FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. | The Alabama A&M University football team scored on its opening drive of the game, but could not get much going offensively afterwards as Arkansas pulled away over the final three quarters for a 52-7 victory on Saturday afternoon from Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Arkansas (1-0) took the opening kickoff and marched 73 yards in nine plays as Taylen Green connected with CJ Brown for a 16-yard touchdown, giving the Razorbacks a 7-0 lead with 10:03 remaining in the opening quarter.
Despite the opening score by the Hogs, Alabama A&M responded with a 7-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game at 7 with 6:28 left in the first.
AAMU quarterback
Cornelious Brown IV went 4-for-4 on the opening drive, including an 11-yard pass to
Franck Pierre, 26 yards to
Travaunta Abner and a 13-yard completion to
Jordan Chambers-Smith. The Bulldogs (0-1) capped the nearly four-minute drive when
Maurice Edwards IV scored on 4-yard touchdown run.
Arkansas answered on its next drive as the Hogs pushed the ball deep into AAMU territory before back-to-back sacks by
John Robinson and
Wyatt Wright forced the Razorbacks into a field goal attempt as Scott Starzyk's 53-yard kick was good, giving the Hogs a 10-7 advantage with 3:37 remaining.
After an Alabama A&M punt, the Razorbacks went back to work, converting a third-and-long right before the end of the first quarter and Green found a wide-open Raylen Sharpe for 35 yards, capping a 9-play, 75-yard drive as Arkansas stretched its lead to 17-7 with 13:41 left in the second.
The Razorbacks added to the lead late in the first half as Green found Jalen Brown for a 5-yard touchdown pass, capping a 6-play, 65-yard drive in pushing the advantage to 24-7 with 2:12 remaining.
Arkansas put the final touches on the first half by driving 59 yards in less than a minute as Green connected with O'Mega Blake for a 6-yard score, extending the lead to 31-6 with six seconds left.
The Razorbacks put the game out of reach early in the third quarter as Green found Brown for a 14-yard touchdown strike, pushing the Hogs lead to 38-7, with just over 11 minutes to play in the third.
Arkansas added another touchdown with just under three minutes left in the quarter as Green found Andreas Paaske for a 5-yard score, capping a 12-play, 65-yard drive in stretching the advantage to 45-7.
The Razorbacks found the endzone again, this time backup quarterback KJ Jackson found Mike Washington 27 yards for the score, pushing the lead to 52-7 with 13:51 remaining.
CHECKING THE BOX SCORE
- Alabama A&M finished with 235 total yards, with 166 coming through the air
- The Bulldogs racked up 13 first downs
- Cornelious Brown IV went 9-of-19 passing for 130 yards
- Eric Handley was 6-of-10 passing for 36 yards
- Kaden Dixon rushed five times for 37 yards
- Maurice Edwards IV had six carries for 30 yards and added one touchdown
- Travaunta Abner caught three passes for 49 yards
- Jalen Wright registered nine tackles, including four solo stops
- John Robinson tallied eight tackles, with three solo stops
- Wyatt Wright finished with seven tackles, including a pair of sacks
- Arkansas finished with 552 total yards of offense, including 358 through the air
- The Razorbacks recorded 29 first downs
- Taylen Green went 24-of-31 passing for 322 yards and six touchdowns
- KJ Jackson went 2-for-4, with 36 yards and one score
- Mike Washington rushed the ball nine times for 79 yards
- O'Mega Blake caught seven passes for 121 yards and one score
- CJ Brown recorded 49 yards on four catches and a pair of touchdowns
- Stephen Dix Jr., Shakur Smalls and Julian Neal each had four total tackles
NEWS & NOTES
- Alabama A&M and Arkansas met for the first time
- The Bulldogs fell to 0-1 all-time against the Razorbacks
- Saturday's game mark the debut of AAMU head coach Sam Shade
- Arkansas improved to 107-21-4 all-time in home openers
- The Bulldogs fell to 0-6 all-time against SEC opponents
- Saturday's game mark the third consecutive season Alabama A&M faced an SEC opponent to open the season (Vanderbilt – 2023; Auburn – 2024; Arkansas – 2025)
- AAMU scored on a touchdown on its opening drive, the first over an SEC opponent on the first series
- Alabama A&M played two quarterbacks – Cornelious Brown IV (started) and Eric Handley
- Arkansas played three quarterbacks – Taylen Green (started), KJ Jackson and Trevor Jackson
- Taylen Green had six touchdown passes, just one shy of the Razorbacks school record
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M will have its 2025 home opener next Saturday (Sept. 6) as the Bulldogs welcome Alcorn State for the 15
th Annual Louis Crews Classic. Kickoff against the Braves is set for 6 p.m. from Louis Crews Stadium and televised on HBCU GO.
For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics – Huntsville's only Division I program - check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics), Facebook (aamubulldogathletics), Twitter (@_aamuathletics) and TikTok (aamuathletics).
