Arkansas football is 2-0 after running over No. 15 Texas with 333 yards

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.  — Arkansas piled up 333 rushing yards and got touchdowns from four different players on the ground while its defense stuffed No. 15 Texas in a dominating 40-21 win Saturday night.

Dominique Johnson scored from five yards in the second quarter, Trelon Smith from one and Raheim Sanders from 26 in the third and AJ Green from 30 in the fourth as the Razorbacks (2-0) racked up its most rushing yards since 2016, the last time the team had a winning season.

Texas (1-1) trailed 16-0 at the half, but a touchdown after an interception in Arkansas territory on the Razorbacks’ first drive of the third quarter provided a temporary burst.

The Longhorns’ death knell came on back-to-back drives after that.

An attempted fourth-down conversion from its own 43 failed and led to an Arkansas field goal. On the first play of Texas’ next drive, quarterback Hudson Card was sacked, fumbled and Arkansas recovered at the Longhorns’ 26. Sanders sprinted for a TD on the next play.

The Longhorns’ 256 yards of total offense are its lowest since 2015.

Card was replaced by Casey Thompson on the final drive of the third quarter. Thompson led the Longhorns on two touchdown drives, both on his own rushes. Arkansas followed with Green’s touchdown. Thompson finished 5-of-8 for 57 yards and added 44 on the ground on seven carries.

Arkansas freshman kicker Cam Little went 4 for 4 on field goals of 24, 24, 44 and 22 yards. The Razorbacks punted just twice, on the first two drives of the game.

THE TAKEAWAY

Arkansas could be nearing a Top 25 ranking after beating Rice and Texas to open the season. Beating a ranked team will likely build the team’s confidence when SEC play begins in two weeks.

Another early-season loss continues Texas’ trend in recent seasons. The Longhorns have lost at least one of their first three games every year since 2014.