While Ole Miss and Arkansas have had some wild meetings against each other over the last two decades, the Razorbacks have had Ole Miss’ number in Fayetteville for whatever reason during that time.
The last time Ole Miss won in Donald W. Reynolds Stadium was back in 2008, thanks to a late go-ahead field goal by former kicker Joshua Shene in Houston Nutt’s return to his old stomping grounds.
There’s more to this matchup than just snapping that losing streak this season. Ole Miss, while College Football Playoff hopes are razor thin, is still alive technically speaking, following a 26-14 win this past Saturday against Oklahoma.
So far in 2024, the Razorbacks have had their ups and downs with their 5-3 (3-2 SEC) record. However, their season is highlighted so far by a 19-14 home upset of then No. 4 ranked Tennessee at the beginning of the month.
Sam Pittman, alongside new offensive coordinator and familiar face Bobby Petrino at offensive coordinator, showed scored points early in outings against UAPB (70-0 W), Oklahoma State (39-31 L) and UAB (37-27 W), but has since looked mortal against Auburn (24-24 W), Texas A&M (21-17 L), Tennessee (19-14 W) and LSU (24-10 L), before scoring again against one of the SEC’s worst defenses at Mississippi State (58-25 W).
Despite some inconsistencies, the Razorbacks are still averaging 33 points and 482.5 yards per game, both top four in the SEC in those categories. They’re averaging right at 200 yards on the ground (third in SEC) and about 283 yards passing per game as well.
With KJ Jefferson come to UCF, former Boise State transfer Taylen Green has taken the reins behind center. So far, he’s completed 61 percent of his passes for just north of 2,000 yards and has thrown 11 touchdown passes to seven interceptions. He’s also a dual threat, like Jefferson previously was, carrying the football 95 times for 395 yards and five scores. He’s third in the league behind Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier in total offense accounted for.
As far as the offensive weapons around him, tailback Ja’Quinden Jackson is four in the league in rushing, with 104 carries for just shy of 600 yards and 10 touchdowns. At receiver, Andrew Armstrong trails only Ole Miss’ Tre Harris in the league in both receptions (49) and yards (772). However, the production underneath Armstrong takes a nose-dive on the stat sheet.
On the defensive side of the ball, that’s where Arkansas has seen most of its struggles to date. The Hogs have given up right at 350 total yards per game and right at 22 points on average, below-to-middle of the road in both defending the run and pass. Xavian Sorey leads the way with 60 tackles, but the heart and soul of that defense lies with preseason All-SEC defensive end Landon Jackson, who has 30 tackles and a team-leading 3.5 sacks. Corner TJ Metcalf has had himself a season too with 39 tackles and three interceptions.
Since Arkansas joined the SEC (along with South Carolina) in 1992, Ole Miss has only won in Fayetteville just twice ever, but at the same time, there have been 15 meetings there.
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and can be seen on ESPN or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
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