No. 16 Ole Miss Welcomes Arkansas into the Vaught

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

No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels remain home this week as they play host to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.

Ole Miss (4-1, 1-1 SEC) is coming off a 55-49 victory over then the No. 12 LSU Tigers on Saturday. The Rebels were down two scores 49-40 to the Tigers before scoring twice.

The 55 points by the Rebels were its most ever against an AP ranked opponent. Ole Miss put up 706 yards of total offense vs LSU ranks fifth all-time and is the fourth game in the Kiffin era with 700+ yards.

Junior quarterback Jaxson Dart has thrown for 1,485 yards and 11 touchdowns to two interceptions in five games. He also has 269 yards on the ground with four touchdowns right behind sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins with 378 yards and five touchdowns.

Judkins in his short time at Ole Miss, has 1,945 career rushing yards and is 10 yards away from the all-time top-10 in the program.

Arkansas enters the week 2-3 overall and 0-2 in SEC play. The Razorbacks outscored its first two opponents 84-19, but have dropped lost three straight contests, including two matchups against SEC foes. Arkansas is averaging 342.2 yards per game, with 215 of that coming through the air.

Third-year starter KJ Jefferson leads the Razorbacks under center, completing 68 percent of his passes for 1,050 yards and 10 passing touchdowns. Jefferson is also Arkansas’ leader in rushing attempts, with 65 carries. Preseason first team All-SEC selection Raheim Sanders returned from injury last week after missing three weeks due to a knee injury. Sanders has rushed for over 2,000 career yards and 17 rushing TDs.

Wideout Andrew Armstrong leads the Razorbacks with 27 catches for 351 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end Luke Hasz has 16 catches for 253 yards and three TDs, but suffered a season-ending injury last week against Texas A&M.

The Arkansas defense has been very opportunistic this season. The Razorbacks lead the country with three defensive touchdowns and rank No. 1 in the SEC with 11 takeaways this season. Jaheim Thomas leads Arkansas with 48 total tackles, including three sacks and five tackles for loss. Six different Razorbacks have at least one interception on the season.

Saturday’s matchup between the two programs will be the 70^th meeting between the Rebels and Razorbacks. Arkansas leads the series 37-29-1 all-time. In games in Oxford, Ole Miss has beaten Arkansas 8-6.