Hogs see rapid-fire Rebels as dizzying

Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace is the player who keeps the Rebels’ high-speed offense going for Coach Hugh Freeze.

— Arkansas might have expected Texas A&M’s offense to be the fastest to the line of scrimmage of any team the Razorbacks would see this season, but two weeks of film study on Ole Miss changed that notion.

“I think they are faster,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Haynes said, comparing the Rebels to the Aggies.

How fast?

Arkansas Coach John L. Smith said Thursday the pace is “going to be a shock to us.”

“We’ll have to get the feel of that when the game gets going,” Smith said.

The Razorbacks will get their chance to line up against Ole Miss’ hurry-up offense in Saturday’s 11:21 a.m. game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze, who led Arkansas State to the Sun Belt Conference championship and a 10-3 record in 2011, took the Rebels job last December, saying he had to stay true to his offensive principles, even though the talent he inherited from previous coach Houston Nutt was used to a power rushing attack.

“It’s like basketball on grass,” Freeze said at his introductory news conference. “It limits what defenses can call. I’m not suggesting defenses in this league can’t defend it, but we will go very fast.”

Arkansas’ defenders have noticed as much.

“And it seems like they don’t really care what you line up in,” defensive tackle Jared Green said.

“There’s no way possible to simulate how fast the game goes,” Razorbacks safety Rohan Gaines said of trying to prepare for Ole Miss.

Freeze has managed to pair his hurried system with a transfer quarterback, sophomore Bo Wallace, and a holdover offensive unit that included veteran tailback Jeff Scott.

Ole Miss, which is averaging 72.8 plays per game, ranks fourth in the SEC in both total offense (440.7 yards per game) and rushing (211.1 ypg) with an option-oriented attack that also makes clever use of play-action and downfield passes.

Haynes equated Ole Miss’ hurry-up style to the offense run by Gus Malzahn at Arkansas State (77 plays) and the one utilized by fourthranked Oregon, which averages 85 plays. Texas A&M is averaging 83 plays.

“That’s really what they are,” Haynes said of the Rebels. “They’re going to get a ton of plays and it’s going to be fast.”

A key stat for the Rebels is a 49.5 percent third-down conversion rate (49 of 99) that trails only Texas A&M (51.3) in the SEC and ranks 16th nationally. It speaks to how Freeze’s designs have meshed with the Ole Miss personnel.

Wallace has read the option part of the offense well, the edge blocking has held up and the Rebels try to keep defenses on their heels.

“It’s fast-paced option football that makes you disciplined, and then they try to beat you over the top with the play-action pass,” Haynes said.

Arkansas safety Ross Rasner said Scott, fellow tailback Randall Mackey and Wallace have to be accounted for on each play.

“Option ball is all about tackling and knowing your responsibility,” Rasner said. “So we know we’re going to be out in space with [Mackey] and [Scott], and their quarterback obviously has the ability to run the ball.”

Wallace might not be as fast as Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, who had 104 rushing yards and 557 total yards in a 58-10 victory over the Hogs on Sept. 29, but he’s a quality runner.

“He’s faster than what you see on film,” Haynes said. “I don’t think he’s a guy that’s going to go 80 on you. I think you’ll be able to catch him. But he’s going to get 10, he’s going to get 15.

“They’re going to run him and they do get him out of the pocket.”

Sports, Pages 21 on 10/26/2012