Ole Miss Welcomes Arkansas for Homecoming

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

The No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels welcome the No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for homecoming. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.

Ole Miss (3-1, 0-1 SEC) is coming off of their first loss of the season falling 42-21 to the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide last Saturday.

Junior quarterback Matt Corral has thrown a touchdown pass in 16 straight games, tied for second-longest streak in school history. Corral ranks in the top 10 nationally in total offense (342.8 ypg), passing efficiency (177.3), points responsible for (96) and yards per pass attempt (9.68).

This season, the Rebels are third in the FBS in total offense (549.2 ypg) and fifth in scoring offense (44.8 ppg). They are also one of only five teams nationally to have not thrown an interception.

Arkansas (4-1, 1-1 SEC) rolls into town after being shut out 37-0 at No. 2 Georgia last weekend. The Razorbacks opened up the season with four straight victories for the first time since 2003. Arkansas is also one of three teams in the country with multiple wins against top-15 ranked opponents.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback KJ Jefferson leads the offense, completing almost 60 percent of his passes for 909 yards and six touchdowns. Treylon Burks has been his go-to target with 22 catches for 383 yards and two TDs. Trelon Smith and Jefferson lead the ground game with 302 and 235 yards, respectively.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Razorbacks are allowing 282.8 yards per game, the ninth best mark in the nation. Linebacker Bumper Pool leads the team with 49 tackles, while DB Jalen Catalon roams the secondary with two interceptions on the year.

This weekend marks the 94th homecoming at Ole Miss since 1924. The Rebels are 70-16-2 (.807 winning pct.) in homecoming games (after vacated wins). Ole Miss has won 21 of their last 24 Homecoming matchups on the field. The last Homecoming loss was back in 2011 as the Rebels lost 27-7 to Louisiana Tech.

These two programs will be facing off on the gridiron for the 68th all-time meeting in the series. Arkansas holds a 36-28-1 series lead. The original series record is 36-30-1 with Ole Miss’ wins in 2012 & 2013 being vacated due to NCAA ruling. Ole Miss leads the series 7-6 for the games played in Oxford. Since the Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1992, Ole Miss trails in the all-time series 17-10.