Arkansas

Never boring when Arkansas, Ole Miss get together

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FAYETTEVILLE — Might the Arkansas Razorbacks and Ole Miss Rebels be on a collision course for one more instantaneous traditional at this time?

Latest outcomes, the long-term historical past of the rivalry, wildly productive offenses and sack-heavy defenses on each side recommend the Razorbacks and Rebels might be in retailer for one more memorable rock-‘em, sock-‘em monitor meet.

Ah, however Mom Nature might have a say in that shootout concept.

The forecast is asking for a temperature proper round 32 levels for the 6:30 p.m. kickoff between No. 14 Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC) and the College of Arkansas (5-5, 2-4) at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. It’s predicted to drop into the mid- to lower-20s by sport’s finish.

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Third-year Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman confirmed his gamers an enormous hog slopping round fortunately within the mud previous to a powerful efficiency within the rain at Auburn three years in the past, and he thinks the gamers shall be prepared for the frosty proceedings tonight.

“We’re the Hogs. We’re going to embrace it,” Pittman mentioned on his radio present this week.

In actual fact, he desires chilly within the excessive.

“We’re rooting for a freeze out if we are able to get it,” he mentioned.

“Each time you possibly can have a sport when the climate is down within the 20s, it comes[down] to a sport of wills,” Arkansas linebacker Bumper Pool mentioned. “On a senior evening in our stadium, I feel that we’re going to have plenty of combat and plenty of will.”

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Pittman’s counterpart Lane Kiffin, additionally in his third season, mentioned he struggled to get heat in final Saturday’s 30-24 house loss to Alabama. However he thinks he’s hit on an answer, as an outside attire outfit had rigged him up with heated gear to put on underneath his coat.

“I feel our gamers are good,” Kiffin mentioned. “I’m the problem. I’ve tried every little thing. I used to be freezing throughout that [Alabama] sport.

“So I’ve cold-weather points. Fortunately I don’t suppose our gamers do as a result of I didn’t see that in any respect on the market. And also you do see some groups, particularly receivers, shut down in that climate and I didn’t see any of that.”

The Razorbacks are taking part in with large incentive, needing yet another win to realize bowl eligibility after dropping consecutive tight video games towards Liberty and No. 6 LSU.

Ole Miss was eradicated from competition within the SEC West after its loss to Alabama final week, however the Rebels would nonetheless like to carry on to their No. 5 place within the SEC bowl pecking order, behind division champs Georgia and LSU, plus Tennessee and Alabama.

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Moreover, the Rebels’ final go to to Arkansas resulted in six interceptions thrown by quarterback Matt Corral, three of them picked off by present security Hudson Clark within the Hogs’ 33-21 win. Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom annoyed Kiffin’s high-octane assault with tons of “drop-eight” protection with the defensive backs studying Corral’s eyes.

“Actually difficult opponent arising on the highway at evening, and final time we went there we didn’t play very properly, so it’s an enormous problem for us,” Kiffin mentioned.

Accidents might additionally play a job.

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson is seemingly on faucet for a return after lacking final week’s 13-10 loss to LSU with a shoulder harm. His presence might be a lift to an offense that averages 486 yards and 34 factors with him within the lineup and 360 yards and 14.5 factors with out him.

Jefferson, a local of Sardis, Miss., which is about half-hour from the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, performed like a person possessed final 12 months towards the Rebels, accounting for 411 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 52-51 loss.

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“I feel it’s an enormous deal, truthfully,” Pittman mentioned of the significance of the Ole Miss sport to Jefferson. “You might really feel it final 12 months after we went down there.

“Coming from that space, I feel there’s some motivation. And when he’s motivated, all people is. I feel the opposite factor about that’s his final outing he didn’t play properly. And to be trustworthy with you, that was a tough one for him. You get a man who hasn’t practiced, that’s damage, it’s a tricky mixture.

“After which he didn’t play final week, and people two video games we’ve misplaced after successful a pair in a row. And so I feel he’ll play properly. I feel he’ll play very impressed for lots of causes, with being the workforce closest to house being certainly one of them.”

For the Rebels, tailback Zach Evans is questionable after struggling a concussion final week, and so is tight finish Michael Trigg, who suffered a damaged collarbone on Oct. 9.

