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OXFORD, Miss. — Arkansas is still searching for its first SEC win under head coach Chad Morris.

Although Kamren Curl provided the chaos the series is accustomed to with a 69-yard fumble return that gave them a chance, the Razorbacks couldn’t overcome their deficit and fell to Ole Miss 31-17 on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Including the end of the Bret Bielema era, Arkansas has now lost 12 straight conference games. It has also lost its last nine SEC openers, with the 2010 season being the last time the Razorbacks start 1-0 in conference play.

Arkansas trailed by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter, but Curl’s forced fumble along the sideline and ensuing return - on which he broke multiple tackles - pulled Arkansas within seven and gave it a brief moment of hope before falling behind.

However, a pass interference call on Jarques McClellion prevented the defense from forcing a three-and-out and eventually led to a 46-yard touchdown pass from Matt Corral to Elijah Moore. It was the first of two touchdowns on consecutive drives by Ole Miss that sealed the game.

Nick Starkel, who completed 17 of 24 passes for 201 yards in the second half after replacing Ben Hicks, tacked on a late touchdown to Koilan Jackson to make the final margin 14 points.

The change under center was made in an effort to spark Arkansas’ anemic offense, which gained just 137 yards in the first half under Hicks’ direction. The SMU transfer completed just 7 of 16 passes for 98 yards.

After both teams went three-and-out to start the game, Ole Miss carved up Arkansas defense on a 13-play, 85-yard drive that included three third down conversions.

The last once came on a 2-yard pass from Corral to Moore that put the Rebels up 7-0 midway through the first quarter. Corral was 4 of 4 passing on the drive, connecting for gains of 21, 26 and 12 years to zip down the field.

It wasn’t until midway through the second quarter that the Razorbacks finally got on the board. Treylon Burks’ 15-yard punt return after alluding tacklers and an Ole Miss penalty gave them good field position.

A 30-yard completion to Mike Woods got Arkansas into field goal range before the offense stalled. Connor Limpert’s 37-yard field goal pulled it within 7-3.

With a chance to tied the game, the Razorbacks went three-and-out at their own 9-yard line and Sam Loy failed to flip the field with a 38-yard punt.

That gave the Rebels excellent field position and a 23-yard run by Corral set up a Luke Logan 33-yard field goal.

Much like the previous week against Portland State, Trey Knox came down with a long reception - this time 49 yards - to give Arkansas a chance to put points on the board just before halftime. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, they came up empty once again when Connor Limpert missed a 43-yard field goal attempt.

After halftime, Starkel had an initial hiccup with an illegal formation penalty followed by a timeout, but then helped the offense put together some drives.

Arkansas had a chance to tie the game at 10 when it recovered a fumble and Starkel quickly got it into Ole Miss territory early in the third quarter. However, a failed trick play with Woods resulted in a loss of 14 yards and a long touchdown to Knox was wiped out by an ineligible player downfield penalty.

A pass to Cheyenne O’Grady was two yards shy of the line to gain and then Boyd was stopped a yard short on a fourth-down attempt. The Rebels converted the turnover into points with a 1-yard touchdown run by Scottie Phillips.

That made it 17-3 Ole Miss and Arkansas’ next possession also got into Ole Miss territory before a Devwah Whaley fumble gave it back to the Rebels, setting the stage for Curl’s long return.

The ground game couldn’t get much going for the Razorbacks in the second half, as they finished with just 23 rushing yards after halftime to go with Starkel’s 201 yards through the air.

Arkansas returns to Fayetteville next Saturday for a 3 p.m. kickoff against Colorado State, which it lost to 34-27 last season. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.