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The University of Mississippi Athletics
GAMEDAY PREVIEW: No. 8 Ole Miss at Arkansas
11/22/2014 | Football
Nov. 22, 2014
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TV Network: CBS | Ole Miss Radio Network (Sirius 91, XM 91)Thursday Blog: Rebels Ahead of Schedule in Year ThreeSaturday Blog: Three and Out: Keys to Ole Miss-ArkansasFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Eighth-ranked Ole Miss returns to action coming off a bye week, as the Rebels travel to face the Arkansas Razorbacks with a kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. in the Southeastern Conference Game of the Week on CBS. Ole Miss is off to its best start through 10 games since 2003 and is in search of its first 10-win regular season in program history.
The Rebels (8-2, 4-2 SEC) remain in contention for the SEC Western Division title, needing wins over Arkansas and No. 4 Mississippi State and an Auburn win over Alabama to clinch the title and advance to the SEC Championship game.
"We've preached to them all along that you play until the end and see what happens," head coach Hugh Freeze said. "There's so much football left to be played. Regardless of what happens out there, the results certainly kept us alive with some very important, lofty things that we could accomplish.
"Regardless of what happens with all of that, I want us to stay focused on the journey we're on, which to be sitting here ranked in the top 10 or so in the country, for being in year three, I couldn't be much more pleased."
Arkansas (5-5, 1-5 SEC) enters the contest looking to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2011, having just snapped a 17-game SEC losing streak with a 17-0 win over then-No. 20 LSU this past Saturday.
"Watching them on tape, I'm extremely impressed with the job that they do and knowing who they are and understanding how to play the way that their coaches ask them to play," Freeze said. "I've said all year long that I felt like all seven teams in the SEC West were quality top-25 teams. Because of the schedule we play, that won't be reflected in all of the polls, but I assure you this team is one of the better teams in the country."
Ole Miss was without several starters and regular contributors in its last game, a 48-0 win over Presbyterian, and the bye week provided an extra week of rest to heal up before its final two games of the regular season.
With the exception of the players out for the season, Freeze expects everyone to be ready to go, including the starting left side of the offensive line, sophomore offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and junior offensive guard Aaron Morris, as well as freshman kicker Gary Wunderlich.
"I think it's been good for everybody to get rested up with these two big games, the two most important of our season with everything that happened this past weekend," senior quarterback Bo Wallace said. "Hopefully our guys are healthy and will have a good game."
The matchup features one of the nation's top rushing attacks against one of the nation's best defenses.
"It's the best run game we've seen all year long," sophomore defensive end Fadol Brown said. "Every game, they come with it. They just try to power you off the hole, pound you constantly and run the same plays over and over to try to get you out of the gap."
Arkansas ranks fourth in the SEC and 20th nationally averaging 232.9 rushing yards per game, led by two of the league's top five rushers in junior running back Jonathan Williams (93.2 ypg) and sophomore running back Alex Collins (88.6 ypg)
Ole Miss leads the nation in scoring defense (11.9 ppg) and has given up a nation-low 13 touchdowns. The Rebels have forced at least one turnover in 33 straight games, the nation's longest active streak.
"They've been outstanding," said Freeze of the Ole Miss defense. "With the exception of the Auburn game, their performance of keeping people out of the end zone has been as good as any in the country. I'm really pleased with the job our defensive staff has done."
A win over Arkansas would set up a historic matchup with No. 4 Mississippi State in front of a national television audience in the SEC Game of the Week on CBS, with both teams potentially in SEC West and College Football Playoff contention.
"We're just talking about Arkansas," Freeze said. "They won't have any indication from anyone around here. (The Mississippi State) game's significance loses some of its flavor if we don't take care of business this week. It obviously being the Egg Bowl will be very, very significant, but we certainly won't look past Arkansas."
TV Network: CBS | Ole Miss Radio Network (Sirius 91, XM 91)Thursday Blog: Rebels Ahead of Schedule in Year ThreeSaturday Blog: Three and Out: Keys to Ole Miss-ArkansasFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Eighth-ranked Ole Miss returns to action coming off a bye week, as the Rebels travel to face the Arkansas Razorbacks with a kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. in the Southeastern Conference Game of the Week on CBS. Ole Miss is off to its best start through 10 games since 2003 and is in search of its first 10-win regular season in program history.
The Rebels (8-2, 4-2 SEC) remain in contention for the SEC Western Division title, needing wins over Arkansas and No. 4 Mississippi State and an Auburn win over Alabama to clinch the title and advance to the SEC Championship game.
"We've preached to them all along that you play until the end and see what happens," head coach Hugh Freeze said. "There's so much football left to be played. Regardless of what happens out there, the results certainly kept us alive with some very important, lofty things that we could accomplish.
"Regardless of what happens with all of that, I want us to stay focused on the journey we're on, which to be sitting here ranked in the top 10 or so in the country, for being in year three, I couldn't be much more pleased."
Arkansas (5-5, 1-5 SEC) enters the contest looking to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2011, having just snapped a 17-game SEC losing streak with a 17-0 win over then-No. 20 LSU this past Saturday.
"Watching them on tape, I'm extremely impressed with the job that they do and knowing who they are and understanding how to play the way that their coaches ask them to play," Freeze said. "I've said all year long that I felt like all seven teams in the SEC West were quality top-25 teams. Because of the schedule we play, that won't be reflected in all of the polls, but I assure you this team is one of the better teams in the country."
Ole Miss was without several starters and regular contributors in its last game, a 48-0 win over Presbyterian, and the bye week provided an extra week of rest to heal up before its final two games of the regular season.
With the exception of the players out for the season, Freeze expects everyone to be ready to go, including the starting left side of the offensive line, sophomore offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and junior offensive guard Aaron Morris, as well as freshman kicker Gary Wunderlich.
"I think it's been good for everybody to get rested up with these two big games, the two most important of our season with everything that happened this past weekend," senior quarterback Bo Wallace said. "Hopefully our guys are healthy and will have a good game."
The matchup features one of the nation's top rushing attacks against one of the nation's best defenses.
"It's the best run game we've seen all year long," sophomore defensive end Fadol Brown said. "Every game, they come with it. They just try to power you off the hole, pound you constantly and run the same plays over and over to try to get you out of the gap."
Arkansas ranks fourth in the SEC and 20th nationally averaging 232.9 rushing yards per game, led by two of the league's top five rushers in junior running back Jonathan Williams (93.2 ypg) and sophomore running back Alex Collins (88.6 ypg)
Ole Miss leads the nation in scoring defense (11.9 ppg) and has given up a nation-low 13 touchdowns. The Rebels have forced at least one turnover in 33 straight games, the nation's longest active streak.
"They've been outstanding," said Freeze of the Ole Miss defense. "With the exception of the Auburn game, their performance of keeping people out of the end zone has been as good as any in the country. I'm really pleased with the job our defensive staff has done."
A win over Arkansas would set up a historic matchup with No. 4 Mississippi State in front of a national television audience in the SEC Game of the Week on CBS, with both teams potentially in SEC West and College Football Playoff contention.
"We're just talking about Arkansas," Freeze said. "They won't have any indication from anyone around here. (The Mississippi State) game's significance loses some of its flavor if we don't take care of business this week. It obviously being the Egg Bowl will be very, very significant, but we certainly won't look past Arkansas."
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