It has been 339 days since Ole Miss walked out of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on a cool and rainy afternoon, snake-bit and in a state of shock from a 53-52 loss in overtime to Arkansas, its second loss in as many years to the Razorbacks, who have proved to be a thorn in the side of the Rebels.
(The Ole Miss defense attempts to prevent Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen from scoring a touchdown in Saturday’s game, in which the Rebels lost 53-52 to the Razorbacks | Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
Ole Miss hasn’t forgotten former Razorback tight end Hunter Henry heaving the football behind his head after a catch well short of the first down marker on 4th and 25, having it bounce into the hands of tailback Alex Collins, who raced up the other sideline to get the first down and extend the game.
“It was bad. I jumped out on the field thinking we won. It was a bad moment,” tight end Evan Engram said. “I literally thought the game was over like three times.”
Ole Miss hasn’t forgotten Arkansas scoring a few plays later, and converting its second try on a two-point conversion that was gifted to the Razorbacks by way of a penalty, leaving Ole Miss with a stinging defeat.
“It was tough. I have never been a part of something like that. I have never witnessed anything like that,” Engram said.
Ole Miss also hasn’t forgotten the Razorbacks’ 30-0 win in the Rebels’ last trip to Fayetteville, another rainy setting that saw a team that was already in a fragile state after losing Laquon Treadwell a few weeks prior sputter on offense while losing Bo Wallace for part of the game with an ankle injury.
Laquon Treadwell runs the ball in the game against Arkansas this past season. Photo by: Cameron Brooks
“That was a tough day. I don’t like thinking about that game too much because of how bad it was, but I am definitely looking forward to getting back to Fayetteville and having a better result,” Engram said.
The two games differed in pace and style but produced the same result.
“(They were) two totally different games, really. The first one was in November in Fayetteville. The weather was awful and we were disappointed after a Laquon Treadwell injury that kind of knocked us out of things,” Hugh Freeze said. “I didn’t do a good job getting our team ready to play. Offensively, we were atrocious that night up there. Last year was a shootout; we couldn’t stop them and they couldn’t stop us.”
The Rebels remember all of that, but it’s in the back of their mind and the present moment is at the front of it.
“We have to focus on right now and this game. That’s the next game. If you want to still be in the playoff hunt and get to where we want to go, we have to focus on this game because it is the next one,” quarterback Chad Kelly said.
One thing that will remain constant is the attack the Rebels will be facing in Arkansas’ physical offensive attack. The Razorbacks threw for 442 yards with Brandon Allen at quarterback and ran for 163. Ole Miss will face younger brother Austin Allen this year, who is strikingly similar to his brother.
“I feel like I am watching the same guy. I think they are extremely accurate, extremely tough, have a great understanding of defenses. The ball goes to the right spot; it’s accurate. Just a really good player,” Freeze said.
It’s no secret that Arkansas hasn’t been a good match for Ole Miss recently. The pro-style offense that hinges itself on balance and utilization of its tight ends has given Ole Miss fits, and the team will need to solve that riddle if it wants to earn its second SEC win of the season.
(Jaylen Walton breaks free from the Arkansas Razorbacks defense to run the ball down the field in Saturday’s football game. | Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
“Like I said earlier in years past, the ability of their tight ends and quarterbacks to be really balanced and you commit people you felt like you had to commit to stop the run, then those guys winning in space on you and a lot of one-on-ones,” Freeze said. “Whether it be the receivers or their tight ends, they have done a really nice job staying balanced with that. It has given us a lot of problems.”
If Ole Miss hopes to reverse its fortunes this year, it will need to take advantage of a struggling Arkansas run defense that saw Alabama gash them for 264 yards on the ground last week. Running the football hasn’t been a strength for the Rebels this year, but Eugene Brazley emerged in their last game against Memphis in the absence of D’Vaughn Pennamon. Ole Miss will get Pennamon back this week, which can only help in that regard.
“I think they do what they do and they try to make you make mistakes; that is the way they have been. We had a lot of success last year against it. The year before, not so much,” Freeze said. “I know in his (Arkansas Head Coach Bret Bielema’s) press conference he talked about having to tweak and change some things possibly, so we have no idea what that will be, so we will have to be prepared for it.”
