Ole Miss Schedule Preview: Arkansas Razorbacks

The 2024 college football season is still about a month away, but with SEC Media Days in the rearview mirror, now is the time to begin previewing the Ole Miss Rebels’ schedule.

Ole Miss is coming off an 11-2 season that saw it capture a Peach Bowl victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in December. The Rebels return a plethora of talent from last year’s team (including quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Tre Harris, tight end Caden Prieskron and others), but they also made a huge haul in the transfer portal to shore up some holes on its roster.

It’s this combination of talent and a seemingly-managble SEC schedule that have many believing the Rebels can qualify for the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

Over the next few days, Ole Miss OnSI will preview each of the Rebels’ 2024 regular season opponents. We last looked at the Oklahoma Sooners, and today, we analyze the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Sam Pittman may be losing some leeway as the head coach in Fayetteville, so the 2024 campaign is an important one for his job security.

The Hogs finished 4-8 (1-7 SEC) a season ago, failing to reach a bowl game in Pittman’s fourth year at the helm. Arkansas lost plenty of close games a season ago to teams like LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama, but one of its most embarrassing defeats came in a 7-3 slugfest against Mississippi State.

Longtime starting quarterback KJ Jefferson is now at UCF, so former Boise State slinger Taylen Green is expected to take over behind center. He threw for over 1,700 yards and 11 touchdowns paired with nine interceptions in 2023.

At running back, the Razorbacks also have some shoes to fill as Raheim “Rocket” Sanders is now suiting up in Columbia, South Carolina. Ja’Quinden Jackson was a key addition in that room this offseason after transferring in from the Houston Cougars, and Arkansas also returns Rashod Dubinion who saw some time in the backfield a season ago.

The good news offensively is that the Hogs return leading receiver Andrew Armstrong (764 yards, 5 TDs) this season, but Arkansas will have to be more efficient on that side of the ball if it hopes to reverse its 2023 fortunes.

The best returning tackler for Arkansas is strong safety Jayden Johnson (62 total tackles) as he was third in that category last season. Jaheim Thomas (Wisconsin) and Chris Paul Jr. (Ole Miss) both transferred out this offseason.

On paper, Ole Miss seems to be a better team than the Hogs, but trips to Fayetteville are not always kind to the Rebels. Exorcising some demons in that venue will be necessary for Ole Miss to keep its season on track in early November.

Kickoff for this game is slated for an early window on Nov. 2. Television details have yet to be announced.