By Michael Bradley
Special to The Dispatch
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In a Southeastern Conference Western Division showdown where both teams still had a lot to play for, the Arkansas Razorbacks seized control of their game with No. 8 Ole Miss early and cruised to a 30-0 victory before an announced crowd of 64,510 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on a miserable, cold, and rainy day.
Ole Miss came into Saturday’s game holding on to slim hopes of an SEC Western Division crown and a possible berth in the College Football Playoff. Arkansas came into the game with a 5-5 overall record and were fresh off a resounding 17-0 win over rival LSU. That win broke a 17-game SEC losing streak. Arkansas (6-5, 2-5 SEC) made it two straight shutout wins Saturday and clinched bowl eligibility as well.
Arkansas controlled the game from the beginning, scoring 17 points in the first quarter against an Ole Miss team, which had only given up 10 points in the first quarter all season. The Razorbacks set the tone on the games first series, holding the Ole Miss offense to four yards in three plays, then driving right down the field 52 yards in just four plays and scoring on a 25-yard pass from junior quarterback Brandon Allen to junior wide receiver Keon Hatcher.
“I was concerned all week, that we weren’t, for whatever reason, locked in totally, and that showed at the beginning of the game,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “It is my fault,… it is disappointing that we didn’t start better.”
Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3) was unable to establish any consistency in the running game, finishing with just 63 rushing yards on 33 attempts. The inability to run the ball has been a thorn in the Rebels side all season long. Failure to establish the run, coupled with the loss of receiver Laquon Treadwell, added to the pressure put on senior quarterback Bo Wallace to make plays for the Rebel offense. The result was six Ole Miss turnovers, including four by Wallace.
“Offensively, we were pretty bad,… you can’t turn it over that many times against anybody and expect to win,” said Freeze.
The first score by the Razorbacks, and the subsequent scores in the first quarter, one a 22-yard field goal by Razorback kicker Adam McFain, and the second, a 1-yard run by sophomore running back Alex Collins, turned out to be more than the Arkansas defense would need. Any hope of a Rebel comeback, or even making a game of it, were dashed on the last Rebel series of the first half and the first two Rebel series of the second half.
Trailing 17-0 late in the second quarter, Ole Miss took over at the Arkansas 3-yard line after a forcing a Razorback punt and proceeded to move 84 yards to the Arkansas 13 in nine plays. On 2nd-and-10, Wallace threw the ball in the corner of the end zone to freshman wide receiver Markell Pack, who was open on the play. At the last moment, Arkansas safety Tevin Mitchel broke in front of Pack and intercepted the pass in the end zone, ending the threat.
“I thought our defense played pretty solid after the slow start,… I thought we fought to the bitter end, and we kept hoping to get the game cut to a score or two and give ourselves a chance, but that didn’t happen,” Freeze said.
After holding Arkansas to a three-and-out to start the 2nd half, Ole Miss would make two more pushes into Arkansas territory in an attempt to get back into the game.
First, the Rebels moved from their own 24 to the Arkansas 31 before surrendering the ball on downs when Wallace was sacked on a 4th-and-3 play. The second Rebel thrust into Arkansas territory ended even more tragically for the Rebels. Following an Arkansas field goal that pushed the Razorback advantage to 20-0, Ole Miss moved from their own 25 to the Arkansas 16. Again on second down, Wallace attempted to throw into the same corner of the end zone where he had been intercepted earlier. Again, the ball was intercepted by Arkansas, this time by Arkansas junior safety Rohan Gaines. Gaines returned the interception 100 yards for the back breaking score to put the Hogs up 27-0.
“He (Wallace) threw the ball where I thought he should have thrown it there, but he put a little too much air under it,” said Freeze. “I will have to look at the tape and see if he was under pressure on the throw.”
When questioned about whether the ankle injury Wallace suffered in the 1st half may have contributed to the interceptions, Freeze said, “He (Wallace) was certainly playing with a lot of pain,… but he wanted to play, and we felt he gave us the best opportunity to have success at that moment.”
Ole Miss plays host to Mississippi State Saturday in the regular season finale.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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