Ole Miss and Arkansas square off Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville, a meeting between two first-year coaches who have their respective fan bases excited.
Lane Kiffin's Rebels are 1-2, but they were tied in the fourth quarter a week ago against No. 2 Alabama.
Sam Pittman's Razorbacks are 1-2 as well, but the Tigers were robbed by a missed call in the final minute of a 30-28 loss at No. 15 Auburn.
The two teams kick it off at Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium at 2:30 p.m. in a game that can be seen on the SEC Network.
Hawgbeat.com managing editor Nikki Chavanelle and RebelGrove.com publisher Neal McCready exchanged five questions and answers in advance of the matchup between Ole Miss and Arkansas.
Neal McCready: 1. What is Arkansas' health situation, especially at running back? How big of an issue is that for a team that would likely love to exploit Ole Miss' rush defense?
Nikki Chavanelle: Arkansas starting running back Rakeem Boyd went down in the Miss State game after about 15 snaps and missed the Auburn game. He’s back at practice this week and tweeted, “I’m back!” on Thursday morning, hinting that he’ll be ready to play Saturday. Sam Pittman was a bit more obfuscating saying, “We’ll be extremely happy if he’s able to play.”
Pittman has not been a fan of players giving away any injury details via social media but having Boyd back is huge, so he’ll get over it. Trelon Smith showed he could work as a one-man show last week, putting up 70+ yards on the ground and receiving but having them both will definitely help them exploit the Ole Miss run defense. The Hogs don’t have any “Covid issues” to deal with, that we know of, but DE Dorian Gerald is still expected out and several others were banged up pretty back like both starting corners (Montaric Brown, Jerry Jacobs) and starting linebacker Bumper Pool. If Brown and Jacobs are either absent or limited, Arkansas will play a walk-on redshirt freshman and a true freshman in their place, like they had to do last week (to some success honestly).
Neal McCready: 2. It certainly looks like Sam Pittman has changed the culture of his program already. How's he done it?
Nikki Chavanelle: Pittman’s just trying to take Arkansas back to blue collar roots. He’s put the ultimate premium on hard work and maximum effort. He doesn’t care if you’re on scholarship or not, or a freshman with no snaps, you’re going to get a chance to play if you’re working hard and you’ve earned the coaches trust. Pittman genuinely caring about the players has made the buy-in even stronger. These guys don’t show signs of quit anymore and it’s, frankly, beautiful.
Neal McCready: 3. Feleipe Franks threw for four touchdowns last week at Auburn after the Razorbacks struggled on offense a bit against Georgia and Mississippi State? Was that a sign of a breakthrough for Kendall Briles and Co.?
Nikki Chavanelle: It definitely looked like a breakthrough. The first couple weeks, it was clear things were moving too fast for everyone involved and Franks was being forced to help his teammates make pre-snap corrections instead of figuring out how the defense was about to attack. It was also impossible to run the ball against Georgia, which Ole Miss fans luckily don’t have to experience. Arkansas’s offense would’ve benefitted greatly from some tuneup games (and spring football), like everyone else, but they look much more in rhythm now and more confident–and that was without star receiver Treylon Burks or Rakeem Boyd. Having both back this weekend will be huge for the offense. Trelon Smith at RB, De’Vion Warren at WR and Blake Kern, a former walk-on at tight end, have all stepped up big to make plays for Franks, and Franks is making better decisions.
Neal McCready: 4. Ole Miss loves to go fast on offense. How do you think Arkansas will handle the type of tempo the Rebels love to establish?
Nikki Chavanelle: We asked Pittman about that this week and he said the Ole Miss tempo actually looks a lot like what the Hogs try to do offensively, so it may not shock the defense quite as much after playing against Briles’ up-tempo spread. However, I do think the Ole Miss run game will be a problem for the defense. They had too many missed tackles last week against Auburn and then when you add in a dynamic guy like Matt Corral…let’s just say, Arkansas’s offense is going to need to pull its weight this weekend. Arkansas’s defense has had several takeaways this season but Ole Miss has played pretty clean thus far, so I hope they’re not counting on mistakes to win them the game.
Neal McCready: 5. Las Vegas sees this as a very close game. What are your thoughts on how you see it playing out?
Nikki Chavanelle: This game depends fully on whether or not Arkansas’s offense can get off to a smooth, mistake-free start and really capitalize on the weak Ole Miss defense early. The Razorback defense is clearly stronger than in years past but as Alabama showed last weekend, anyone’s liable to get it from the Rebels’ offense this season. I can see this game being a runaway for Ole Miss or as a close tossup, just depends on what type of mindset I’m in. I do think the Hogs will have extra fire after the win was stolen from them last week by the SEC officials and I think they’ll want to make their guy Sam look good against another new SEC head coach, so I expect them to play hard. This game has the makings of a heartbreaker for either team.
