Taylen Green leads Arkansas to 39-26 victory over Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl
Arkansas players raise the trophy as they celebrate after winning the Liberty Bowl NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. Credit: AP/George Walker IV
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Taylen Green threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 81 yards in Arkansas' 39-26 victory over Texas Tech on Friday night in the Liberty Bowl.
Green completed 11 of 21 passes and Arkansas (7-6) had 573 yards of total offense.
“All the stats you see, I didn't do it by myself,” Green said.
J'Koby Williams rushed for 123 yards and a TD for Texas Tech (8-5). Will Hammond threw for 280 yards and a touchdown.
The Red Raiders took a shot before game time when leading running back Tahj Brooks, who rushed for 1,505 yards, opted not to play for “personal reasons.”
“We didn't do a good job of executing,” Texas Tech Joey McGuire said. “I thought Arkansas, at the end of the day, it comes down to, they out-executed (us).”
The first half was highlighted by big scoring plays, including a 54-yard run by Williams and a 94-yard pass from Green to receiver Dazmin James, the longest pass play in Liberty Bowl history.
Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green (10) looks to throw a pass during the first half of the Liberty Bowl NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. Credit: AP/George Walker IV
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said all around it was a good performance by his team and may get them some attention.
“We've got good players,” Pittman said. “Just because you guys don't know about ‘em, doesn’t mean they're not good players.”
Those long first-half plays gave Arkansas an early 21-3 lead. Despite letting the Red Raiders pull back into the game before halftime, the Razorbacks controlled the second half, by upping its offense. Meanwhile the Razorbacks held Texas Tech scoreless over the final two quarters until the closing minutes.
Arkansas made some defensive adjustments at halftime. They worried about Hammond running the football, and changed their defense to force the Texas Tech to throw more.
Arkansas running back Braylen Russell runs into the end zone for a touchdown during the first half of the Liberty Bowl NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. Credit: AP/George Walker IV
But one of the things the Razorbacks wanted to do was make Green more two-dimensional to loosen up the Texas Tech offense.
“We went in the game planning on running him a little bit more and put in some new plays for him to run,” Pittman said.
For Texas Tech, the inexperience of a new quarterback and too many mistakes took them out of the game in the second half.
“I thought at times, we did some really good things,” McGuire said. “And then some of the things that showed up all year long showed up again. We gave up too many big plays.”
Takeaways
Texas Tech: Hammond, a true freshman, drew the start after regular quarterback Behren Morton opted for shoulder surgery after the regular season. Morton threw for 3,335 yards and 27 touchdowns this season.
Arkansas: The Hogs took advantage of the weak Texas Tech secondary that was last in the Big 12 allowing 305 passing yards a game. Green's 341 yards was more than the Red Raiders allowed on average.
Up next
Texas Tech: Coach Joey McGuire has taken steps to address his passing defense, parting ways with his defensive coordinator and secondary coach.
Arkansas: Coach Sam Pittman already is restocking his troops, signing players through the transfer portal to fill vacancies on the offensive line.
