Taylen Green throws 5 TD passes, runs for 1 TD and Arkansas blows out Mississippi State 58-25
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Quarterback Taylen Green threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score as Arkansas blew out Mississippi State 58-25 on Saturday.
Green led a Razorback offense that had 673 yards of total offense with 359 on the ground and 314 through the air. Green was 23 of 29 with one of those being an interception. Tight ends Luke Hasz and Andreas Paaske caught two touchdowns each.
On the ground, freshman Braylon Russell racked up 175 yards on 16 carries, Rashod Dubinion had 11 carries for 98 yards and a score and Green rushed eight times for 79 yards and a touchdown.
“Really proud of our football team,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “Coming in, we were really concerned about Mississippi State because of how hard they play. I’m proud of the team and really proud of the offensive line. I thought they played exceptional.”
Two potential touchdowns in the first half that went against the Bulldogs on video review proved vital. Both instances came as Seydou Traore was on the verge of a touchdown but ruled down inside the 1-yard line.
The result of the missed opportunities was a turnover on downs and a field goal from State in the final minutes of the half. Arkansas had a 31-10 lead at the break.
A second half lead ballooned to 41-10 for the Razorbacks before the Bulldogs tried to make a comeback. MSU outscored the Razorbacks 15-3 over a stretch in the second half, but a third potential touchdown was taken away as Johnnie Daniels fumbled at the 1 in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs had been competitive against top 5 teams Texas and Georgia and top 15 team Texas A&M. With unranked Arkansas in town, the Bulldogs took a step back.
“Disappointed. I thought we made real progress and had gotten better where we played really good normal down distance and today it was just the opposite,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said. “We have to play better against the run. We’ve got to make people play one dimensional.”
In arguably State’s worst defensive performance since the 2016 Arkansas game at Davis Wade Stadium, resistance was at a minimum on defense and the offense couldn’t take advantage of opportunities.
Five turnovers on the offensive side of the ball and 673 yards surrendered on defense would bury the Bulldogs on Saturday.
As bad as the day was for Mississippi State’s defense, the Bulldogs gave away a lot of points in the game. Mississippi State had five turnovers offensively with Michael Van Buren throwing two interceptions and fumbling twice.
Van Buren was 22 of 31 for 309 yards and two touchdowns in an otherwise solid day. Kevin Coleman caught eight passes for 100 yards and a touchdown while Traore had 77 yards on five catches. Davon Booth led the team with 17 carries for 93 yards.
The Bulldogs had 471 yards of total offense with 162 on the ground.
“The frustrating thing is we’ve made such improvement. We had played better and better and done some things to give us a chance to win games. (Saturday), we took a step back. Whoever it is on the field, we’ve got to find a way to get the most out of them every single snap,” Lebby said.
Big picture
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs have lost seven-straight games. The defense continues to track toward being the worst in school history after its worst performance yet.
Arkansas: After a rough game against LSU last week, the Razorbacks looked locked back in as Green lit up Mississippi State’s defense.
Up next
Arkansas hosts Ole Miss on Saturday.
Mississippi State hosts UMass on Saturday.
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