UTEP Miners vs Arkansas Razorbacks Match Player Stats On Sep 05, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 5, 2015

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Arkansas can pass, too.

Senior quarterback Brandon Allen completed 14 of 18 passes for career-high 308 yards and four touchdowns and the No. 18 Razorbacks, known for their prolific running game under coach Bret Bielema, eased past Texas-El Paso 48-13 on Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Arkansas (1-0), which ranked 99th nationally after averaging 188 yards per game passing last season, scored its first four touchdowns through the air and led 28-10 at the half. The Razorbacks put the game out of reach with 14 points in the opening 2:03 of the second half.

Six receivers caught passes for the Razorbacks in the first game under new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, taking advantage of an inexperienced UTEP defensive backfield.

The Razorbacks outgained the Miners 490-204 in total yards, including 308-146 through the air.

"Offensively, we came out humming and (Allen) had a command and a presence out there today," Bielema said. "I thought he was in control the entire time. He has a lot of good weapons around him and that makes him a better quarterback."

One of those weapons is junior running back Alex Collins, who is expected to shoulder most of the rushing load for the Razorbacks after senior Jonathan Williams broke a foot in the preseason. Collins rushed 12 times for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Senior receiver Keon Hatcher, another weapon, caught six passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

The bright spot for UTEP was junior running back Aaron Jones, who rushed 15 times for 70 yards and caught six passes for 83 yards. The Miners struggled to get any offensive consistency and in special teams, muffing two punts that gave the Razorbacks short field position early in the second half.

"We had some young guys; they got us on some plays early," UTEP coach Sean Kugler said. "We fought the entire game until the end and the defense battled hard the second half.

"On offense, I felt going in (Arkansas) had one of the best defenses in the country and we moved the ball effectively."

After Arkansas' Henre' Toliver intercepted a Mack Leftwich pass on the first play of the second half, Arkansas pushed its lead to 35-10 on a 7-yard run from Collins.

The Miners fumbled the snap on their ensuing drive and the Razorbacks scored in one play to make it 42-10 with 12:57 left in the third quarter.

"We wanted to take control defensively in the third quarter," Bielema said. "Our defense responded very favorably."

Jay Mattox had field goals of 44 and 38 yards for UTEP.

Allen connected on 10 of his first 13 passes and the Razorbacks jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

"They were going to make us throw the football today," Bielema said. "It didn't take us long to figure that out."

Arkansas' offense drove 75 yards in seven plays and took a 7-0 lead just 3:25 into the game when Allen connected on a swing pass with Drew Morgan, who broke two tackles and dodged another defender for his first career score. Allen was 4-for-4 passing on the drive.

On its ensuing possession, Arkansas went 79 yards in eight plays in 3:47 and scored on an Allen completion to Keon Hatcher with 4:11 left in the first quarter.

The Miners got within 14-3 on a 38-yard field goal from Mattox with 12:51 left in the first half to end an 11-play, 45-yard drive.

Arkansas, however, responded and needed just three plays to push the lead to 21-3 when Allen connected with Jared Cornelius, who broke a tackle and raced 58 yards for a score with 11:17 left in the half.

UTEP's lone touchdown of the first half came with 8:56 left on a double-reverse, 10-yard scoring run by Kelvin Fisher, but once again the Razorbacks quickly answered.

This time, it was a six-play, 75-yard drive highlighted by a 26-yard first-down run from Collins and completed when Allen found Hatcher for a 38-yard scoring pass with 5:17 left in the half.

Arkansas outgained UTEP 384-140 in the first half, including 256-87 through the air.

NOTES: Arkansas redshirt freshman WR JoJo Robinson was suspended for Saturday's game for undisclosed reasons. ... Arkansas senior backup TE Alex Voelzke and sophomore backup CB Cornelius Floyd also didn't play against the Miners for what the team called "soft tissue injuries." ... Arkansas held UTEP scoreless in the first quarter, the seventh consecutive game dating to last season that Arkansas has held an opponent scoreless in the opening 15 minutes. ... UTEP's second-quarter field goal was the first time an opponent has scored in Fayetteville in nine quarters, dating to Oct. 25, 2014. ... Saturday's game was the first of 10 for Arkansas against teams that played in a bowl game last season. ... Saturday's game was the first of three consecutive road games to open the season for UTEP. The Miners travel to Texas Tech next week before visiting New Mexico State on Sept. 19. UTEP's first home game is Sept. 26 against Incarnate Word. ... The Miners are looking for back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2004-2005.