Coach: Matt Luke (10-8 in second season at Ole Miss and overall)
2018 Record: 4-2 overall, 0-2 SEC
Offense: Tempo
Defense: Multiple
Returning Lettermen: 55 (25 offense, 27 defense, three special teams)
Returning Starters: 17 (eight offense, seven defense, two special teams)
Players to Watch: QB Jordan Ta’amu, WR D.K. Metcalf, WR A.J. Brown, LT Greg Little, LG Javon Patterson, SS Zedrick Woods
Series Record: Arkansas leads 36-27-1
Last Meeting: Arkansas def. Ole Miss 38-37 on Oct. 28, 2017, in Oxford, Miss.
The Skinny on Ole Miss
The Rebels are in the second of their self-imposed two-year bowl ban and are awaiting the resolution to the NCAA’s multi-year investigation into the program.
On the field, Ole Miss is trying to play the role of spoiler in 2018 and build toward the future under Matt Luke, a former interim coach who was given the full-time gig after a 6-6 campaign last season that was capped with an upset win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.
The Rebels are still very much a question mark through the first half of the season. Ole Miss opened the season with a surprising 20-point rout of Texas Tech on a neutral field, but followed up that performance with consecutive horrible defensive performances against Southern Illinois and Alabama. In two SEC games the Rebels have been outscored 107-23.
Ole Miss Key Stat
Struggling quarterbacks are happy to see the Rebels’ secondary. Ole Miss is allowing an eye-popping 15.7 yards per completion this season.
Ole Miss Key Player
The Rebels’ strongest position group is wide receiver. The best receiver is D.K. Metcalf, a potential first-round NFL draft pick.
Metcalf is averaging better than 19 yards per reception this season and has a 5-to-1 reception-to-touchdown ratio.
Ole Miss likes to test him against the opposing secondary early in games. Against Alabama, Metcalf had a 75-yard touchdown reception on the game’s first play. Against Texas Tech he had a 58-yard touchdown reception on the game’s second play.
His 6-4 frame coupled with his 4.4 speed is a powerful combination. He can get behind a cornerback in man coverage like he did against Alabama and Texas Tech, or on the one-handed touchdown he hauled in against Kent State. But he can also win jump balls on fade routes like he did on a spectacular game-winner at Kentucky a year ago.
Expect Arkansas to shadow Metcalf with its best cover corner, Ryan Pulley. LSU had great success doing that with Greedy Williams, who like Pulley is strong in one-on-one coverage. Metcalf had only three catches in nine targets against Williams, and two passes were intercepted.
Metcalf had four catches for 107 yards last season against an Arkansas defense that was playing without Pulley, who was injured in the season opener.
Ole Miss on Offense
Because of its defensive deficiencies, Ole Miss’ offense has to operate at an efficient level to give the Rebels a chance to win most games.
Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu will be the third consecutive true dual threat that Arkansas has faced. Ta’amu is effective on a variety of throws to a talented cast of receivers, but he also can tuck it and run. When adjusted for sacks, Ta’amu is averaging about five yards per carry this season.
Ta’amu is one of the SEC’s best at throwing the deep ball. Through four weeks he was 15-of-30 on passes 20 or more yards down the field, and 12-of-24 on passes between 10 and 19 yards.
He is especially effective on play-action passes, the nation’s leader a year ago with 13.6 yards per completion off play fakes.
Metcalf, A.J. Brown and DeMarkus Lodge call themselves “NWO,” short for “Nasty Wide Outs.” Collectively, the trio is averaging better than 223 receiving yards per game. Phil Steele ranks the Ole Miss receiving corps the best in the country.
While Ole Miss focuses heavily on the pass, it has a serviceable run game led by Scottie Phillips, who is averaging better than 100 yards and one touchdown per game, and better than seven yards per carry. Phillips has been strong after contact, collecting about one-fourth of his yards after the initial hit, and he is averaging a broken tackle once each 4.9 carries. Phillips is gaining 10 yards or more on better than 20 percent of his rushing attempts.
Ole Miss is strong on the left side of the line behind a pair of players, tackle Greg Little and guard Javon Patterson, with all-conference potential. Opposing defenses have had some success pressuring Ta’amu, averaging about five hurries and two sacks per game. Much of the pressure has been the result of missed blocks by the running back, in particular Phillips.
Ole Miss on Defense
Some in Mississippi might say: What defense?
That was the prevailing question after the Rebels gave up 38 points before halftime to Southern Illinois, a member of the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision. SIU had 10 plays of 10 yards or longer before halftime, including gains of 21, 32, 29, 30, 28, 34 and 70 yards.
Alabama and LSU also moved the ball at ease against Ole Miss. Alabama finished with 27 first downs and 516 yards of offense; LSU had 33 first downs and 573 yards. Both games were in hand at halftime.
