Featuring The Daily Mississippian sports editor Dylan Rubino (@drubino11) and football writer Cody Thomason (@therealcodythomason)
1. The Arkansas running game is the strong point of the offense. How do you think the Rebel defense will hold up against the Razorback run game?
Dylan- Arkansas running backs sophomore Alex Collins and junior Jonathan Williams have almost 1,000 yards each in rushing for the season. Not many teams have been able to stop them, despite the Razorbacks only having one SEC win to show for it. The big, physical offensive line Arkansas has sets up the running game for big gains up the middle. I don’t think the Rebels can necessarily stop the rushing attack for Arkansas, but they can slow it down. If the defense cannot give up many big runs to Arkansas and force quarterback junior Brandon Allen to beat them, then Ole Miss will be on the right track to a win on the road.
Cody- The Rebel defense will have to play their absolute best to try and stop the Razorback’s two-headed monster of Williams and Collins at running back. Both backs show tremendous power and are running behind one of the biggest offensive lines in the country, which should cause plenty of problems for an undersized Ole Miss defense. For Ole Miss to slow them down, they have to use their speed to close the gaps and play some larger players in hopes that it will partially negate the Razorback’s size advantage. Overall, I expect Arkansas to have a good game on the ground but not so good that it puts the game out of reach for the Rebels.
2. The forecast for the game Saturday says there is a 50 percent chance of rain. If it rains, how will that affect the game?
Dylan- If rain is in the forecast, I think that helps the style of play for Arkansas. In wet environments, the football gets slick, making the passing game less affective. If it does rain, Ole Miss senior quarterback Bo Wallace could struggle mightily in the passing game, and the offense will have to rely more on the running game, which has struggled throughout the season. The running game will be a big factor in the outcome of the game if it rains, especially for the Razorbacks. Tackling will be hard if it rains, and it will be hard to wrap up the opponent and get the tackle. We could see sloppy gameplay Saturday.
Cody- Rain always has an effect on the passing game and tends to steer both offenses towards running the ball. This is great for Arkansas, as they excel at running the football, but is problematic for the Rebels as they have struggled with the run game all season and relied on the pass for much of their offense. The Ole Miss offense has prepared for the weather, but rain certainly never helps a quarterback or his wide receivers.
3. This will be the first SEC game in which Wallace will be throwing to a new group of wide receivers. How do you think Wallace and the receivers will fare against the Arkansas defense?
Dylan- In Ole Miss’ last game against Presbyterian, Wallace found his second favorite target, senior Vince Sanders, for 110 yards and two scores. Wallace will look to find Sanders often against Arkansas in the absence of sophomore Laquon Treadwell. Sophomore tight end Evan Engram will be another usual suspect Wallace will look for. Against Arkansas, there will have to be more options for Wallace in order to get the win. Players like junior Cody Core and sophomore Quincy Adeboyejo will have to step up in order for the offense to flourish. There may be some rust from the passing game in the first SEC contest with a new group of wide receivers, but they will click eventually and make some plays.
Cody- Although Arkansas has a very good defense, especially on the line, I expect Wallace to be fine without Treadwell. Although Treadwell was possibly the Rebel’s best playmaker on offense, Sanders and Core have played very well all season, and Adeboyejo and freshman Markell Pack have both shown promise. I expect this group to step up for the loss of Treadwell, and it can’t be forgotten that tight end Engram basically adds another wide receiver to Wallace’s arsenal and can create a lot of mismatches. If the passing game suffers, I expect it to be because of the weather, not because of the wide receivers.
4. Will there be rust from the Rebels after a bye week?
Dylan- Whenever the bye week comes, there will always be some rust. Not playing in an actual game for a week slows the momentum of a winning football team. This bye week is different for Ole Miss. Getting players healthy was the main focus for the final two games of the season, which are both against SEC opponents. Sophomore offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil will return from a partially torn bicep, and senior safety Cody Prewitt comes back from a shoulder injury. Tunsil and Prewitt returning will help the team greatly. An extra week to prepare for Arkansas’s physical offense doesn’t hurt either.
Cody- I think there is always a little rust after a bye week. That being said, I think the bye week will overall be beneficial to the Rebels in their attempt to stop Arkansas from upsetting them. The Rebels needed extra time to game-plan and figure out ways to stop an Arkansas offense built on power running and deep play actions and to determine the best way to move the ball against a defense that held LSU to just 36 yards rushing. Bye weeks can always slow a team down, but I think, in this case, the extra time to study up for a touch opponent in an away stadium outweighs the bad.
