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Pride is on the line when Arkansas and Ole Miss face off in Oxford, Miss., this Saturday.
The No. 13 Razorbacks and No. 17 Rebels were handed their first losses of the season by the nation's top two teams, Georgia and Alabama, last weekend, so Saturday’s game is an opportunity for each team to prove they are worthy of their ranking.
Both coaches have spoken about forgetting the losses and focusing on the matchup at hand.
“Obviously when you go get embarrassed as we did last week, the only thing that gets you over that is going and playing another football game, so we’re excited about all that,” Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said on Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference.
After the Hogs manhandled the Rebels 33-21 in Fayetteville last year, Ole Miss decided to take a page out of the Arkansas book and switch to a 3-2-6 defensive scheme itself. That might not prove to be beneficial in this matchup, though, as the Razorbacks boast one of the top backfields in the conference.
The schedule only gets tougher, so a win this weekend would be huge for each team moving forward.
Why Ole Miss will win
It’s no secret that the Rebels want to throw the ball. Unfortunately for them, the Razorbacks are No. 2 in the nation in passing defense (129.8 yards).
Ole Miss has a great stable of running backs in Henry Parrish Jr., Snoop Connor and Jerrion Ealy, who is questionable with a concussion, but junior quarterback Matt Corral actually leads the team in rushing attempts on the season. The Ole Miss rushing attack is No. 10 in the country (243.5 yards).
Establishing the run game will be the key to opening up the passing game for the Rebels. A few big runs here and there have proven to hurt the Hogs on defense. Once the Razorbacks’ second level starts anticipating the run, they can be burned by Corral and his talented receiving corps.
“(The receivers) can go catch contested balls, run really good routes,” Pittman said. “I think Corral, I’m not speaking for him, but I think he knows exactly where they’re going to be. They catch the ball exceptionally well, and certainly can do something with it when they do.”