An inability to tackle well has been the team’s biggest weakness. The Rebels are averaging almost 14 missed tackles per game and missed 27 tackles against Kent State.
Missed tackles have helped lead to big passing numbers, but Ole Miss also has had trouble getting to quarterbacks behind good offensive lines. The Rebels had no sacks against Texas Tech and had one each against Alabama and LSU.
There has been pressure, predominantly from end Qaadir Sheppard (2.2 quarterback hurries per game) and tackle Austrian Robinson (1 hurry per game), who rotates with Josiah Coatney, arguably the Rebels’ best against the run with better than one tackle for no yardage or lost yardage per game.
Safety Zedrick Woods is a sure tackler with a 96 percent tackle rate. Middle linebacker Mohamed Sanogo is Ole Miss’ leading tackler, but also misses a tackle about once every six attempts. Sanogo has forced two fumbles.
Opposing teams have abused boundary cornerbacks Myles Hartsfield and Keidron Smith. In 29 pass attempts in their direction, teams have completed 18 passes for 323 yards and 13 first downs.
Ole Miss on Special Teams
Sophomore kicker Luke Logan has been an asset to an offense that has struggled to finish drives. Logan made three field goals on a muggy, rainy night at LSU to bring his season total to eight makes in nine attempts. Most of his tries have been close range - all 40 yards and in.
Logan also serves as the Rebels’ kickoff man and has a touchback rate of just better than 50 percent.
Punter Mac Brown is averaging just better than 40 yards per punt and has not been strong pinning opponents deep in their own territory.
Jaylon Jones had a 94-yard return for a touchdown against Texas Tech, but he tore his ACL in the game. The Rebels have not had a kickoff return longer than 28 yards since his injury. Freshmen Elijah Moore and Tylan Knight have handled the bulk of Ole Miss’ kickoff and punt return duties.
The Bottom Line
Both teams should view this is a winnable game. There is no discernible mismatch. Arkansas has been good defensively in SEC play and Ole Miss has a good offense. The Razorbacks have not been explosive offensively and the Rebels have not stopped anyone on defense.
Arkansas will have the home-field advantage at War Memorial Stadium, but expect a big showing from the visiting fans. Little Rock is closer to the Mississippi state line than it is to the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.
Can the Razorbacks rediscover some of that old War Memorial magic? While the quality of opponent has played a role, the Razorbacks’ home-field advantage in Little Rock has been less defined in recent years in large part because students have opted to remain on campus and watch the games on TV, and those seats - among many others - have gone unfilled.
Will students show up for a Saturday night game three hours away? Will the public gobble up empty seats for the first SEC night game at War Memorial in nearly 20 years?
A mental edge might come into play in a close game. The Razorbacks’ four straight wins over the Rebels have included three straight games in which Arkansas overcame a fourth-quarter deficit with a late score. The Razorbacks overcame a 24-point deficit in last year’s game, the largest comeback in program history.
For Ole Miss, Arkansas has turned into a stumbling block, similar to what Texas A&M and Alabama have become to the Razorbacks.
Ole Miss Depth Chart
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.
OFFENSE
QB 10 Jordan Ta’amu 6-2 210 Sr.
2 Matt Corral 6-1 205 Fr.
RB 22 Scottie Phillips 5-11 211 Jr.
26 Isaiah Woullard 5-9 200 Fr.
WR 5 DeMarkus Lodge 6-2 204 Sr.
13 Bryalon Sanders 6-0 195 So.
TE 9 Dawson Knox 6-4 257 Jr.
15 Octavious Cooley 6-3 265 Jr.
RT 67 Alex Givens 6-6 305 Jr.
78 Tony Gray 6-5 311 R-Fr.
RG 55 Ben Brown 6-5 318 R-Fr.
79 Jordan Sims 6-4 326 Sr.
C 50 Sean Rawlings 6-5 293 Sr.
61 Eli Johnson 6-1 303 So.
LG 79 Javon Patterson 6-3 310 Sr.
71 Bryce Matthews 6-6 300 So.
LT 74 Greg Little 6-6 325 Jr.
72 Royce Newman 6-5 301 So.
WR 1 A.J. Brown 6-1 230 Jr.
8 Elijah Moore 5-9 181 Fr.
WR 14 D.K. Metcalf 6-4 230 So.
6 Miles Battle 6-4 195 Fr.
DEFENSE
DE 19 Markel Winters 6-3 252 Sr.
22 Tariqious Tisdale 6-5 280 So.
DT 40 Josiah Coatney 6-4 316 Jr.
12 Austrian Robinson 6-4 296 Jr.
NT 95 Benito Jones 6-2 315 Jr.
90 Ross Donelly 6-1 309 Sr.
DE 97 Qaadir Sheppard 6-3 240 Jr.
4 Victor Evans 6-3 234 Sr.
OLB 27 Kevontae’ Ruggs 6-3 202 Fr.
