Arkansas defense overshadows elite offensive performance in loss to Ole Miss
The Arkansas Razorbacks (2-1, 0-1 SEC) dropped a heartbreaker to the Ole Miss Rebels (3-0, 2-0 SEC) on Saturday, but the offense wasn’t the issue.
Redshirt senior Taylen Green put the team on his back for most of the game and showcased a nearly perfect performance to give his team a shot at a win in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Green finished the game with 416 total yards (305 passing, 111 rushing) and accounted for two touchdowns — one through the air and one on the ground — with no turnovers.
As a team, the Razorbacks racked up 522 yards of offense and rushed for 217 of those for an average of six yards per carry. They were a perfect 3-for-3 in the redzone, 8-of-11 on third down and controlled time of possession for 33:11 of game time.
“Just trusting the game plan, trusting Coach Petrino and that O-line doing a great job, a wonderful job of communicating on the road in a hostile environment and just giving me time in the pocket,” Green said. “And of course, you know, they’re run-blocking too, making holes. That’s where it all starts, really, in the trenches. And you know, receivers, running backs, tight ends, doing a great job with the ball in their hands.”
Arkansas offense continued to answer in first half
While the Arkansas defense was busy getting shredded by Ole Miss backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels offense, the Hogs’ offense went blow-for-blow and answered every touchdown with one of their own in the first half.
“I was really proud of our offense,” Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said. “They kept us in it, our defense couldn’t do anything in the first half, especially most of the game. And we got problems there. We’ve got to get them fixed, but the offense kept us in the game there, and then the defense got a three-and-out, and we had a chance to win at the end. But two good SEC football teams out there, unfortunately, we came up on the short end.”
The first score was a 30-yard touchdown pass from Green to O’Mega Blake, who finished with six receptions for 81 yards. Mike Washington Jr. followed it up with a 47-yard house call, Braylen Russell then scored from three yards out and Green finished the first-half scoring with a five-yard keeper.
Arkansas comes up just short in final minutes
Even when the offense sputtered a bit in the third quarter, it had the chance to win with less than two minutes left in the game. The Razorbacks had the ball in Ole Miss territory, but one play after the two-minute timeout, wide receiver Jalen Brown fumbled the ball on a bubble screen, and that was effectively all she wrote.
“That’s certainly not his fault that we lost the game,” Pittman said. “He certainly feels terrible about it, but I wanted to talk to him about it because he’s made a lot of good plays for us in our first three games and we’ve got to hold on to that ball.
“He understands that. But there’s a ton of stuff we could have done better that would have won the game. And I’m sure they feel the same way over there as well.”
Where do the Hogs go from here?
From here, the Hogs will head home to regroup and prepare for another tough road test at the Liberty Bowl, where they’ll face the Memphis Tigers next Saturday.
Arkansas linebacker Xavian Sorey Jr. said the season is still young, and there’s still a chance things turn around.
“It’s hard to win on the road at night,” Sorey said. “It’s versus a good team, too. We are early in the season, man. We real early in the season. We still got a long season ahead of us, and it’s not the end of the world. And as long as we get better, and keep getting better and better every day, I think it’ll be good. I think it’ll be good.”
The Razorbacks and Tigers will kick off from Memphis at 11 a.m. CT. The game will air on ABC.
