25 shellacking over Mississippi State on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium.
Green — who has failed to toss multiple passing touchdowns in a single game since Week 1 (2) — finished with five scores through the air and one on the ground. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound dual-threat athlete accumulated 314 passing yards on a 23-for-29 mark (79.3%) from the pocket and totaled 79 rushing yards on eight carries.
"I’ve said I wouldn’t trade our quarterback for nobody’s, and I said that when things weren’t going as good either," head coach Sam Pittman said after the game. "That throw he made to Jordan Anthony was unbelievable. Of course, Jordan’s fast and got behind them, but that throw he made there was really unbelievable.
"This should build a lot of confidence going into what is obviously a tough few games. The next four we have are obviously tough, and this should build some confidence in our football team."
According to Razorback Communications, Green is the first Arkansas signal caller to throw for five or more touchdowns and rush for a touchdown in a game since Ryan Mallett did so against UTEP in 2010. Green couldn't have done it without strong contributing performances from his offensive teammates.
"I feel good," Green said after the game. "And it’s not just me. Of course I’ve got give praise to my O-line for protecting me out there. I couldn’t make plays without them. And the tight ends, receivers and running backs, I have to give praise to them."
The 58 points scored by the Razorbacks' offense is the most in an SEC game since the 58-52 win over Mississippi State in 2016, and Petrino's unit totaled a whopping 21 big plays (gain of 15+ yards) against the Bulldogs. Pittman credited his team's offensive success to a favorable matchup in the trenches.
"Our offensive line matched up extremely well with their defensive line, and we thought that was going to be a major advantage for us," Pittman said. "And 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 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."
Despite missing starting running back Ja'Quinden Jackson, Arkansas' offense still managed 10.2 yards per play, 9.7 yards per rush and gained 673 total yards. Not everything was perfect, however, as the Razorbacks' usually strong third-down offense went 0-for-7 on the day and Green threw his seventh interception of the season.
Following the game, Pittman explained that he told Petrino a couple of times he had two plays to get the first down in third-down situations, which may explain the lack of success there. An area that Arkansas did improve was in red zone situations, as the Razorbacks finished a perfect 9-for-9 on opportunities near the goal line.
"I would say just sticking to our game plan and not beating ourselves," Green said. "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 sometimes. I felt like we did a great job, all 11 on finishing drives."
Up next, the Razorbacks travel back home for a matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels (6-2, 2-2 SEC) at Razorback Stadium. That game will air on either ABC, ESPN or the SEC Network and will kick off at either 11 or 11:45 a.m. CT.
