What's at Stake For Ole Miss Rebels, Arkansas Razorbacks Entering Week 6 Clash?

The No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels and Arkansas Razorbacks have a lot on the line entering their Week 6 showdown in Oxford.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels and Arkansas Razorbacks will meet for their 70th matchup all-time on Saturday in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and both programs have plenty at stake entering their annual slugfest.

The Rebels (4-1) are coming off a thrilling 55-49 upset over the then-rated No. 13 LSU Tigers, and are looking to keep their place in the race for the SEC West title. Ole Miss is in a three-way tie for the best overall record in the Western division with the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas A&M Aggies - who play each other in Week 6.

Depending on how things shake out between Alabama and Texas A&M, the Rebels could find themselves in a tie for first place in the West if they can take care of business versus Arkansas.

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart versus the LSU Tigers (2023) / Carleigh Harbin-The Grove Report

A loss to the Razorbacks would not necessarily kill Ole Miss' season, but a win would put the team in a great position ahead of its bye week. 

The Razorbacks, on the other hand, are playing to keep their season alive.

Arkansas is 2-3 entering its bout with Ole Miss and is currently riding a three-game losing streak. The Razorbacks are winless in SEC play, as LSU and Texas A&M took down Arkansas 34-31 and 34-22, respectively. If Arkansas wants to have a chance at taking the 2023 SEC West crown, it will need to turn its season around on Saturday versus the Rebels, and history says they have a shot at doing so.

The Razorbacks have won two of their last three games versus Ole Miss, and each meeting has been a wild roller coaster. In 2022, Arkansas beat the Rebels 42-27 even though Ole Miss recorded over 700 yards of total offense. The year prior, the Rebels won a 52-51 shootout in Oxford that went down to the wire, and in 2020 Arkansas intercepted former Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral six times winning 33-21.  

Arkansas is an injured animal backed into a corner and we all know how dangerous those can be. I personally believe that Ole Miss will pick up the win versus Arkansas at home, but quite literally anything can happen in this rivalry, as we have seen many times before.