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The Ole Miss Rebels battle the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, as both teams aim to bounce back from tough losses last week.
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Rebels Eyeing Rebound
Ole Miss stood toe-to-toe with the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide last week. The two teams combined for a whopping 1,370 total yards and 111 points in a game that saw minimal defense from both sides.
The Rebels may have came up short, 63-48, but there is no doubt that head coach Lane Kiffin has found an offensive identity with his squad. Directing Ole Miss on this side of the ball is sophomore quarterback Matt Corral, who finished 21 of 28, 365 yards and two touchdowns against Alabama.
Additionally, the Rebels also found success on the ground last week, with running backs Snoop Conner and Jerrion Ealy combining for 248 yards and four touchdowns.
Coming into this week, defense is something Ole Miss is hoping to get better at in its game against the Razorbacks. In his weekly Monday press conference, Kiffin said he’s expecting this side of the ball to be finer on Saturday.
“I think when you’re in a run like this where we are struggling in that phase of the game, you know, it’s hard,” he said. “It usually takes a game or part of a game to play well and kind of get that back. And, so, hopefully, that happens this week. Every week is a new week, every game is a new life.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Rebels this week. Arkansas returns home after back-to-back weeks on the road. And head coach Sam Pittman has his team heading in the right direction coming into the fourth week of the SEC season.
Arkansas Looks to Get Back in Win Column
Controversy was the storyline at the conclusion of the Razorbacks’ game against the Auburn Tigers last week. With 20 seconds remaining and the ball at the Arkansas 19-yard line, Tigers’ quarterback Bo Nix mishandled the snap exchange and ended up spiking the ball backward.
By rule, it should have been a live ball with the Razorbacks making the recovery. But the officials ruled it an incomplete pass, which allowed Auburn to kick the go-ahead field goal and eventually walk away with a, 30-28, squeaker over Arkansas.
— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) October 11, 2020
Instead of being 2-1 heading into this week, the Razorbacks find themselves at 1-2. While it wasn’t the ending Arkansas wanted, it still received quite the performance from its redshirt senior quarterback Feleipe Franks.
Franks finished 22 of 30, with 318 yards and four touchdowns. Heading into Saturday, Pittman knows his team will be facing a test against a high-powered Ole Miss offense.
When asked about the mentality of his team this week in practice, Pittman said it has been positive.
Both the Rebels and Razorbacks eagerly want a win on Saturday when the squads face off in Fayetteville. Who will walk away victorious? We’ll find out at 3:30 p.m.
