FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas will be back in Razorback Stadium on Saturday to host No. 18 Ole Miss.
Arkansas (5-3, 3-2) and Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2) are both coming off a win in their last game. The Hogs defeated Mississippi State 58-25 while Ole Miss topped Oklahoma 26-14. Ole Miss is two plays away from being undefeated following close losses to Kentucky and LSU. Sam Pittman has a lot of respect for the Rebels.
"Excited to play Ole Miss here at home," Pittman said. "Early morning game. I'm happy we played last week early prepare us a little bit better for this week. Really good football team. Obviously well coached with Coach (Lane) Kiffin. Seemed like this year a little bit different. They've always played well on defense, but you're looking at number one rush defense in the country and number one against points given allowed in the country. Very, very good. Their front is deep. Very good. They're very, very good at every position on the D-line. Their linebackers are playing well. Pooh Paul's their leading tackler. He's playing extremely well. And they're just really good defensively.
"You think about Ole Miss, you think about offense and then you go over on offense and they have Jackson Dart who's really, really good, Tre Harris who didn't play last week, but we're expecting him to be there this week. And then the running back has 650 plus yards. So just a really, really good football team, that's very explosive. And like I said before, their defense is playing extremely well. We're looking forward to. I think the house is going to be packed here on Saturday and we're excited that the fans are out here supporting us and happy about that."
Ole Miss has racked up several sacks this season including 10 against Oklahoma. Pittman knows the Arkansas offensive line will be tested.
"They’re going to be a big challenge," Pittman said. "They’re good. Every spot up there (on defensive line), they’re good. I mean, real good. Some of that is we’re going to have the football and stay out of some long situations. We’re going to have to play well at tackle, play well inside. Which, we’re playing better. But that is a big challenge for us, and we maybe have to throw a draw or a screen in there here and there to try to slow that pass rush down. Have different snap counts. Because they obviously are very, very talented."
Kiffin is 2-2 against the Razorbacks and Pittman. Kiffin and Ole Miss have lost both games in Fayetteville winning each in Oxford.
"We’re excited about this matchup and going down there," Kiffin said. "I think they’re a really, really well-coached team. It’s the sign of a great coach that had adversity last year and hot-seat (talk) and all that, and they stayed with him and now it’s paying off. They’re explosive on offense and playing great defense. I think maybe outside of one game they could be undefeated this year."
In SEC play, the Hogs haven't been able to put together two wins in a row. They have alternated between win, lose, win, lose and win.
"Well, sometimes it depends on who you’re playing, matchups…health of your team," Pittman said. "But I think right now we’re pretty healthy. We have three in a row at home. We’re not worried about the second and third, but we do have three in a row at home. Early kickoff. I think it’s just how we prepare. We’re cutting back, not a ton this week, but a few minutes of practice, trying to make sure our legs are there, make sure that we take the right guys to the party. We’re very aware of that. In the past, we’ve been very good coming off bye weeks and obviously got beat by LSU off of it, so we’re aware of this week’s so important to us and then we’re aware that there’s a bye after it. So we’re taking just a little bit off of that to make sure that we’re fresh, but it’s all about the preparation."
A good sign of if the Hogs will win or lose is the number of turnovers they have. In the three games Arkansas has lost they have turned it over a trio of times each game. When the Hogs have less than three turnovers they are undefeated.
"As you’ve seen in college football, I think most games are determined on who turns the ball over and who doesn’t," Pittman said. "I think it’s been that way forever, but this year it just seems like if you win the turnover battle, you win, and I’m not sure it matters what the names of the teams are. So we’ve got to really concentrate on that, too. Obviously, I think we’re 5-0 in games that we’ve been even or won the turnover battle, and we’re 0-3 when we’ve lost it. We’re going to harp on that this week as well."
Jaxson Dart is the Ole Miss quarterback. This season, Dart has completed 173 of 245 passes for 2,695 yards, 15 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also has rushed 57 times for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns.
"He's got to graduate sometime," Pittman said smiling. "He's got to get out of there. The thing that you don't really realize with him,maybe you do, is his ability to run. I mean, he can throw. He's got (Patrick) Mahomes-like stuff in him. I'm comparing the magic throws that he makes because he can make them. I mean, you're going, how did he shovel this? But where he's super dangerous as well is that he can run and he's very, very competitive and very, very confident, and he's type of guy you want leading your program."
Arkansas defensive tackle Eric Gregory is also impressed with Dart and respects what he brings to the team.
"He has a lot of experience in the SEC, man," Gregory said. "He's played against great defenses. And each week he's going to play against that. Just his playstyle, he can turn nothing to something. I mean, you will think you have a sack and then next thing you know; he'll flick it off to the back and they go for 15 yards. So, he's a great player. He can do both. He can run, he can throw. So, we'll have to be on our P's and Q's, on both of that."
Arkansas will be without leading rusher Ja'Quinden Jackson again thus opening up another opportunity for true freshman Braylen Russell. The former Benton standout got his first start last Saturday against Mississippi State. He didn't disappoint. Russell rushed 16 times for 175 yards. He also caught a pass for 11 yards. He is likely to get the start again on Saturday.
"He’s got a big body," Pittman said. "Physical. He runs low to the ground. Obviously he’s hard to stop for negative yards because he’s got such big legs as well. The offensive line it seems like, when he’s in there, they’ve been performing at their best as well. I think it says a lot about how he ran in high school. That’s how he ran in high school. Big runs come from running hard when you get the football, not ‘I’m going to get a big run.’ It’s breaking a tackle, it’s hitting a whole on time, the timing and all those things. He’s been prepared for a long time and he’s continued to do that here for us."
Kiffin joked on Wednesday during the SEC Teleconference that he's looking forward to the weather at Arkansas even if it means getting wet with rain in the forecast.
"Yeah, I was told 60s and rainy, but yeah, that would be better than that last time in the hunting gear," Kiffin said. "We’ll see."
Ole Miss' leading tackler is linebacker Chris "Pooh" Paul who played at Arkansas until this season. Paul has 57 tackles, 32 solo, 2.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery.
"Well, we've always known he can run," Pittman said. "And he's running side-to-side, tackling very well. Looks like one of their leaders on defense and doing exactly what I what I thought he would do when he went into the portal wherever he went. Be a really fine player for whomever he went to. And he was a great player for us and doing the same thing at Ole Miss."
Arkansas and Ole Miss will kickoff at 11 a.m. and televised on ESPN.
Photos Courtesy of Craven Whitlow CW3 Sports Action
