Sam Pittman praises rushing attack, offensive line during first half vs Mississippi State

Arkansas controlled the first half against Mississippi State on Saturday.

Taking a 31-10 lead into the locker room, head coach Sam Pittman was pleased with his team’s offensive performance.

“First of all, we’ve ran the ball well. Our whole offensive line has played extremely well,” Pittman said. “So has Taylen [Green] and we’ve caught the ball well. We’re giving up way too many yards on defense. We’re wining situational.”

The Razorbacks averaged 9.6 yards per carry during the first two quarters. Quarterback Taylen Green has done a bit of everything totaling 261 offensive yards and is the team’s leading rusher with four total touchdowns to his credit.

Green connected with Andreas Paaske for a one-yard touchdown strike with 16 seconds left in the half to extend the lead. He finished the first half 14 of 17 passing with 195 passing and three touchdowns. He also totaled five carries for 66 yards and another score.

“We had a good goal-line stand, good fourth down stand. But they’ve got about 300 yards of offense on on us,” Pittman continued. “We’ve gotta sew that part up and get our tackling better, but that was a great drive to finish out the half we get the ball back.”

Mississippi State finsihed the first half with 244 yards of total offense, 160 of which came through the air. Arkansas outgained them by nearly 100 yards, totaling 329.

Bulldogs quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. is 11 of 16 passing for 160 yards and one touchdown, while the rushing attack wasn’t able to find much of a rhythm. Davon Booth is the team’s leading rushed with 11 touches for 40 yards. The team is averaging three yards per carry through two quarters.

Arkansas did not trail during the first half, but Mississippi State did tie the game at 7 a piece after the Hogs scored on their first possssion of the game. Since then, the Razorbacks have outscored the Bulldogs 24-3.

Fans can watch the remainder of the game live on the SEC Network.