FAYETTEVILLE — When looking into the Ole Miss offense in 2021, the Rebels’ high-flying passing attack jumps off the stat sheet and attracts most of the headlines, and rightfully so.
Their group, however, is much more than quarterback Matt Corral, who has not thrown an interception this season, and a host of receivers who are among the best in the Southeastern Conference.
Arkansas’ ability to slow the Ole Miss running game will be key in potentially getting back on track in league play this weekend. Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman on Monday was complimentary of the Rebels’ tailbacks, which are led by a pair of veterans and an impact sophomore.
“They have really good backs,” he added. “They break tackles and they’re fast. They led (the SEC in rushing) last year. I don’t know where they are as far as in the SEC this year, but they have to be high.”
Ole Miss enters its fifth game of the season third in the league in yards per game at 243.5, and its 13 touchdown runs are tied for second most among SEC teams. Four players have 25 or more carries this season and accounted for all but one of the scores on the ground.
Henry Parrish Jr. has a team-best 223 yards on an average of 6.2 yards per touch, and Jerrion Ealy is second with 204 yards. Corral leads the way with six touchdowns.
Snoop Conner, averaging 41 rushing yards per game in two career games against Arkansas, is second with four scores.
After allowing Georgia to seemingly run at will a week ago, the Razorbacks are placing a big emphasis on regaining control in run defense. Linebacker Bumper Pool wants Arkansas to get back to its run-and-hit style of play.
"We're very familiar with the offense,” Pool said Tuesday. “I think there's certain things they do that we feel like we can get after. We've got to practice this week as a team as hard as we can.
“I think our intensity in practice this week is even (higher), but that's just kind of the way things go when you have a loss. You've got to step up and work harder.”
The Razorbacks had been stingy stopping the run prior to the Bulldogs piling up 273 yards on 4.9 yards per attempt last week. Arkansas had given up exactly 273 rushing yards in its previous two games against Georgia Southern and Texas A&M.
Pool and company also limited Texas and star running back Bijan Robinson to what remains a season-low 138 yards on the ground in the 40-21 win in Week 2.
According to Pro Football Focus, Ealy has been Ole Miss’ top back to this point in the season. He has a cumulative run grade of 81.2, which ranks eighth in the SEC among those at his position. Parrish comes in 11th with a mark of 78.0, ahead of the likes of the Aggies’ Isaiah Spiller and Georgia’s Zamir White.
Razorbacks cornerback Montaric Brown, who did not play in Arkansas’ thrilling win over the Rebels last season because of a concussion, said the team's focus on the run and pass in game prep is equal this week.
“We’re treating it the same," he added. "We’ve got to stop everything they do.”