FAYETTEVILLE -- The second season of the Bobby Petrino-led offense at Arkansas got off to a flying start with an aerial display led by Taylen Green that had been unmatched at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in 10 years.
Green threw 6 touchdown passes and redshirt freshman KJ Jackson added another to post the Razorbacks' first game with 7 touchdown passes since Brandon Allen set the school record in a shootout with Mississippi State's Dak Prescott in 2015.
The 358 yards of aerial damage came during a 52-7 rout of FCS Alabama State, the Razorbacks' second blowout opener of a Southwestern Athletic Conference team in as many years. Arkansas' passing yards rank 11th in the country and its total offense of 552 yards is good for 12th after the opening week.
"Taylen Green played his butt off," Arkansas running back Braylen Russell said when asked why the Razorbacks were so productive on offense. "We had six people catch touchdowns, so that was really good for us and we're just looking to build on that."
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Green's 77.4% completion rate ranks 20th in the nation and his 363 total yards are sixth.
However, the degree of difficulty and the stakes get higher as Arkansas takes on Arkansas State for the first time Saturday at 4 p.m. in Little Rock.
"The quarterback is a game-changer," Arkansas State coach Butch Jones said. "Taylen Green can change the outcome of a game. At any particular moment he can run, he can throw. He is their identity."
Plus, the Razorbacks were far from perfect against the Bulldogs, with Green missing a small handful of open targets and the running game producing a workmanlike 4.8 yards per carry. Take away a 30-yard breakaway by Mike Washington and Green's 26-yard scramble, and the Hogs managed 3.6 yards per run.
Washington also had an 18-yard run on which only a stumble after contact with a defender cost him a 39-yard touchdown. He finished with a team-high 79 yards and averaged 8.8 yards per carry. Russell got a team-high 11 carries and finished with 41 yards for 3.7 yards per carry.
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said Saturday night he was not worried about the Razorbacks' ability to run the ball. The Bulldogs sent extra defenders on almost every play, frequently pinching the edges and sometimes outmanning Arkansas blockers to bottle up many running plays.
Arkansas will face an Arkansas State defensive unit that allowed 92 rushing yards during a 42-24 win over Southeast Missouri State. The Red Wolves ranked 124th in the FBS last year by allowing 211.7 rushing yards per game.
Pittman said he saw parallels between the current schemes at Arkansas State and recent things Ole Miss has been doing.
"They are going to bring a lot of singles, a lot of one-man blitzes, whether it be inside, whether it be a wrap, whether it be a [weak-side linebacker] coming off the edge, whether it be a corner," Pittman said.
"We have to run the football. That is something that will help our play-action game."
Russell said the running backs need to be more on point than in the opener.
"As a running back room...be more consistent," he said of areas for improvement in the run game. "Knowing what to do every play and being more consistent at it and getting more yards per carry."
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Arkansas rushed for 194 yards in the opener, a figure that ranks 47th in the FBS.
Arkansas right guard Kobe Branham also brought up a need for more offensive consistency.
"There's a bunch of stuff that we'd have to work on as a group," Branham said. "That's every week, though. It's always something you could work on and get better at. But if I had to pick something, it'd just be more consistent and get more yards per carry and stuff like that."
Transfers O'Mega Blake, Jalen Brown and Raylen Sharpe all debuted with a touchdown reception, as did returning tight end Andreas Paaske. Washington, a transfer back, had a touchdown catch and sophomore holdover CJ Brown had 2 touchdowns in the pass-heavy attack.
Blake's 121 receiving yards, after his fourth career 100-yard game, rank 23rd in the country. He is the first Arkansas wideout to post a 100-yard receiving game in an opener since Treylon Burks' 102 yards against Georgia on Sept. 26, 2020.
There were questions in camp about how the new receivers would mesh with Green and those were allayed in the opener.
"There was never a question for me," Russell said. "I watched them every day. I watched them improve....So it was never really a question for us as a team. We know what they can do, and I just thank God that they were able to go out there and showcase what they can do in front of y'all."
Branham said the work and effort from the receivers was apparent during training camp.
"After practice every day, they're staying for 30 minutes, an hour every day working on their craft," he said. "I just knew if we gave them enough time up front that they're going to get open, they were going to do their thing."