NASHVILLE — Has Arkansas figured out all of its issues in the run game? Probably not.
But for the third straight week against an SEC defense, the Razorbacks ran the football well, doing so on Saturday against Vanderbilt to the tune of a season-high 187 yards on 41 carries (4.6 YPC) and three touchdowns in a 31-21 win.
In both run blocking and pass protection, Arkansas’ offensive line played its best game of the season. In the second half, running lanes consistently opened up, and QB KJ Jackson wasn’t sacked a single time.
Jackson (11 carries, 58 yards) was also Arkansas’ leading rusher, scoring to give Arkansas a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter. After discourse all week about his lack of carries against Tennessee, Braylen Russell got the rock 14 times on Saturday and ran for 51 yards, while Cam Settles (11 carries, 45 yards) scored twice, including the go-ahead touchdown that put Arkansas up 28-21 in the third quarter.
Even Sutton Smith, who has faced his fair share of criticism for his lack of production this season, had 7.3 yards a pop, carrying the football four times for 29 yards. Jasper Parker also saw the field, getting one carry for four yards.
While the run game was there for Arkansas nearly all night, it was on the final drive where its effectiveness was the most important. Facing a second-and-6 and the Vanderbilt 34 with less than two minutes to play, Braylen Russell ran for seven yards and a crucial first down that allowed Arkansas to run the clock down before kicking a game-sealing field goal.
“We were leaning on them,” Jackson said. “We were leaning on them up front. The backs, they were hitting the holes, and at a certain point in the game, the ends, they were crashing because we were running the ball so well. So I had the opportunity to pull it just because they were so focused on tackling Braylen, Cam, and Sutt, and just trying to move the ball forward. “
“I thought everybody did their part in the run game,” Silverfield said. “We’re going to go back and say, ‘Man, it was 187 yards and it probably could have been 250.’ And so we’re gonna continue to find ways to improve it, but it was nice to have that going. I think that allowed the offense to get it a little bit of rhythm as the game went on.”
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