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Rodney Hill breaks free for 70-yard run to set up first Arkansas TD in Liberty Bowl
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Rodney Hill ignited the fire in Arkansas’ offense in Friday night’s Liberty Bowl against Texas Tech, and the Razorbacks haven’t looked back so far.
After Arkansas’ defense got a stop on the game’s first possession, the Razorbacks took over at their own 16-yard line. After Hill, a sophomore running back, ran for an innocent 2 yards on the first play of the drive, he took the handoff on 2nd-and-8 and promptly ripped off a 70-yard burst up the middle to immediately put the Hogs in the red zone at the Red Raiders’ 12-yard line.
And on the very next play, quarterback Taylen Green ran a read option to perfection, going those last 12 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead just 3:32 into the bowl game in Memphis.
It turned out that Arkansas was just getting started.
After allowing a field goal, the Razorbacks offense went back to work, with Braylen Russell scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run to put Arkansas up 14-3 midway through the first quarter.
And after a goal-line stand, the Razorbacks took over at their own 4-yard line and only needed 3 plays to go 96 yards. This time, the fireworks were through the air, as Green hit freshman wideout Dazmin James on a 94-yard touchdown connection to put Arkansas up 21-3 with still 2:31 left in the eventful first quarter.
Of course, bowl games can get crazy, and by early in the second quarter the Red Raiders had cut the deficit to 21-12, setting it up for a wild Friday night in Memphis.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
