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Strong Second Half Leads No. 14 Arkansas Over ULM in Season Opener

Strong Second Half Leads No. 14 Arkansas Over ULM in Season Opener

Football Sep 12
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett threw for 400 yards as the  No. 14 Razorbacks defeated ULM, 31-7, on Saturday night (September 11) in the season opener for the Warhawks. Arkansas led by just seven at the half before increasing its advantage after the break.

The Warhawks and Razorbacks traded possessions early in the contest, with ULM punting on a pair of occasions and an Arkansas drive stalling when ULM junior defensive end Ken Dorsey caused and recovered a fumble from Mallett.

Arkansas opened the scoring on its second possession as Mallett found Greg Childs in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 5:48 to play in the first quarter. The score capped a seven-play, 74-yard drive for the Razorbacks.

The ULM offense began moving the ball on its first possession of the second quarter, a five-yard run by senior Zach Rhodes on a fake punt helped to keep the drive alive. On the next play, redshirt freshman running back Jyruss Edwards gained 17 yards to get the Warhawks to the Arkansas 39-yard line, but the ULM drive stalled after a sack, forcing the Warhawks to punt.

On its final drive of the half, the Razorbacks moved into ULM territory before Mallett threw an interception to senior safety Alex Ibe at the 32-yard line. Ibe returned it 20 yards to the Arkansas 48, just 1:03 before the intermission.

At the break, Arkansas held a 217-58 advantage in total offense, but the Razorbacks also committed a pair of turnovers to none by ULM.

Arkansas and ULM traded punts on the first two possessions of the second half before the Razorbacks found the end zone on their second possession.

With a short field, Arkansas went 33 yards in seven plays, capped by a Mallett one-yard sneak across the goal line to increase the Razorbacks advantage to 14-0 with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter. Arkansas increased its advantage with a 26-yard field goal from Zach Hocker with 12:53 to play in the fourth quarter.

Mallett hooked-up with Childs for a second time from 18 yards out, giving the Razorbacks a 24-0 lead with 8:46 to play.

Following Mallett's second touchdown pass, ULM got on the board with a nine-play, 77-yard touchdown drive. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kolton Browning made runs of 13, 11 and nine yards on the drive to put the Warhawks in scoring position. Browning finished the drive off by finding junior wide receiver Luther Ambrose over the middle for 25 yards and a Warhawk touchdown.

Browning finished the night 7-of-17 through the air for 74 yards and a touchdown, while his counterpart Mallett went 28-of-43 for 400 yards and three touchdowns. Greg Childs caught 12 passes for the Razorbacks for 146 yards to lead all receivers.

Senior running back Frank Goodin led ULM on the ground with 44 yards on 12 carries. Broderick Green was Arkansas' leading rusher with 45 yards on 12 carries.

The Warhawks held Arkansas to 99 total rushing yards, ULM has held seven of its last 12 opponents to less than 100 yards on the ground.

Defensively, junior linebacker Jason Edwards had 11 total tackles, including nine solos, and sophomore safety Khairi Usher made 10 tackles.

ULM begins Sun Belt Conference play next Saturday (September 18) as it travels to Arkansas State. The contest with the Red Wolves is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and can be seen live on the Sun Belt Network.

Scoring Summary

ARK – Mallett 19-yard pass to Childs (Hocker kick), 5:48, 1st            7-0
ARK – Mallett 1-yard run (Hocker kick), 6:12, 2nd                             14-0
ARK – Hocker 26-yard field goal, 12:53, 3rd                                      17-0
ARK – Mallett 18-yard pass to Childs (Hocker kick), 8:46, 4th            24-0
ULM – Browning 25-yard pass to Ambrose (Jabour kick), 5:12, 4th     24-7
ARK – Mallett 35-yard pass to Wingo (Hocker kick), 3:23, 4th           31-7




ULM vs. Arkansas Game Notes

•    ULM captains -- LB Jyruss Edwards, LB Theo Smith, WR Anthony McCall
•    ULM won the opening toss and elected to receive the kickoff
•    Twelve Warhawks earned their first career start in the game – Kolton Browning (QB), Jyruss Edwards (RB), Tavarese Maye (WR), Patrick Dvoracek (OL), Ryan McCaul (OL), Anthony Montgomery (OL), Ken Dorsey (DE), Bryan Glenn (NT), Jason Edwards (LB), Cameron Blakes (LB), Robert Nelson (CB), Khairi Usher (S)
•    ULM had 17 players see their first-ever game action -- Kolton Browning (QB), Jyruss Edwards (RB), Tavarese Maye (WR), Patrick Dvoracek (OL), Ryan McCaul (OL), Zach Rhodes (QB), Otis Peterson (CB), Roland Veal (S), Zarrell Sanders (WR), Quantez Hunter (NT), Madison Tharp (DS), Aaron Munoz (P), Kentarius Caldwell (DE), Je'Ron Hamm (WR), Centarius Donald (RB), Vincent Eddie (CB), Ray Stovall (LB)
•    First career punt by Aaron Munoz went 60 yards – he finished the game with a 41.6 per punt average
•    Ken Dorsey picked up his first sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery on the same play in the first quarter
•    Robert Nelson picked up his first career sack in the first quarter – like Dorsey's it was on fourth down
•    Alex Ibe intercepted his second career pass in the second quarter – his first came in 2008 against Florida Atlantic
•    Luther Ambrose moved into third place on the ULM career kick return yard list with 1,467 yards total
•    Luther Ambrose caught his sixth career touchdown pass in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard pass from Kolton Browning
•    Kolton Browning threw his first career touchdown pass – a 25-yard strike to Luther Ambrose in the fourth quarter
•    Jason Edwards (11), Khairi Usher (9), Cameron Blakes (7) all had career highs in tackles
•    The Warhawks had five pass break ups for the game
•    ULM held Arkansas to under 100 yards rushing. The Warhawks have now held seven of their last 12 opponents under 100 yards rushing,
•    The Warhawks forced three turnovers and had two sacks – last season ULM averaged 1.9 turnovers and 2.3 sacks per game
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