OXFORD, Miss. — It was all about speed.

Arkansas had it. Ole Miss didn’t.

On the Razorbacks’ first possession, it took them a single minute — not a second more or a second less — to set the tone for the brilliant Saturday afternoon.

After a fumble and 5-yard pass to Darren McFadden, McFadden raced around right end for 30 yards and Felix Jones followed that with a 38-yard run wide right for a touchdown.

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Both runs looked like a footrace between Peyton Hillis and a 57-year-old sports editor.

Very one-sided in favor of the athlete.

Both teams came into this game looking for their first SEC victory, and the Rebels of Ole Miss are still searching. Here’s a clue: Recruit some speed.

McFadden is clearly not 100 percent, but even at 80 to 85 percent — which might not be up to Heisman standards — he was too much for the Rebels. Jones, who is at max strength, was a like a human bullet going against what looked like sitting targets.

Jones ran 15 times for 101 yards (6. 7 average per carry ) and 2 touchdowns, and McFadden had 22 for 110 (5. 0 ).

Jones got his second score on an 11-yard run, then came a 1-yard pass to Andrew Davie for another, and less than a minute into the second quarter the Razorbacks appeared ready to blow the doors off the joint.

Instead, from that point on, the Razorbacks were conservative.

Oh, they scored again, thanks in large part to Ole Miss and the Razorbacks’ speed.

Late in the third quarter, after an interception at midfield, the Razorbacks scored on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Casey Dick to Hillis.

The key to the drive was a 21-yard run by Jones on thirdand-7.

Later, a 26-yard punt return fueled the Razorbacks to a 32-yard Alex Tejada field goal.

When Ole Miss went for it on fourth-and-2 from its 33 and Brent Schaeffer was sacked for a 7-yard loss, the Hogs needed three plays to make it 37-0.

Chris Baker showed why he should have been playing more on a 48-yard pass play late in the fourth quarter for his first touchdown this season to help the Hogs to a 44-8 victory.

The victory wasn’t as pretty, or as powerful, as the score made it appear. But like the old saying goes, a win is a win, and at this point in a disappointing season, it was what the Razorbacks players, coaches and fans needed and deserved: something to celebrate.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Razorbacks fans outnumbered Ole Miss fans 2-1. The Rebels fans had left in droves to the Grove to absorb gallons of painkiller.

The victory over Ole Miss will not stop the bleeding for Houston Nutt, but it will help the hurting.

The Razorbacks haven’t had a quality victory since Nov. 11 last year, when they trounced Tennessee 31-14 at home.

However, after five consecutive losses to SEC teams, Saturday was cotton-candy sweet as the kids came to play and competed hard and, of course, fast.

Plus, it should kick-start them for a stretch run. The pump will be further primed this Saturday by Florida International, which went into Saturday night’s game against Louisiana-Monroe with college football’s longest losing streak (18 ).

No need to prematurely play Marcus Monk, and maybe a time to give McFadden some rest before his November race to the Heisman polls.

Nutt’s hot seat didn’t get much relief Saturday, but he’s got a reputation of being at his best when his back is against the wall.

It is obvious the fans are going to support this team, a team led by McFadden, who two weeks ago told his fellow students if they didn’t support the coach they didn’t support the players.

This is the same Darren McFadden who was on pace to be in the middle of the Heisman Trophy race until he suffered bruised ribs earlier in the season and has continued to play every game since.

He’s not himself yet, but Saturday he, Jones and the Arkansas Razorbacks were far too fast for the Ole Miss Rebels.