Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green (right) eludes Arkansas State cornerback Trenton Alan Yowe to score a 64-yard touchdown during the first quarter Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Razorbacks finished with 321 rushing yards in a 56-14 win over the Red Wolves in the first meeting between the in-state schools. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman stressed earlier in the week the importance of the Razorbacks establishing the run game against Arkansas State on Saturday.
With quarterback Taylen Green and running back Mike Washington Jr. leading the way, that's exactly what they did during the Hogs' 56-14 win over the Red Wolves at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
In the first half alone, Green rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, while Washington picked up 84 yards and a score on six carries. The Razorbacks rolled up 231 rushing yards in the first 30 minutes and 321 yards for the game.
"He was outstanding with his legs," Pittman said of Green. "I mean, when he takes off, you know you're going to get a first down, then what happens after that is gravy."
The ASU defense appeared to struggle adjusting to the size and speed of Arkansas from the start, giving up 28 points within the first 10 minutes of the game. By the time the Red Wolves got their first stop of the game, they were already trailing 28-7.
"I believe we gave up eight explosive plays and five of them were in the first half," ASU Coach Butch Jones said. "In college football today, you can't warm up games. You have to start fast. This is two weeks where we haven't started fast. We had way too many missed assignments on both sides of the football. We did not tackle well starting the game."
On multiple occasions, Green used his scrambling ability to get out of trouble before turning up field and outracing ASU defenders. His 64-yard touchdown run just over six minutes into the game gave Arkansas a 21-7 lead.
"Some of those were ability pulls where he pulls (the ball)," Jones said of Green. "Against a talented player like that, if your shoulders aren't square, if your eyes are in the wrong place, he's going to make you pay for it and he was able to do that."
The Red Wolves' defense began to settle following an interception by Terry Kirksey with 3:56 left in the first quarter. Kirksey finished with seven tackles, including five solo stops. For the second consecutive week, freshman Nigel Nelson led ASU with eight tackles.
A 2-yard touchdown pass from Jaylen Raynor to Cameron Ambrose pulled ASU within 28-14 with 3:44 left in the first half. The Razorbacks offense was held in check for most of the second quarter, but an 8-yard touchdown pass from Green to Jalen Brown with 53 seconds left in the first half gave Arkansas a 35-14 advantage heading into the break.
As the game moved into the fourth quarter, KJ Jackson replaced Green at quarterback with the Razorbacks holding a 49-14 advantage. Jackson added a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Arkansas averaged 11.1 yards on its 29 rushing attempts.
In his three quarters on the field, Green finished with 151 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts. Washington had 116 yards and a score on nine carries, while Braylen Russell and Rodney Hill added 25 and 24 yards, respectively.
In its 42-24 win over Southeast Missouri State in last week's season opener, Arkansas State held the Redhawks to 92 rushing yards.
"I talked about it all week long, this is an SEC program," Jones said. "There is a reason why they're an SEC program. That doesn't diminish anything with our slow start. That's unacceptable in our program. But there is a size factor, I think you all saw it. There's a speed factor, I think you all saw it."
The Red Wolves take on No. 16 Iowa State at Jonesboro next Saturday. The Cyclones feature several talented running backs and rolled up 237 yards rushing when they defeated ASU 52-7 last season in Ames, Iowa.
"There is a lot of things that we have to go back and get better," Jones said. "It's not going to get any easier with Iowa State coming to town, but we have to (use) this as a learning opportunity. Obviously, this (was) not to our standard or expectation."