Kiffin expects another wild Arkansas-Ole Miss gridiron clash on Saturday

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – Ole Miss has had some wild and crazy games with Arkansas and Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin is expecting more of the same this weekend in Fayetteville.

Arkansas (5-3, 3-2) will host Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2) in an 11 a.m. game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium that will be televised by ESPN.

The two teams, who first met in 1908 and have played every season since 1981, have split the quartet of meetings between since Kiffin and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman both arrived at their respective schools.

Th Razorbacks notched 33-21 and 42-27 wins in Fayetteville in 2020 and 2022 the Rebels victorious in Oxford 52-51 in 2021 and 27-20 last season.

“Exciting matchup this week,” Kiffin said at his Monday press conference in Oxford. “… These guys play really well, extremely well-coached. We’ve had a lot of really tough matchups over time against them previously since we of any team since we have been here.

“So we have to have a really good week of practice, do a really good job in all areas, especially it sounds like it might be rainy weather as well on the road. This will be a really good challenge for us, one that we’re excited about.”

Ole Miss linebacker Pooh Paul, who leads the Rebels with 58 tackles, played the previous two seasons at Arkansas before heading to Oxford.

“I just thought he was so physical and played so hard,” Kiffin said. “He got hurt in our game (last season) against them and I just felt like there was a difference when he was in there, a difference maker.

“So he has been great for us. I love the energy he plays with. Discussed it today with him. He has got to make better decisions at the end and not getting penalties. He plays really hard and is a great teammate.”

Paul and his fellow defenders will be tasked with slowing down an Arkansas offense that is averaging 33.2 points per game and 482.5 yards of total – both in the top four in the SEC.

Razorback quarterback Taylen Green is third in the league in total offense with only Ole Miss signal caller Jackson Start and LSU quarterback ahead of him.

Green, who has passed for x,xxx yards and rushed for xxx more, for is coming off a six-touchdown effort in a 58-25 win at Mississippi State in which he tossed for five scores.

“We have to do a great job of containing (Green),” Kiffin said. “This guy is talented and long as they come. We’re going to have to do whatever he tries to do, rush really well, contain him, have a really good plan.

“Bobby Petrino, for a long time has done a great job on offense in giving people problems… this is a really well-coached team all around.”

Ole Miss linebacker TJ Dottery said there is one big factory in slowing down Green.

“It’s definitely discipline,” Dottery said. “It’s everybody doing their job and their assignment rather than getting antsy…Stay disciplined and do our job. He’s really good at making defenders miss and getting them extra yards.”

Kiffin, whose late dad Monte was the defensive coordinator at Arkansas from 1977-79 before leaving to become head coach at North Carolina State, likes what he has seen out of the Razorback defense as well.

“They made major defensive improvements in year one a year ago with a new defensive staff,” Kiffin said. “… They’re big up front and are really physical. They plug in some portal guys at linebacker and DB. They always play tough. They seem like they play tougher at home down there. We’re going to have to play really well.”

Ole Miss is coming off a 26-14 home win over Oklahoma where it had to rally from a 14-10 deficit at intermission.

The Rebels rushed for just 69 yards in the win, ran 20 less plays than the Sooners and had 7 penalties for 94 yards.

“We have to run-block better, and that’s everybody,” Kiffin said. “We’re not run-blocking well at wide receiver and tight end right now, which is discouraging because that’s something over the years that we’ve done really well. That’s disappointing.

“(OU) does a good job. They stop a lot of people in running. People that are disappointed in the amount of points we scored, look at the this year playing against them when they’re not giving it away on offense.

“That being said too, we didn’t block well at tight end and receiver, on top of at times not well up front. That’s a really bad combination against a really good run defense.”

Photo courtesy of Ole Miss athletics