Arkansas Cruises by UAPB in Season Opener

The Arkansas Razorbacks opened the 2024 season with a 70-0 win over the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions inside War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

[RELATED: Instant Takeaways – Arkansas 70, UAPB 0]

The game was never in doubt, with the Hogs holding a 28-0 lead after the first quarter and quickly adding to it in the second before taking a 49-0 lead into the halftime break. The teams agreed to 10-minute quarters in the second half to mitigate the damage.

Boise State transfer quarterback Taylen Green threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns in his first start as a Hog while adding 88 yards on the ground with a rushing touchdown. The Razorback defense held UAPB to just 130 yards of offense while the Arkansas offense generated 687 total yards.

Here’s a closer look at the action and what stood out from Arkansas’ season-opening win in the state capital.

Scoring Recap

Arkansas 7, UAPB 0: After a 32-yard run by Taylen Green got the Hogs inside the 10, Ja’Quinden Jackson powered his way through the right side for an eight-yard touchdown to cap an 8-play, 66-yard drive.

Arkansas 14, UAPB 0: A short punt from the Golden Lions set up a 40-yard touchdown drive that lasted five plays and was finished off with Green keeping it on an option play and running it in from four yards out for his first rushing touchdown as a Razorback.

Arkansas 21, UAPB 0: After Arkansas took over at its own 40 and quickly got across midfield with a first down, Jackson ripped off a 46-yard rushing touchdown for his second score of the night.

Arkansas 28, UAPB 0: The Hogs were in danger of being stopped for the first time, but a 24-yard completion to Jordan Anthony moved the chains on 3rd & 15, and Rodney Hill took a pitch into the end zone from four yards out for his first touchdown as a Hog four plays later.

Arkansas 35, UAPB 0: Green’s first passing touchdown of the season came at the 12:06 mark in the second quarter as he found Tyrone Broden in the right side of the endzone for a nine-yard score.

Arkansas 42, UAPB 0: Green put together his best drive of the day on Arkansas’ sixth possession, going 3-of-3 for 54 yards, including a 23-yard dime to Ty Washington in the end zone for his second touchdown pass of the night.

Arkansas 49, UAPB 0: The Hogs got the ball at their own 23 with 1:42 left in the first half, which turned out to be just enough time to execute a nice two-minute drill. With nine seconds on the clock, Green waltzed into the end zone after a scramble that saw him drift 10+ yards behind the line of scrimmage before maneuvering his way down the sideline and all the way across the field for a highlight-reel touchdown run from 36 yards out.

Arkansas 56, UAPB 0: Malachi Singleton enters the game at quarterback and quickly engineered a 6-play, 67-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a 9-yard run by Braylen Russell, which marked the freshman’s first career touchdown.

Arkansas 63, UAPB 0: After a spectacular one-handed catch from Isaac TeSlaa set the Hogs up with a first down in the red zone, Singleton finished Arkansas’ ninth consecutive touchdown drive with a 4-yard score, which marked his first career trip to the end zone as a Razorback.

Arkansas 70, UAPB 0: Freshman quarterback KJ Jackson checks in at quarterback and leads a 10-play, 90-yard touchdown drive that finished with Hutchinson CC transfer Tyrell Reed taking in a touchdown run from four yards out.

Offensive Player of the Game

Utah transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson looked the part of a legitimate feature back in his Razorback debut. The senior from Dallas (Texas) finished with 101 yards on eight carries with a pair of touchdowns, with all of his work coming in the first half.

At 6-2, 234 pounds, Jackson is known as more of a power back, but he showed off plenty of burst against the Golden Lions, breaking off a long touchdown run and regularly making defenders miss in tight areas. It’s no surprise the Hogs managed his workload in a blowout, but it felt like he could have racked up as many rushing yards as he wanted in this one.

It’s also worth noting that he caught a pair of passes in the first quarter for a total of 20 yards. Jackson only had 10 total receptions in his career to this point, but the former quarterback appears to be more than adequate as an option in the passing game.

Defensive Player of the Game

Though Nico Davillier didn’t record one of Arkansas’ four sacks, the Maumelle (Ark.) native was all over the field in the first game of his junior season. Davillier, who served as one of the Razorback’s captains for the game just minutes away from his hometown, finished with five tackles (1 TFL) in the first half.

Davillier, who recorded 3.5 TFLs and a sack last season as a sophomore, is currently listed next to Albany transfer Anton Juncaj with an ‘OR’ between their names, but the in-state product made quite the statement tonight in hopes of securing the first-team spot at defensive end.

Stat of the Game

In last year’s season opener against Western Carolina, Arkansas finished with 105 rushing yards on 36 carries (2.9 average) despite winning 56-13. While UAPB is a solid step below the Catamounts as an FCS foe, Hog fans should sleep a little bit easier after seeing Arkansas string together 279 rushing yards on 33 attempts (8.5 average).

The Razorbacks will not have a test this easy the rest of the year, but the new-look offensive line had no problem providing open room for the rushing attack. That should always be the case in this kind of matchup, but it was a welcome sight to see after the struggles up front in Fayetteville a year ago.

Don’t Overlook

• Arkansas turned to backup quarterback Malachi Singleton to start the second half, but the redshirt freshman got to operate with the first-team offense for the first _ drives of his collegiate debut. The Kennesaw (Ga.) native looked extremely sharp, finishing 8-of-10 through the air for 120 yards and a rushing touchdown.

• The Razorbacks got a strong effort from their linebacker room, which replaced its top four tacklers from last season. Sophomore Brad Spence led the way with four tackles while Georgia transfer Xavian Sorey, Marshall transfer Stephen Dix and true freshman Bradley Shaw each recorded a sack. The Arkansas front seven held up well all night, holding UAPB to just seven (7!!!!) rushing yards.

• Sophomore Jaylon Braxton is a surefire starter for the Razorback defense, but the other cornerback spot appears to still be up for grabs with South Alabama transfer Marquise Robinson battling it out with Jaheim Singletary. Both Robinson and Singletary saw action with the first-team defense and recorded a pass breakup, though Singletary was called for a pass interference in the first quarter.

Other Notes & Observations

• It was a slow start in the passing game for Taylen Green, who began 6-of-11 before finishing _-of-_ through the air. At one point, the Razorback QB1 completed seven consecutive passes, which should ease the concern that his handful of misses in the first quarter may have caused.

• Arkansas set a school record for most consecutive touchdown drives, finding the end zone on each of its first eight possessions to start the game.

• Nine different receivers caught a pass for the Razorbacks in the first half. Jordan Anthony and Tyrone Broden led the way with three grabs apiece, while Luke Hasz, Ja’Quinden Jackson and Rodney Hill logged two each.

• Arkansas went a perfect 9-for-9 on third-down conversion attempts while holding UAPB to 1-of-11.

• True freshman quarterback KJ Jackson made his collegiate debut on Arkansas’ final drive. After starting on his own 10-yard line, Jackson led the Hogs right down the field for another scoring drive, completing all four of his pass attempts for 59 yards. Two of his completions went to freshman Krosse Johnson for a combined 25 yards.

• Former MLB outfielder Monte Harrison, who drew quite a bit of attention during fall camp, caught two passes for 29 yards in his college football debut. The 29-year-old saw some limited snaps with the first-team offense in the first half and got a good bit of work in the second half.