The Arkansas football team did something Thursday night no other Razorback team had done before.
In the first game of Bobby Petrino’s tenure as offensive coordinator, Arkansas scored on all 10 possessions and routed Arkansas-Pine Bluff 70-0 in a mismatched season opener in front of an announced 40,127 at War Memorial Stadium.
"The kids believe in him," Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said of Petrino, who was the Razorbacks' head coach from 2008-11. "I believe in him. The team believes in him."
According to ESPN, the Razorbacks are the only college football team in the past 20 years to score touchdowns on their first 10 possessions of the season.
It was the fifth-most lopsided victory ever by Arkansas and the most lopsided since the Razorbacks defeated Texas Southwestern 73-0 in 1928. They recorded their first shutout since 2018 against Tulsa.
It had not been so long since UAPB suffered such a defeat. The Golden Lions lost 90-6 to South Dakota State in 2018.
“I’m disappointed," UAPB coach Alonzo Hampton said, "but I’ll say this: they scored 70, but they [aren’t] going to be able to take any of those 70 into the SEC. We scored zero and we can’t take any of it into the SWAC.”
Arkansas led 49-0 at halftime and the teams agreed to play 10-minute quarters in the second half.
In the first meeting between the teams in 2021, the Razorbacks and the Golden Lions agreed to play 12-minute quarters after halftime. Arkansas won that game 45-3 in Little Rock after leading 45-0 at halftime.
At 50 minutes, Thursday’s game is believed to be the second-shortest official game time in Arkansas history behind a 39-minute, 52-second game against Kentucky in 2012 that was called off due to severe weather in the third quarter with the Razorbacks leading 49-7.
The Arkansas transfer backfield tandem of quarterback Taylen Green (Boise State) and running back Ja’Quinden Jackson (Utah) showed out Thursday in their first game as Razorbacks. Green accounted for 317 yards (229 passing and 88 rushing) and 4 touchdowns (2 passing, 2 rushing) and Jackson rushed 8 times for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Neither Green nor Jackson played after halftime.
Green’s 36-yard touchdown scamper with 9 seconds left in the second quarter capped the perfect first half for the Arkansas offense. He was flushed right, broke a tackle and ran all the way across the field before scoring just inside the front left pylon.
The Razorbacks had 444 yards in the first half while UAPB was held to 76.
Arkansas picked up where it left off in the second half with a 67-yard touchdown drive led by quarterback Malachi Singleton and capped by freshman Braylen Russell’s 9-yard touchdown run.
Singleton’s 4-yard touchdown run with 8:14 remaining in the fourth quarter gave Arkansas its ninth touchdown in nine drives.
A 4-yard touchdown run by Tyrell Reed capped the scoring 36 seconds to play. Freshman KJ Jackson quarterbacked the drive.
"I was pleased with all of our quarterbacks," Pittman said.
One year after struggling to run the ball in a season-opening victory over Western Carolina in Little Rock, the Razorbacks averaged 8.5 yards per carry against the Golden Lions. Arkansas ran 33 times for 279 yards and 8 touchdowns.
All four touchdowns in the first quarter were on the ground. Ja'Quinden Jackson had the season’s first score with an 8-yard touchdown and Green added a 4-yard quarterback keeper on the next drive.
Arkansas went ahead 21-0 when Jackson took a toss sweep for a 46-yard touchdown on the third possession and transfer Rodney Hill (Florida State) scored on a 5-yard toss to the right to cap the 28-point quarter.
Hill’s touchdown run followed a 63-yard punt return touchdown by Isaiah Sategna that was called back because of a block in the back by Jayden Johnson.
"It's a shame because we take a touchdown away from a kid," Pittman said.
Sategna also had a 42-yard reception overturned late in the first half because of a holding penalty by Keyshawn Blackstock. A 72-yard punt return by Bryce Stephens was called back in the third quarter due to a running into the kicker penalty by Charlie Collins.
Penalties (6 for 48 yards) were about the only negative for the Razorbacks, who out-gained the Golden Lions 687-130. The yards were the third-highest single-game total in program history and most since 2007.
Green had touchdown passes of 9 yards to Tyrone Broden and 23 yards to Ty Washington in the second quarter, both capping 3-for-3 passing drives. Green settled in after a shaky start and completed 16 of 23 passes.
"I thought Taylen played about like what we thought he would," Pittman said. "We think pretty highly of him."
The Razorbacks’ defense overwhelmed the overmatched foe from the lower Football Championship Subdivision. UAPB had 7 rushing yards on 23 attempts. Four Arkansas sacks accounted for 33 lost yards.
The Razorbacks have nine days to prepare for their next game at No. 17 Oklahoma State on Sept. 7. The Cowboys play South Dakota State, the two-time reigning FCS national champion, on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.
Gimme 5
Arkansas’ 70-0 victory over UAPB on Thursday was the fifth-largest margin of victory in program history. Here is a look at the Razorbacks’ most lopsided victories:
Opponent, Year: Score
1. Southwest Missouri State, 1911: 100-0
2. Oklahoma Mines, 1916: 82-0
T3. Texas Southwestern, 1928: 73-0
T3. Ouachita College, 1908: 73-0
5. UAPB, 2024: 70-0
