Arkansas Got That Elusive SEC Win, but Can It Play Spoiler vs. Ole Miss?
It took a long time, but Arkansas got off the schneid in a big way Saturday, shutting out LSU 17-0 to earn its first SEC win since Oct. 13, 2012.
What's next for head coach Bret Bielema's Razorbacks? Could it be a—gasp—winning streak?
The 5-5 Hogs are only 3.5-point underdogs at home to No. 8 Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon, per Odds Shark, as they look to put an end to the Rebels' faint SEC West title hopes. If the Rebels win out and Auburn beats Alabama next weekend, the Rebels would advance to the SEC Championship Game for the first time in program history.
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It isn't just Arkansas' bruising running game that's standing in the way of Ole Miss' run to Atlanta. It's the Hogs defense.
In his first year as defensive coordinator in Fayetteville, Robb Smith's defense is giving up just 340.6 yards per game and only 291.0 per game in November, as the Hogs have played Mississippi State close and then shut down the Tigers.
| Aug./Sept. | 403.2 | 5.95 | 25.8 |
| Oct. | 269.3 | 4.78 | 25.3 |
| Nov. | 291.0 | 5.02 | 8.5 |
Meanwhile, what is Ole Miss' offense now?
It seems like months ago when wide receiver Laquon Treadwell went out with a season-ending ankle injury, but since then, the Rebels have cruised past Presbyterian and had a bye week. It'll be a whole new ballgame for the Rebels, and head coach Hugh Freeze will need receivers like Vince Sanders, Cody Core and Quincy Adeboyejo to step up.
More importantly, though, the Rebels need to find a way to run the ball. They currently rank 10th in the SEC in rushing yards per game (174.4) and have struggled to find running room between the tackles. Against a very good front four, Freeze knows his offense has its work cut out for it.
"When you watch their cut-ups, the first thing you see is that nobody is out of position," Freeze said in this week's SEC coaches teleconference. "They do what they do. They're not some sophisticated scheme. They just line up in the right spot, they correct tackles, you don't get them out of position and they have a really talented defensive front. You don't see a lot of runs even get to the second level."
While the defense has been underrated, the unquestioned strength of this Hogs team is the running game. Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins have combined to produce the conference's fourth-best ground attack (232.9 YPG) and, more importantly, can control the clock and shorten the game.
"The games that you watch on tape, when they are able to manage the early going and stay in it, that game gets short in a hurry," Freeze said. "It would be very beneficial for us to get out to a fast start, for sure."
Ole Miss is walking into a trap.
This is a hot Arkansas team that, suddenly, knows what it takes to win in the SEC. It has been building momentum throughout the season and would love nothing more than to close strong, get to a bowl game and keep that momentum building through the offseason.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss' annual Egg Bowl showdown with No. 4 Mississippi State is looming around the corner.
Trap game?
You bet this is a trap game for Ole Miss.
Arkansas has nothing to lose and everything to gain, is carrying momentum and will be facing an Ole Miss team with an offense that's averaging 55.2 fewer yards per game on the road and at neutral sites.
It may seem like Week 13 in the SEC is a snoozefest, but this is going to be a four-quarter battle between two fun football teams. I picked Ole Miss in our B/R expert picks thanks to quarterback Bo Wallace being more "good Bo" than "bad Bo" this year, but it won't be by much.
This will be a barn-burner.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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