Behind Enemy Lines | A Look at the Ole Miss vs. Arkansas Matchup

OXFORD, Miss. — When they meet this Saturday, Ole Miss and Arkansas will kick off for the 71st time as the Rebels head to Fayetteville for this year’s matchup in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

It’s sure to be another barnburner of a game, as five of the last nine in the series have been decided by four points or fewer, and the home team has won the last five.

To get an Arkansas perspective on how their season is going, what they’ll need to do to beat Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss team, and a score prediction, we turned to our friend Erik Gee for his thoughts. Erik is the Program Director for 92.1 The Ticket on KQSM radio in Fayetteville.

Erik Gee on Ole Miss vs. Arkansas:

RW: Arkansas is one win away from becoming bowl eligible. After last season and head coach Sam Pittman being on the hot seat, the Razorbacks have beaten Tennessee this year and are exceeding expectations. What is the mood surrounding the program right now? 

Erik Gee: Depends on the week. After beating Tennessee, fans were flying high and confident the Razorbacks would at-worst compete with LSU. The fact that Arkansas was dominated by the Tigers put them in a must-win situation vs. Mississippi State. While fans are happy to see the program progressing in the right direction, a win against Ole Miss would go a long way for cementing Sam Pittman’s status as head coach.  6-6 is an improvement over last year, but would be a disappointment overall after knocking off a top-five Tennessee team.

RW: In your opinion, what has offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino brought to the Arkansas offense this season that perhaps they were lacking last season?

EG: Bobby certainly deserves a lot of credit for bringing Taylen Green into the program. Green not only has a cannon for an arm, but his ability to run when the pocket collapses can make Arkansas tough to defend. The real credit for the offensive success goes to OL coach Eric Mateos.  Mateos took a line that included three new starters and turned them into a unit almost instantly. For Arkansas to have success they must run the ball, and I’m not sure there is a better run blocking unit in the SEC. Add to that, running backs Ja’Quinden Jackson (not playing this week) and Braylen Russell, the Hogs can wear any defense down. This may not be the way that Bobby would like to win games, but it works. As my former co-host says, “think players, not plays.” 

RW: The Rebels’ offensive line has had its struggles due to injury and penalties. What will be key for the Arkansas defense to contain Jaxson Dart Saturday?

EG: Arkansas has four guys who can get to the quarterback and make life tough for Jaxson Dart.  DEs Landon Jackson and Nico Davillier and DL Cam Ball and Eric Gregory. The numbers may not be there when it comes to sacks, but they have given offensive lines fits all season. If they can just pressure Dart and force him into making some mistakes, like throwing into coverage, the Hogs can hang around. And that’s when they are most dangerous. This team can beat just about anyone in this league, but as we saw with LSU, they aren’t good enough to go toe-to-toe with a team that has equal or better talent than Ole Miss, unless that team makes it own share of mistakes.

RW: Arkansas QB Taylen Green seems to really be coming into his own. He had the highest rated QBR (ESPN) in the SEC last week, beating out Jaxson Dart, with a 90.1 rating. What will be the key for him to have success against the Ole Miss defense?

EG: Taylen has to avoid mental mistakes.  He’s become very confident in the pocket because Arkansas’s pass blocking has improved greatly over the year, but that confidence can lead to him trying to make throws into windows that aren’t there. Once per game, he will throw into double coverage and that has cost Arkansas this season. He also has a tendency to overthrow or underthrow his receivers which has led to interceptions. He needs to use his legs more, and Bobby needs to call some designed runs to get him going. He reminds me so much of former Ole Miss quarterback Spencer Sanders. Green can beat you several different ways, but there is always the fear of him making too many mistakes for Arkansas to overcome.

RW: How do you think Saturday’s game will go? If you feel comfortable giving a prediction, our readers would love to know it. 

EG: It’s hard to put the LSU game aside when picking this one. Ole Miss probably should have won in Death Valley, and The Tigers dominated Arkansas. That being said, the Razorbacks will have no issues getting up for this game, and will present a physical challenge on both sides of the trenches for Ole Miss. I’ll say 27-21 Rebels, but that could change come Saturday. LOL. WPS! 

Game Info:

Thank you, again, to Erik Gee for his time in breaking down the upcoming game. Click HERE to follow Erik on X. Check out 92.1 FM The Ticket HERE.

Ole Miss and Arkansas kick off in Fayetteville at 11:00 a.m. this Saturday, November 2. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.