Razorbacks Take Advantage When Rebels Trip, Fall on Face

The score was dominating at halftime, but lot of that due to Ole Miss miscues

Andy Hodges | Nov 20, 2022

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Ole Miss couldn't get out of its own way Saturday night.

Arkansas fans really aren't that interested in exactly how they downed the Rebels, 42-27, it was just a big win. Many will talk about how it was dominating.

Not really. If anything was dang near unstoppable, it was Lane Kiffin's offense that hung 703 yards on the Razorbacks ... in Fayetteville.

To be fair, nobody really played defense in this one. The Hogs had 503 yards of offense while basically trying to hurry up and get somewhere warm in the second half with a 42-6 lead.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman during the second half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 42-27. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 42-27. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin, Hogs' Sam Pittman :: Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin talks to Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman prior to the game at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin talks to Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman prior to the game at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Arkansas Razorbacks \wuarterback KJ Jefferson (1) rushes in the first quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin prior to the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Hogs coach Sam Pittman :: Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman reacts to a call during the second half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 42-27. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman reacts to a call during the second half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 42-27. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Raheim Sanders (5) rushes for a touchdown in the third quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 42-27. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Nov 19, 2022; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 42-27. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin, Hogs' Sam Pittman

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin talks to Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman prior to the game at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman reacts to a call during the second half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 42-27. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) is tackled by Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker Bumper Pool (10) in the first quarter at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson (1) rushes in the second quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) passes in the first quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson (1) passes in the first quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Raheim Sanders (5) rushes in the first quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

"They turned it over three times and we didn’t," Sam Pittman said later, which if he added Ole Miss' 12 penalties to that and you would have the reason for the whopping lead when the Hogs weren't turning it over and not having a pair of touchdowns called back on holding penalties.

Lane Kiffin, around a swirl of rumors about him being the next coach at Auburn all week long, saw a shot at 10 wins still getting caught up in turnovers when they got close to scoring.

"We just played really poor in the red zone," he said later. "It just shows you the value of turnovers. You have 700 yards of offense and rush for 463 yards in a game and lose by two scores."

It's clear, though, this Razorback team probably can't win a lot of games without KJ Jefferson. If this was the first of September that wouldn't be a huge deal.

Coming at the end of November it is.

"We weren’t real clean on the first two scoring drives but he made us clean because of (Jefferson's) athleticism," Pittman said.

It didn't cover up yielding 703 He did put the spin on that, though, many in the media and most fans will use.

"(Ole Miss) had a lot of yards after we were up 42-6 but our defense didn’t break," Pittman said.

The Hogs managed to play the backup punter (Max Fletcher) but none of the backup quarterbacks and few other non-starters.

The Rebels piled up those yards on the No. 1 defense which probably was just trying to not give up big plays and hang on to a win, which they accomplished.

It will be hard today to find anyone particularly alarmed at that, but probably should have a concern with a short week of practice before Missouri on Friday in Columbia.

The Tigers are tied with Vanderbilt for the bottom spot in the SEC East and need another win to qualify for a bowl. They may be on the verge of making a coaching change, but who knows if football matters enough there.

It's still a place where the Hogs have a history of finding ways to lose.

Comfortably off the bottom of the SEC West with collapses at Texas A&M and Auburn, all the Hogs are playing for is to improve their bowl position.

But the Ole Miss game counts as a win ... and a big one.

While stats don't really tell you a thing the final score does and that says the Hogs beat the Rebels handily.

Everybody just take that and look ahead.

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Published Nov 20, 2022

ANDY HODGES

Sports columnist, writer, former radio host and television host who has been expressing an opinion on sports in the media for over four decades. He has been at numerous media stops in Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi.