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 show I didn’t do it alone,” 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 made a play before the game began when leading running back Tahj Brooks, who rushed for 1,505 yards, decided 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 what matters is that they outscore (us).”

The first half was marked by great plays, including a 54-yard run by Williams and a 94-yard pass from Green to receiver Dazmin James, the longest passing play in Liberty Bowl history.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said it was an all-around good performance from his team that might get them some attention.

“We have good players,” Pittman said. “Just because you don’t know them doesn’t mean they aren’t good players.”

Those long plays in the first half gave Arkansas an early 21-3 lead. Although the Red Raiders were able to pull themselves back into the game before halftime, the Razorbacks controlled the second half by stepping up their offense. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks held Texas Tech scoreless in the final two quarters until the final minute.

Arkansas made some defensive adjustments at halftime. They worried about Hammond running the football and changed their defense to force Texas Tech to throw more shots.

But one of the things the Razorbacks wanted to do was make Green more two-dimensional to loosen up Texas Tech’s offense.

“We planned in the game to let him run a little bit more and add some new plays for him,” Pittman said.

For Texas Tech, the inexperience of a new quarterback and too many mistakes led them to exit 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 had been popping up all year started popping up again. We gave up too many big plays.”

Takeaways

Texas Tech: Hammond, a true freshman, didn’t make the starting lineup after starting 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 Texas Tech’s weak secondary, which ranked last in the Big 12 and allowed 305 passing yards per game. Green’s 341 yards were more than the Red Raiders allowed on average.

Next

Texas Tech: Coach Joey McGuire has taken steps to improve his pass defense, parting ways with his defensive coordinator and secondary coach.

Arkansas: Coach Sam Pittman is already bolstering his troops and signing players through the transfer portal to fill vacancies on offense.

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