Nikki Chavanelle: 1. To get the uncomfortable stuff out of the way, how have you heard the COVID ‘issues’ are impacting the team? Any absences you know of for Saturday whether COVID or injury related?
Neal McCready: Ole Miss had been COVID clean, if you will, for several weeks before getting hit with some "issues" this week. If what I've heard is accurate, the Rebels are definitely going to be without a starter in the secondary on Saturday. Also, they'll be without a non-starter who contributes on multiple special teams. After that, I think it's kind of fluid. It's going to come down to contact tracing, testing, symptoms, etc. Lane Kiffin was very vague on Wednesday, both with local writers and on the SEC teleconference, so it's a bit of a guessing game. However, if what I've heard is accurate, it's manageable on Ole Miss' part.
Nikki Chavanelle: 2. What has the general fan reaction been to Lane Kiffin so far and the job he’s doing on all fronts?
Neal McCready: Let me put it this way: Each week, I do a mailbag where I take questions from subscribers. Increasingly, the questions are about Ole Miss' ability to hang on to Lane Kiffin. In short, they love him. He's made that program relevant again. The three games, even though Ole Miss has lost two of those games, have been fun. He's done a great job of reaching out to high-profile former players, both behind the scenes and publicly (such as the face coverings giving shout-outs to Eli Manning, Patrick Willis, DK Metcalf and A.J. Brown), and he appears to be gaining some momentum on the recruiting trail. So, that's a long-winded way to say they love him.
Nikki Chavanelle: 3. What’re the folks over at RebelGrove saying about Sam Pittman and the Hogs?
Neal McCready: Oh, I think it's obvious Sam Pittman has gotten people's attention. One would have to be blind not to notice how much more disciplined Arkansas is this season as compared to seasons past. It's also quite apparent Pittman has the Razorbacks playing very, very hard. It's clear he's done a remarkable job. Arkansas should be 2-1 right now and I know first-hand there's a lot of excitement on campus and in Fayetteville right now that didn't exist this time a year ago. As for the team, Feleipe Franks has given Arkansas efficiency and stability at quarterback and Barry Odom has done a really strong job with the Hogs' defense. I was most impressed with the way Arkansas erased a 17-0 deficit at Auburn last week. The last few years -- and I think you'd agree with this -- I think Arkansas folds there and it ends up 34-7 or something. Instead, Arkansas fought back, out-played Auburn and should have won the game. I thought that spoke volumes.
Nikki Chavanelle: 4. Matt Corral and his guys have been rolling, have you seen anything that the Razorbacks could do to slow them down Saturday?
Neal McCready: You're right; Corral has been nothing short of terrific thus far. He's not making mistakes. He's making big-time throws. He's using his feet when he needs to. Both running backs, Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner, have been very effective. Elijah Moore is one of the better receivers in the league. Kenny Yeboah, a transfer from Temple, has given Ole Miss a weapon at tight end. He's giving opponents fits. Other receivers, namely Jonathan Mingo and Dontario Drummond, have stepped up at different times as well. And Ole Miss has been good up front. Tempo has really bothered Ole Miss' opponents. This offense loves to go fast. I'm sure Odom has focused on that this week. Alabama was often caught out of position and unprepared when Ole Miss went really fast last week. So far, no one has really stopped them. They've been dynamic on that side of the ball.
Nikki Chavanelle: 5. The Ole Miss defense isn’t devoid of talent but they’re giving up 51.7 points per game. What’s been going on there? How do you see the game playing out Saturday?
Neal McCready: I'm not sure how much SEC-caliber talent is on the Ole Miss defense. Florida lit Ole Miss up through the air. Kentucky ran for 408 yards a week later. Four. Hundred. And. Eight. Yards. Last week, Alabama moved the ball at will. The Tide had 723 yards of offense, leaving only 41 possible yards on the field. Think about that a minute. Look, three games isn't a huge sample size, but it's at least a trend. Through three games, Ole Miss' offense is elite and the defense is awful. It's as simple as that. I think Ole Miss can score into the high 30s/low 40s on Arkansas, but I think the Hogs can put up similar totals. I've seen nothing to support this not turning into a track meet. I think Ole Miss is a little more prepared to win one of those, but really no outcome would surprise me other than a low-scoring game. I just don't see that happening. I think Ole Miss pulls away late and wins, but the Rebels' defense is going to have to improve a bit.
