Green Receives High Marks Against UAPB; Real Test Coming

With huge opening game, Razorbacks' quarterback will get bigger test against Oklahoma State

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green runs against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. / Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

FATETTEVILLE, Ark. — Quarterback Taylen Green earned high marks during his first start with the Razorbacks Thursday night. 

The Boise State transfer started off slow with a few wild incompletions. Once he began to settle in with quite a few easy throws, Green began connecting on his deep ball on crossing patterns. 

For the night, Green finished 16-of-23 for 229 yards and two touchdowns. He also tacked on another six carries for 88 yards on the ground and a pair of scores. That was good enough to reward him with a 92.4 score which ranked No. 7 among FBS quarterbacks.

Several passers across the country included in the list played overwhelmed FCS competition which inflated numbers greatly. Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart was an electric 22-of-27 passing for 418 yards and five scores ranking him at No. 1 with a 95.7 score.

Other notable SEC quarterbacks in the Top 10 are Mississippi State’s Blake Shapen (93.0) at No. 3 and Auburn’s Payton Thorne (92.9) at No. 6.

Arkansas will take a step up in competition this week against an Oklahoma State defense which was gashed for six plays of more than 20 yards. The Cowboys allowed South Dakota State to rack up 388 yards of total offense, but only 20 points after its its defense buckled down during critical possessions. 

The defending FCS national champion Jackrabbits competed fiercely through the air with quarterback Mark Gronowski completing 20-of-37 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns.

South Dakota State had two successful drives fail to come up with points. That helped the Cowboys preserve a double-digit lead in the second half on the way to a 44-20 victory at home.

Green will need to be more accurate throughout the early stages against Oklahoma State compared to Week 1 against UAPB. The Cowboys are multidimensional in scoring, so Arkansas’ defense will need to step up in case of a spotty start offensively.

One nugget worth mentioning is the Cowboys' 264 passing yards given up ranks No. 109 nationally. That’s the third-worst mark for a Power Four program in Week 1 — only Colorado State and Texas Tech were worse.

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