The No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels return to the gridiron Saturday afternoon in a SEC West division showdown against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville with a 2:30 slated kick on CBS.
Ole Miss heads into the game 8-2, which is their best start through 10 games since 2003. Coach Hugh Freeze and his squad are coming into this matchup after a bye week, defeating the Presbyterian Blue Hose 48-0 the week before.
This season, Ole Miss is led by a defense that leads the nation in scoring with 11.9 points per game and only allowing 13 touchdowns — the fewest in the nation. Senior Senquez Golson leads the Landshark defense with nine interceptions on the season, while the whole team has pulled in 19, ranking them second in the nation.
The offense also has a lot of weapons at the disposal of veteran quarterback Bo Wallace, who is only a 113 yards shy of Ole Miss great Eli Manning’s school record for total offense. Wallace has orchestrated a great come-from-behind win against then No. 1 Alabama by throwing three second-half touchdowns and a big win over Texas A&M on the road.
Arkansas (5-5, 1-5 SEC) picked up their first conference win since 2012 last Saturday night against LSU 17-0. The Razorbacks have been in several situations to defeat a conference opponent — with a play here or a play there, they could have beaten Texas A&M, Alabama and Mississippi State.
Coach Bret Bielema’s team is one of the nation’s top rushing attacks, averaging 232.9 rushing yards per game, which is fourth in the SEC and 20th in the nation and a stellar defense that allows just 22.2 ppg.
Arkansas’ defense has been a challenge for teams this season and Freeze talked earlier in the week about what to expect from that front seven.
“They have two of the better in the conference in 86 and 91, in Trey Flowers and Darius Philon,” Freeze said. “Those guys are really special. Like I said, you look at their stats and they just held LSU, one of the best rushing teams in the conference, to 36 yards. That’s impressive. It starts up front with them for sure. ”
The Hogs are led by junior running back Jonathan Williams’ 93.2 rushing ypg and sophomore RB Alex Collins’ 88.6 rushing ypg. The pair combined for 22 rushing touchdowns on the season.
The Rebels will more than likely take on the Razorbacks in rainy conditions as the national weather services forecast a 90 precent chance of rain in Fayetteville. Because of that, fans might see a heavier dose of each team’s running game with quick little play action passing.
The SEC Game of the Week can be heard on the Ole Miss Radio Network or SiriusXM 91, and the Rebels can be seen on CBS at 2:30 p.m..
Adam Brown is HottyToddy.com sports editor and can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.
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