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The University of Mississippi Athletics
GAMEDAY: Ole Miss vs. Arkansas
10/24/2009 | Football
Media Relations Assistant
OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt returned to Fayetteville, Ark., last season, a place where he spent 10 seasons as Arkansas' head coach, and led his Rebel football team to a 23-21 victory in a very emotional battle.
Today, the Razorbacks (3-3, 1-3 SEC) visit Nutt's new home and take on the Rebels (4-2, 1-2 SEC) in a contest that kicks off at 11:21 a.m. CT on the SEC Network. The game is once again big for both teams, but it is less about Nutt and more about the key SEC Western Division matchup.
"This is the next game," Ole Miss' second year head coach said. "This is the biggest game of the year because it is the next game. Going into the second year (against Arkansas), I think it will be much less (emotional) than what it was last year - it was very big going back for the first time.
"I think it will be much more about football and much more about the players," added Nutt. "That is the way it should be."
The Rebels are coming off of a 48-13 homecoming victory over UAB. Jevan Snead and the Ole Miss offense, which has yet to click on all cylinders this season, seemed to find its groove against the Blazers. Snead threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns, while the Rebel offense racked up a season-high 501 yards of total offense.
Meanwhile, the Razorbacks are coming off of a heart-breaking 23-20 loss to the No. 1 Florida Gators, as Florida's Caleb Sturgis kicked a 27-yard field goal in the game's final seconds. While Arkansas didn't escape with the victory, it was arguably the Hogs' best performance under second-year head coach Bobby Petrino.
"I think it's something we can take and build on," Petrino said. "We can build confidence from it and understand we were right there with the No. 1 team in the nation.
"We had an opportunity to win the game and then we watch film and see how hard we played and how well we executed the game plan," added the second-year head coach. "We build from it."
While emotions were high a year ago, this season's contest is more about two teams in desperate need of an SEC win. Ole Miss is currently tied for fourth in the Western Division, while Arkansas is sitting in last place.The key for both teams will be the play of their quarterbacks, who have each transferred to the SEC from other big-time programs. Snead, who transferred from Texas after his freshman season in 2006, came into this year touted as one of the SEC's best, but has yet to perform the way he did a season ago - his first in the conference.
He comes into today's game completing 49.7 percent of his passes for 1,108 years, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Ole Miss coaching staff is hoping the Snead will catch fire the second half of the season, just as he did last year.
"He knows he can play better." Nutt said of his junior quarterback. "He started playing much better last week - making good decisions. That is well we want him to do.
"We want him to be Jevan - a guy that makes good decisions, has a good arm and is a good quarterback," Nutt added
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas' signal caller, came into this year with a lot of hype after transferring from Michigan, and has delivered so far in his first season in Fayetteville as he has established himself as one of the conference's best.
Through six games, the Arkansas native has completed 55.1 percent of his throws for 1,646 yards, 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Mallett's play doesn't necessarily surprise Nutt, as he and Mallett have known each other for years.
"He came to our camp about five or six straight years starting in the 6th or 7th grade," Nutt said. "He was always an unbelievably talented guy that loved to play football and loved to compete. He is a winner."
This is the 56th meeting all-time between the two schools, dating back to 1908. Ole Miss holds a 5-3 all-time advantage in Oxford, but the Rebels have dropped two-straight in the series at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
