Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green accounted for six touchdowns, four in the first half, as the Razorbacks zipped past the Mississippi State Bulldogs 58-25 on Saturday afternoon in Starkville, Miss.
Green rushed for a score and connected on TD passes to Luke Hasz (twice), Jordan Anthony and Andreas Paaske (twice) as the Razorbacks (5-3, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) forged a commanding 31-10 halftime edge.
A Boise State transfer, Green finished 23 of 29 for 314 yards with five TDs and an interception. He rushed for 79 yards on eight carries with a score.
Braylen Russell ran for 175 yards on 16 rushes. Matthew Shipley kicked three field goals of 27, 32 and 29 yards.
True freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. was 22 of 31 for 309 yards, two TDs and two interceptions for Mississippi State (1-7, 0-5). Davon Booth rushed 93 yards on 17 carries and caught a TD pass.
The Bulldogs lost their seventh straight game, all yielding at least 30 points to the opposing offenses.
The Arkansas defense made the first significant play on the opening drive of a wild first quarter, forcing a Van Buren fumble that was recovered by the Razorbacks’ Landon Jackson at the Bulldogs 23.
Following a pair of Russell runs, Green scampered eight yards around the right side from eight yards at 13:06.
Van Buren rebounded on the next drive with a swing pass to Booth that went 54 yards to knot it 7-7 at 11:45.
Shipley’s 27-yard field goal made it 10-7. Arkansas later gambled on fourth-and-1 with Green lobbing a 14-yard play-action pass to a completely uncovered Hasz with 2:09 left in the first quarter as the Bulldogs defense sold out on a running play.
In the second quarter, Green tossed a perfect strike from 27 yards to Anthony for his first TD this season and a 24-7 advantage. The Razorbacks then made a goal-line stand on fourth down, stuffing backup quarterback Chris Parson for a 2-yard loss at 4:27.
Kyle Ferrie redeemed himself from an earlier miss by booting a 36-yard field goal, but Arkansas, which had 329 total yards in the first half, answered as Green found Paaske on a short throw.
Shipley’s 32-yard kick and Paaske’s second TD reception, a 7-yarder, made it a 31-point lead in the third.
Mississippi State’ s Kevin Coleman Jr. (eight receptions, 100 yards) snagged a 31-yard score to cut the deficit to 41-17. Van Buren’s short TD run and two-point pass made it a two-score game, 41-25.
In the fourth, Shipley’s third kick, Hasz’s 15-yard TD reception and Rashod Dubinion’s short run capped the scoring.
–Field Level Media
