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The University of Mississippi Athletics
GAMEDAY PREVIEW: Ole Miss at No. 21 Arkansas
10/23/2010 | Football
Oct. 23, 2010
Gameday Central | Scouting Report
TV: SEC Network | Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network (Sirius 220, XM 200)
WEB: Video: ESPN3.com | Audio: RebelVision
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Ole Miss plays its second of three straight games against a nationally ranked division opponent in today's matchup with No. 21 Arkansas.
Game time is 11:21 a.m. CT at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. It will be televised on the SEC Network and can also be seen on ESPN3.com.
The Rebels (3-3, 1-2 SEC) are coming off a 23-10 defeat at No. 8 Alabama. They return home to host No. 5 Auburn next Saturday at 5 p.m., in a game televised by ESPN2.
Arkansas (4-2, 1-2 SEC) maintains a slim 29-26-1 edge over Ole Miss in the all-time series between the SEC West rivals, but the Rebels, under Houston Nutt, have won each of the last two meetings against Nutt's former school.
Despite scoring 10 points against one of the nation's top defensive units, Ole Miss still ranks fourth among league teams putting up 32.7 points per game on offense, just ahead of Arkansas' 32.2 point average.
"I think we played extremely hard against Alabama," Nutt said. "I think our guys gave great effort. There are some little things that we have got to do better. We have to score a few more points. The bottom line is with the kind of effort and attitude that they showed, especially on defense, we can go a long ways."
Brandon Bolden is the fourth-leading rusher in the SEC with 91.7 yards per game on the ground. Jeremiah Masoli ranks seventh in the SEC in total offense with 205.8 yards per game and is the second-leading rusher among SEC quarterbacks behind Auburn's Cameron Newton. As a team, Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC with 215.5 rushing yards per game.
The last Rebel squad to start a season 3-3 was Nutt's first team in 2008, which after a 3-4 start won its last six games to finish 9-4.
"We had a tough start, a tough first week," Nutt said of this year's squad. "To come back, regroup, get some wins and then play against Alabama like we did, I'm proud of them. You want to win every game and you're not satisfied when you don't. I like our team's heart and how hard they play."
The Razorbacks present a big challenge for the Ole Miss defense as Bobby Petrino's team features the top passing offense in the league with 366.3 yards through the air per game. Ryan Mallett tops the SEC in passing yards. He suffered a concussion in the team's 65-43 loss to Auburn, but backup Tyler Wilson came in and threw for more than 300 yards with four touchdowns in the second half alone. Greg Childs is second among SEC receivers in catches and receiving yards per game.
"When you have receivers like Joe Adams, Jarius Wright, Greg Childs, D.J. Williams and backs that can catch the ball, it gives them a lot of weapons," Nutt said of the Arkansas passing attack. "Both Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson are great quarterbacks who can really throw the ball and handle pressure."
