Quarterback Taylen Green threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score as Arkansas defeated Mississippi State 58-25 on Saturday.
Green led a Razorback offense that totaled 673 yards, with 359 yards coming from rushing and 314 from passing. He completed 23 of 29 passes, although one was intercepted. Tight ends Luke Hasz and Andreas Paaske each caught two touchdown passes.
On the ground, freshman Braylon Russell gained 175 yards on 16 carries, Rashod Dubinion had 11 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown, and Green rushed eight times for 79 yards and a score.
“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 possible touchdowns for the Bulldogs in the first half were lost after video reviews. Both times, Seydou Traore was ruled down just short of the goal line.
These missed chances resulted in a turnover on downs and a field goal for Mississippi State in the last minutes of the half. Arkansas led 31-10 at halftime.
In the second half, Arkansas expanded their lead to 41-10 before the Bulldogs attempted a comeback. MSU outscored the Razorbacks 15-3 during a stretch in the second half, but another potential touchdown was lost when Johnnie Daniels fumbled at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs had been competitive against top 5 teams like Texas and Georgia, as well as top 15 team Texas A&M. However, against unranked Arkansas, the Bulldogs struggled.
“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 what was possibly State’s worst defensive showing since the 2016 Arkansas game at Davis Wade Stadium, they had very little resistance on defense, and the offense couldn’t take advantage of chances.
Five turnovers on offense and allowing 673 yards on defense led to the Bulldogs’ defeat on Saturday.
Despite the tough day for Mississippi State’s defense, they also gave away a lot of points. The Bulldogs had five turnovers, with Michael Van Buren throwing two interceptions and fumbling twice.
Van Buren completed 22 of 31 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns in an otherwise solid performance. 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 achieved a total of 471 yards of offense, with 162 coming from rushing.
“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.
