Arkansas football: 3 bold predictions for clash against No. 16 Ole Miss
The Arkansas football team and the Ole Miss Rebels face off in Week 6 of the 2023 college football season in a highly anticipated matchup at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi this weekend. The 69th annual meeting between these two SEC-West rivals is set for 7:30 PM ET on SEC Network.
Both teams are coming out of tough conference matchups. Arkansas lost to Texas A&M at a neutral-site game in Dallas last week, 34-22, while Ole Miss upset then-ranked No. 13 LSU in a 55-49 shoot-out. The Razorbacks are now 2-3 on the season, while the Rebels are 4-1 and enjoy a No. 16 ranking in this week’s AP Poll.
This matchup is always a competitive one, as the two teams have split the last four meetings. Arkansas won the most recent meeting, 42-27, in Fayetteville last season.
Let’s take a look at three bold predictions for the Razorbacks pivotal game against Ole Miss.
No 1. Arkansas football team’s offensive line continues to struggle
Perhaps the biggest pain point for the Arkansas Razorbacks this season has been the lackluster performance for the offensive line, which is particularly worrisome when you factor in Head Coach Pittman’s roots as an offensive line coach. Through five games, this o-line has allowed quarterback KJ Jefferson to be sacked 18 times, which is tied for sixth-most in the country and third-most among power five teams. Last week, against Texas A&M, Jefferson was sacked seven times.
A lot of online chatter recently has put pressure on the coaching staff to make changes, however, Pittman is still standing firmly alongside offensive line coach Cody Kennedy and how he’s approaching games each week.
The head Hog recently noted recently noted Kennedy is the same coach they had when they lead the Power 5 in rushing two seasons ago and “the same one that everybody tries to get when the season’s over with.”
However, against No. 16 Ole Miss, this line is going to have a tough time keeping the linebacker corp of Suntarine Perkins, Khari Coleman and Ashanti Cistrunk away from Jefferson. Those three linebackers have combined for 7.5 sacks and 71 total tackles so far this season, giving players like Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and LSU’s Jayden Daniels grief during the first quarter of the season.