Answering the Challenge: This week, the Ole Miss defense took control to seal win over Arkansas
OXFORD, Miss. — Last week, Ole Miss beat LSU by outscoring the Tigers and having the Rebels’ defense do just enough to hold on for the win.
Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, however, the Ole Miss defense took control of the game and relied on the offense to do just enough in the fourth quarter to beat Arkansas 27-20.
The Rebels held Arkansas to only 288 total yards, the fewest allowed against an SEC opponent since Oct. 5, 2019 against Vanderbilt (264). Further, they gave up just 36 rushing yards, their lowest against an SEC opponent since holding Tennessee to zero on Oct. 18, 2014.
According to Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, a big difference in the defense this week was the ability to collect turnovers.
“Eventually, when (Arkansas quarterback) KJ Jefferson threw us the ball we caught it this week, that helped,” Kiffin said after the game.
“I thought the defensive line and the pressure did a good job. They gave KJ a lot of issues and they attacked him well for the most part. We played in a bigger package than we’ve ever had, if you saw that with some of our bigger guys like Josh Harris. That was a great job by the defensive staff.”
Lane Kiffin on the Ole Miss defense vs. Arkansas
The two interceptions the Rebels recorded Saturday against the Hogs were both crucial. The last time the Ole Miss defense had multiple interceptions was versus Auburn in 2022.
Ashanti Cistrunk recorded one of the picks Saturday, returning it 31 yards to the Arkansas 3-yard line.
Caught it this week ✅ pic.twitter.com/98V1wWe6Hn
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 8, 2023
Quinshon Judkins would punch it in a few plays later to give Ole Miss a 10-7 lead.
Then, with under three minutes to go in the game, John Saunders, Jr. notched the other interception to seal the win.
The INT ‼️@john5aunders | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/7bNgckB4BO
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 8, 2023
After surrendering 49 points to LSU, Cistrunk credited a great week of practice and believes this performance could carry over the rest of the season.
“Coach Kiffin put a lot on us to come back, so we just worked at it,” Cistrunk said.
“We focused on everything we were doing, the little small details, and the scout team has been helping us with the looks. We just got after it. It gave us a great confidence boost. We know that the coach has trust in us and the defense can finish the game. It just feels great.”
Ashanti Cistrunk
Quarterback Jaxson Dart also heaped praise upon his defensive teammates after the win. “Definitely wasn’t pretty, but I think it says a lot about a team if you’re able to come out with a win like this,” Dart said.
“I just think it feels like this always happens with Arkansas, it’s just a weird game. Shout out to the defense, they definitely put this one on their back this week and pulled us through.”
Jaxson Dart
Still, it took ten fourth-quarter points from Ole Miss to secure the win. Sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins said earning a victory in this manner speaks volumes about the Rebels.
“I think that it shows the type of team that we are,” Judkins said.
“This is the hardest conference to win football games. For us to go out there and do whatever it takes to win, it might not be pretty, but to end up winning those, I think it speaks a lot about our team.“
Quinshon Judkins
Next Up
Ole Miss gets a much-needed break this week as it is a bye for the Rebels. The team returns to the field Oct. 21 when it travels to Jordan-Hare Stadium to play Auburn.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