Evans and freshman Quinshon Judkins have shaped one of many the perfect tailback tandems within the nation. Judkins leads the SEC and ranks tenth nationally with 1,171 speeding yards, whereas Evans has added 692 yards for the SEC’s high floor sport.

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The Razorbacks and Rebels have engaged in a vigorous collection, which features a dispute over using a participant in a sport in 1914, which Ole Miss received 13-7. Arkansas claims the sport as a forfeit win, whereas the Rebels proceed to depend it as a victory. Arkansas maintains it owns a 37-28-1 edge within the collection.

What will not be in dispute is Arkansas’ 17-13 edge since becoming a member of the SEC for the 1992 season, with a handful of untamed outcomes, such because the Hogs’ 58-56 win in seven overtimes in Oxford, Miss., on Nov. 3, 2001, the longest sport in NCAA historical past at that time.

Seven of the final 11 video games have been determined by 5 or fewer factors, with the Razorbacks main 4-3 in these conferences.

“It’s at all times thrilling to play Ole Miss, particularly with Lane being the coach and all that,” Pittman mentioned. “He’s a preferred man, nice coach, all these sort issues. And he’s bought them going. …The followers are going to be excited in regards to the sport as a result of there’s going to be plenty of offense.”

Primarily based on final 12 months’s final result, defensive stops shall be at a premium.

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The Rebels racked up 611 complete yards and 324 speeding yards in its one-point win.

Arkansas had a greater statistical sport with 676 complete yards, the fourth-highest complete in class historical past, and 350 speeding yards. The Hogs additionally had a school-record 39 first downs.

The distinction got here on the ultimate snap, after Jefferson hit Warren Thompson with a 9-yard landing cross with no time left on the clock to drag the Hogs inside 52-51. Jefferson’s two-point cross underneath strain sailed excessive for Treylon Burks ultimately zone to seal the Ole Miss win.

Pittman mentioned he instructed offensive coordinator Kendal Briles that the Rebels did them a favor by scoring on a 68-yard cross with 1:07 remaining, after Arkansas tied it on Jefferson’s 10-yard landing 15 seconds earlier.

Pittman had one other message after that.

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“I instructed the offense, ‘We’re going to attain, we’re going to go for 2, we’re going to steal this sport and we’re going to go house,’” he mentioned on his radio present. “And about every little thing I mentioned was about proper, we simply didn’t make the 2 level. It was an amazing sport down there final 12 months and I anticipate one other nice one on Saturday.”

Kiffin was requested if that 52-51 shootout was his sort of sport.

“We received, so it was,” he mentioned. “I don’t care in the event that they’re excessive or low scoring, I simply need to win them.”

Kiffin mentioned narratives get created after these sort of video games that he doesn’t purchase into.

“All people’s like, ‘Oh, you guys completed, you know the way to complete. ’ ” he mentioned. “… No, they simply didn’t make the two-point play. Had they, then all people can be saying, ‘Oh, they know easy methods to end and we don’t.’

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“So, very like a few of these video games as you’ve seen these days across the nation, the place they go right down to the final play. Then all people hastily [thinks] one program’s bought all of it discovered and the opposite one doesn’t. That sport was very aggressive and clearly might have went both manner.”

In fact the usual for “might have gone both manner” on this collection was the 2015 sport, generally known as the “Henry Heave” sport in Arkansas.

Arkansas trailed 52-45 in additional time, dealing with a fourth and 25 from the Ole Miss 40. Brandon Allen handed brief to the tight finish Henry, who, as he was falling, launched an underhand lateral towards the Razorback backfield.

Alex Collins scooped an ideal bounce after a tip from 6-10 Dan Skipper and adopted an escort round left finish for a 31-yard pickup to the Ole Miss 11. Allen threw a 9-yard landing cross to Drew Morgan — Allen’s sixth and Morgan’s third of the day — two performs later.

Ole Miss defensive finish Marquis Haynes had Allen lifeless to proper on the two-point conversion cross, however he grabbed Allen’s face-mask on the would-be sack. Allen broke by the objective aircraft for the successful conversion on the subsequent snap.

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Pittman, the Hogs’ offensive line coach on the time, known as that maybe probably the most thrilling win in his teaching profession.

“Yeah, if we’d have made our two-point conversion final 12 months towards them, for me that may’ve topped it. However we didn’t.”



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