Ja’Quinden Jackson rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown, while Taylen Green added 96 rushing yards and two scores to help Arkansas defeat Alabama-Birmingham 37-27 on Saturday.
Jackson’s 16-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter broke a 20-20 tie and gave Arkansas (2-1) its first lead. UAB struggled to stop him, as he gained his yards on just 15 carries.
Green, Arkansas’ starting quarterback, made up for a poor passing performance with his running. He tied the game at 17 with a 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and added a 9-yard touchdown with 3:38 left, after Arkansas had taken a three-point lead. He completed 11 of 26 passes for 161 yards and threw one interception.
“I just think that we didn’t throw or catch it like we normally would,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “I don’t think it was a wind problem. … For whatever reason we were off.”
The Blazers (1-2) were ahead 17-3 early in the second quarter, scoring on their first three drives. Their second drive only needed 15 yards after Green’s interception in his own red zone.
Jared Zeno, who threw three touchdown passes for UAB, connected with Kam Shanks for a 15-yard touchdown, putting Arkansas down by a touchdown. Zeno then found Amare Thomas for a 34-yard score on the next drive, making it a two-score game.
The Razorbacks scored on five of their next six possessions. Braylen Russell added a rushing touchdown, and Kyle Ramsey kicked two field goals, giving Arkansas a 30-20 lead in the fourth quarter.
Zeno threw his third touchdown pass to Dallas Payne midway through the fourth quarter before Green led a 7-play, 75-yard drive that secured the game.
“We can’t compete in the SEC playing like we did tonight. We’ve got to do better,” Pittman said.
Jackson, a transfer from Utah, became the first Arkansas player since Alex Collins in 2015 to have 100-yard games in each of his first three games with the Razorbacks. Collins, Arkansas’ second-leading rusher in school history, died last year in a motorcycle accident and was honored during the game along with other members of the 2024 Arkansas Hall of Honor.
