“5 at 5” Football Edition Installment #12, Original Analysis: Arkansas Preview

Picture by Joshua McCoy (@OleMissPix)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Counting down to the first week of Ole Miss football practice the week of August 15, HottyToddy.com’s own Collin Brister, former sports editor of the Daily Mississippian, will bring you exclusive “5 at 5” analyses of either A) the opponents Ole Miss will be facing this season or B) some background on Ole Miss’ players at each position. It’s being called “5 at 5” because each original piece will give you 5 key things to know, and we will post these stories at 5 p.m. every Monday-Friday.

NUMBER 1:

Recent History

Ole Miss’ contests with Arkansas the previous two seasons could not have been any more on opposite ends of the spectrum. Unfortunately for Rebel fans, they were both losses.

In 2014, the Rebels were without star receiver Laquon Treadwell as the heralded sophomore at the time had broken his leg three weeks prior and quarterback Bo Wallace was hampered early in the contest forcing the Rebels to turn to backups Ryan Buchanan and Devante Kincade. The Rebels never got it together and lost 30-0.

In 2015, Ole Miss scored the most points against an SEC opponent when the Razorbacks came to Oxford, and lost. Ole Miss and the Hawgs found themselves in overtime, and after Ole Miss took a 52-45 lead the Hawgs converted a 4th-and-25 and a two point conversion to end Ole Miss’ national title hopes and essentially end the Rebels’ SEC West Championship hopes.

NUMBER 2:

Austin Allen

The Rebels, again in this contest, will be facing a new quarterback at the helm. The Rebels will be familiar with the name however as Austin Allen will be the quarterback for the Razorbacks. Allen actually played in the contest in 2014, replacing his older brother Brandon who was dealing with severe back pain at the time. The younger Allen has a better arm than his brother, but the elder Allen was extremely good at making decisions on time and became one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC by the time he graduated.

NUMBER 3:

Style of Play

Arkansas has one of the more unique styles of play in the entire country. The Razorbacks are built like a Big 10 Team, where Bret Bielema came from. Arkansas runs the ball consistently, and then they run it again. The Razorbacks are built with big offensive lineman and solid tight end play.

NUMBER 4:

Wackiness Against Arkansas

The Rebels have played some, for lack of a better word, weird games against the Razorbacks. Outside of the previous two seasons, Ole Miss had to kick a field goal to win at the end of regulation in 2012. The last team under Houston Nutt had a shot to beat top-10 ranked Arkansas in 2011. The 2011 team finished 2-10. Arkansas finished in the Cotton Bowl. In 2010 Jeremiah Masoli almost led a ferocious comeback. Ole Miss held off an insane comeback from Arkansas in 2008, and who can forget the seven overtimes the teams played in 2001.

NUMBER 5:

Analysis and Pick

Arkansas lost a lot. They were extremely underrated last year and got hot towards the end of the season. The Razorbacks lost Alex Collins to the NFL draft, and like most teams, Ole Miss will face up until this point will be replacing a quarterback in the season. The Rebels get the Razorbacks off of a bye week, while Arkansas will host Ole Miss after playing Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Ole Miss-38
Arkansas 20

Collin Brister is a staff writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at collin.brister@hottytoddy.com.

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