OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss was determined to test the Arkansas secondary deep Saturday.

Finding receivers downfield had been key to what little success the Rebels had this season. Plus, Arkansas had struggled defending the pass at times.

It might have worked if quarterback Seth Adams had been given time to get the ball to his receivers.

Ole Miss (2-6, 0-5 ) failed to protect Adams against heavy pressure from Arkansas in a 44-8 loss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. He was sacked five times and routinely forced to rush throws, and the Rebels’ top receiving options were rarely able to get free in the limited time they had against the Razorbacks.

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“With all that pressure, the ball never got off,” Rebels offensive coordinator Dan Werner said. “We did our normal thing, but they did a good job on defense.”

Ole Miss had kept games close with Florida and Alabama by testing defenses deep. The Rebels were among the SEC’s most productive passing offenses, averaging 243. 3 yards per game before facing Arkansas.

Wide receiver Mike Wallace entered the game averaging 23. 0 yards per catch. He was held to 4 catches for 47 yards and 1 touchdown. His longest catch came on a 37-yard pass from backup quarterback Brent Schaeffer with 6: 26 left in the game.

“They had a real good defensive line,” Wallace said. “We could have got past them, but the quarterbacks didn’t have time to throw it.”

Adams threw 4 interceptions on the way to completing only 9 of 21 passes for 79 yards.

“You can’t let that happen,” Adams said. “I don’t mean to turn the ball over, obviously, but it’s happening. It’s something I’ve got to go in and fix. I don’t know what the answer is. Some were bad reads, some were bad throws.”

Coach Ed Orgeron said Adams had struggled in recent weeks with interceptions. Arkansas’ constant pressure didn’t help matters.

Orgeron wasn’t ready to lay the blame solely at the feet of his quarterback. He pointed to poor pass protection as Adams was sacked five times.

“They outmanned us,” Orgeron said. “They outblitzed us. We had breakdowns in protection. We gave up sacks all over the place.”

The Rebels moved 61 yards on 11 plays to open the game, but stalled on a play that typified the day.

Arkansas cornerback Jamar Love blitzed and caught Adams for a 6-yard loss. Adams was running for his life from that point on, and the Rebels’ problems were compounded by turnovers.

“I don’t think we were the same type of team we’ve been the last couple of weeks,” Orgeron said. “I know when we play our best we can play with anybody in the conference.”