17 Willie Hibbler 6-3 249 Jr.
MLB 46 Mohamed Sanogo 6-2 224 So.
10 Jacquez Jones 6-1 227 Fr.
NICKEL 3 Vernon Dasher 6-1 205 Jr.
21 Javien Hamilton 5-10 177 Sr.
CB 15 Myles Hartsfield 5-11 211 Jr.
20 Keidron Smith 6-2 192 Fr.
SS 36 Zedrick Woods 5-11 203 Sr.
8 C.J. Miller 6-0 191 So.
FS 38 C.J. Moore 5-11 191 Sr.
6 Kam White 6-2 210 Fr.
CB 26 Jalen Julius 5-10 187 Jr.
5 Ken Webster 5-11 201 Sr.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K 92 Luke Logan 5-11 184 So.
P 96 Mac Brown 6-3 210 So.
H 96 Mac Brown 6-3 210 So.
LS 88 Jack Propst 5-10 190 So.
PR 8 Elijah Moore 5-9 191 Fr.
KR 4 Tylan Knight 5-6 171 Fr.
AND 8 Elijah Moore 5-9 191 Fr.
Arkansas Depth Chart
OFFENSE
QB 4 Ty Storey 6-2 215 R-Jr.
15 Cole Kelley 6-7 258 R-So.
RB 21 Devwah Whaley 5-11 209 Jr.
5 Rakeem Boyd 6-0 200 R-So.
WR(9) 16 La’Michael Pettway 6-2 219 Jr.
8 Mike Woods 6-1 190 Fr.
TE 44 Austin Cantrell 6-3 263 Jr.
85 Cheyenne O’Grady 6-4 251 R-Jr.
RT 60 Brian Wallace 6-6 318 Sr.
78 Dalton Wagner 6-9 300 R-Fr.
RG 62 Johnny Gibson 6-4 324 Sr.
68 Kirby Adcock 6-5 280 R-Fr.
C 66 Ty Clary 6-4 287 So.
57 Shane Clenin 6-6 302 R-Fr.
LG 51 Hjalte Froholdt 6-5 315 Sr.
54 Austin Capps 6-4 311 Jr.
LT 74 Colton Jackson 6-5 301 Jr.
73 Noah Gatlin 6-7 293 Fr.
WR(5) 1 Jared Cornelius 5-11 203 R-Sr.
9 De’Vion Warren 5-10 180 So.
WR(2) 3 Deon Stewart 5-11 161 Jr.
10 Jordan Jones 6-1 180 So.
DEFENSE
DE 3 McTelvin Agim 6-3 279 Jr.
91 Michael Taylor 6-2 248 Sr.
DT 90 Armon Watts 6-5 298 Sr.
7 Briston Guidry 6-2 292 So.
DT 52 T.J. Smith 6-3 304 Jr.
42 Jonathan Marshall 6-3 301 So.
DE 10 Randy Ramsey 6-4 236 R-Sr.
6 Gabe Richardson 6-3 240 Jr.
MLB 8 De’Jon Harris 6-0 244 Jr.
31 Grant Morgan 5-11 220 So.
WLB 23 Dre Greenlaw 6-0 227 Sr.
16 Bumper Pool 6-2 223 Fr.
CB 11 Ryan Pulley 5-11 198 R-Jr.
21 Montaric Brown 6-0 187 R-Fr.
SS 2 Kamren Curl 6-2 201 So.
18 Myles Mason 6-2 208 Fr.
FS 9 Santos Ramirez 6-2 204 Sr.
17 Joe Foucha 5-11 198 Fr.
CB 24 Jarques McClellion 6-0 173 R-Fr.
14 Britto Tutt 6-1 190 Jr.
NICKEL 36 D’Vone McClure 6-2 215 So.
39 Derrick Munson 5-11 200 So.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K 19 Connor Limpert 6-1 175 Jr.
P 28 Reid Bauer 5-11 198 Fr.
H 14 Jack Lindsey 6-2 195 So.
LS 48 Jordan Silver 6-1 217 R-Fr.
PR 3 Deon Stewart 5-11 161 Jr.
KR 9 De’Vion Warren 5-10 180 So.
3 Deon Stewart 5-11 161 Jr.
2018 Ole Miss Schedule
Sept. 1 - vs. Texas Tech (Houston), W 47-27
Sept. 8 - Southern Illinois, W 76-41
Sept. 15 - Alabama, L 62-7
Sept. 22 - Kent State, W 38-17
Sept. 29 - at LSU, L 45-16
Oct. 6 - ULM, W 70-21
Oct. 13 - at Arkansas
Oct. 20 - Auburn
Nov. 3 - South Carolina
Nov. 10 - at Texas A&M
Nov. 17 - at Vanderbilt
Nov. 22 - Mississippi State
This article originally appeared in Hawgs Illustrated