Arkansas Checks Key Boxes In Road Win At Mississippi State

Inside Arkansas lists 3 ‘Musts’ before every football game, and the Razorbacks checked all the key boxes in Saturday’s 58-25 beatdown of Mississippi State in Starkville.

Here’s a look at how the Hogs fared in all three areas during their impressive performance to improve to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play.

Arkansas MUST Win the Turnover Battle

The Arkansas Razorbacks are now 5-0 in games where they have won the turnover battle, and it is probably fair to assume they are the only team in the SEC 2-0 in road games where they force five turnovers.

Travis Williams will probably have mixed feelings entering the film review as the Hogs came up with key stops and turnovers but also allowed a season-high 471 total yards with some things to tighten up moving forward in the secondary and the tackling department.

When it mattered most, the Hogs made plays with a pair of strip sacks, a massive fumble recovery on the goal line and a pair of interceptions. Arkansas turned its takeaways into 21 points.

On the flip side, Arkansas limited the self-inflicted wounds to a single Taylen Green interception on a play where Andrew Armstrong tripped coming out of his route.

[You might also be interested in 3 ‘Musts’ for Arkansas in Crucial Road Game at Mississippi State]

Arkansas MUST Establish the Rushing Attack

The Razorbacks did just that against the Bulldogs, rushing for an absurd 359 yards in this game. The leading rusher for the Hogs was true freshman Braylen Russell, who ran for a career-high 175 yards on 16 carries, including a 75-yard fourth-quarter scamper.

Taylen Green, who finished the game with 79 yards on the ground, and Rashod Dubinion, who pitched in 98 yards on 11 carries, made up the rest of a three-headed monster that Mississippi State had no answer for.

Arkansas averaged 9.7 yards per carry with Green and Dubinion accounting for a touchdown each on the ground.

Arkansas MUST Control the Crowd

There is no better way to quiet a crowd than coming up with a strip sack two plays into the game and going up 7-0 less than two minutes into play.

The cowbells were blaring on a couple occasions when Mississippi State briefly tied the game early in the first quarter and when it cut the deficit to two-possessions late in the third, but it was never enough to rattle the Razorbacks who had an answer every time in keeping the Bulldogs at arm’s length throughout.