Tye Richardson- The Arkansas Traveler
Last season’s contest in Fayetteville is a memory Hugh Freeze wishes he could forget. Freeze took the 30-0 shutout personally; he prides himself as an offensive coach. His team will be extremely motivated to get the revenge win this Saturday.
While the Rebels have a similar team, the Razorbacks are a shell of the team Freeze coached against last season.
The Arkansas defense is nowhere near defensive coordinator Robb Smith wants it to be. Trey Flowers and Darius Philon are gone, and so their defensive pressure went with them. This season quarterbacks have all day to throw, so Chad Kelly will be able to get the ball to his talented teammates.
These Ole Miss wide receivers will be the best Arkansas have faced all season. Texas Tech, Toledo and Texas A&M carved up the secondary. At least no one from the Arkansas secondary said Treadwell was average.
Arkansas had been decimated by injuries, the biggest blow coming when preseason All-SEC running back Jonathan Williams broke his foot before the season began. Arkansas hasn’t had the one-two punch at running back like they would have with Williams.
Brandon Allen has looked great in quarters 1-3 this season, but has choked in the fourth quarters. That narrative changed against Auburn, when he led the Razorbacks to a season defining 4-overtime victory which many would label as clutch.
Before the season began, many circled this game as one of the highlights of the SEC season. While this game still has an impact, it is nowhere near the the caliber of game expected.
Ole Miss has been one of the most inconsistent teams in college football. A blowout loss to Florida, an upset loss to Memphis and a miracle win at Alabama are all games hard to figure out.
The Rebels will figure it out this week.
Prediction: Ole Miss 38, Arkansas 24
Dylan Rubino- The Daily Mississippian
Last season’s 30-0 loss to Arkansas in Fayetteville may have been the biggest head-scratcher of them all.
Coming off a 48-0 win over Presbyterian after two straight SEC losses against LSU and Auburn, the Rebels had an extra week to regroup themselves and take on an Arkansas team looking to become bowl eligible.
The rainy day in Fayetteville seemed to drain the Rebels as Arkansas pounded their way to a convincing 30-0 win. It was the second straight dominating performance for Arkansas with a win over LSU the week before.
The Rebels had their contests against LSU, Auburn and Arkansas marked on their calendars since the 2014 season ended.
It’s safe to say that Ole Miss will be looking for revenge for a second week in a row with Arkansas coming to Oxford tomorrow.
The Rebels have seemed to find new life after two straight SEC wins against Texas A&M and Auburn. The Rebels are running the ball more effectively with junior left tackle Laremy Tunsil back on the offensive line, and the defense has regained their “landshark” swagger back. It also helps that junior defensive back Tony Conner returns to action Saturday.
All of these signs should point to an Ole Miss victory, right? Not so fast.
While Arkansas comes into the matchup a disappointing 4-4 overall and 2-2 in SEC play, the weather shows rain during the game Saturday, which favors a run-heavy offense like the Razorbacks. Junior running back Alex Collins leads the way with 960 rushing yards on the season with 12 touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Brandon Allen has vastly improved his game from last season with over 2000 yards passing with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions so far this season.
I see this game being closer than the experts think because of the weather and the problems the Arkansas running game can cause Ole Miss. The Rebels are the more talented team and I think that wins out.
Prediction: Ole Miss 24, Arkansas 21
