FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – Arkansas had plenty of questions at quarterback through the first two games of the season and they certainly weren’t answered against North Texas on Saturday.
Cole Kelley threw four interceptions while Ty Storey was passed over for Connor Noland in the second half.
North Texas took advantage of easy scoring chances and routed Arkansas 44-17 in front of just more than 44,000 fans inside Razorback Stadium.
Arkansas threw six interceptions as a team, the most since 1972 against Texas A&M.
Kelley put Arkansas in a tough spot as he threw his first interception in the second drive of the game, giving North Texas a short field. The Mean Green scored 17 points off those four turnovers.
Kelley finished the game 16-of-35 for 185 yards and the four interceptions. He did add a rushing touchdown in the second quarter that cut the UNT lead to 17-10 and looked as Arkansas would get back into a game in which they trailed by three scores in the first ten minutes.
The Razorbacks defense did a decent job of slowing down the North Texas offense as they held Mason Fine and his attack to just 241 yards passing through the first three and a half quarters.
A week after rushing for 299 yards, Arkansas was shut down by a North Texas defense that stacked the box and dared the Razorbacks to throw. Arkansas was held to just 58 yards on the ground before Maleek Williams broke a 68 yard touchdown run in the final minute.
Noland looked to add a spark to a mostly empty Razorback Stadium but pass protection struggled as he was sacked four times in his first eight pass attempts. Three other drop backs resulted in Noland scrambling for positive yardage.
Quarterback Stats
Cole Kelley: 16-of-35 for 185 yards and four interceptions
Ty Storey: Did not play
Connor Noland: 4-of-7 for 25 yards and one interception
John Stephen Jones: 0-of-3 for 0 yards and one interception (returned for TD)
