FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas quarterback KJ Jackson threw three touchdown passes to lead the Razorbacks to a 31-14 win over North Alabama on Saturday.
Jackson, in his second career start, completed 24 of 35 passes for 267 yards and ran for 27 more. His three scores went to three different receivers, one in each of the first three quarters. Eleven different players caught passes for the Razorbacks (1-0), who returned just two of their top seven receivers from 2025.
First-year Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield wasn’t happy about his team’s performance despite the win. He thought they should have done more, especially offensively against a team that gave up more than 464 yards a game last year at the FCS level. Arkansas totaled 415 on Saturday.
“Today’s performance certainly wasn’t to the standard and expectations we want,” Silverfield said. “Probably one of the worst offensive performances I’ve been a part of.”
North Alabama (1-1) picked up its first touchdown late in the third quarter after a Sutton Smith fumble gave the Lions the ball in Razorbacks territory for the first time in the game. A personal foul penalty moved North Alabama into the red zone and quarterback Destin Wade ran it in from 6 yards out to make it 21-7 with 2:10 left in the quarter.
