10 Things to Know – Ole Miss

10 Things to Know – Ole Miss

Arkansas returns home after a two-game road swing to host Ole Miss for Homecoming at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 17. The game will air on SEC Network.

1. - Arkansas came up just short in last week’s game, falling 30-28 at No. 13 Auburn as the Tigers made a game-winning field goal with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Razorbacks were trailing 17-0 midway through the second quarter but showed resiliency and took a 28-27 lead with 5:29 left in the final stanza. The offense found its groove by racking up a season-high 437 total yards, its most in an SEC game since compiling 447 yards against Vanderbilt two seasons ago.

2. - Making his first career start, redshirt junior RB Trelon Smith shined against the Tigers, posting career-highs of 81 rushing yards and 78 receiving yards while scoring his first career touchdown on a five-yard catch. He joined the elite company of Clemson all-american RB Travis Etienne (73 rushing yards / 144 receiving yards – vs. Virginia) as the only two FBS players to collect at least 70 rushing and receiving yards in the same game this season. The Arizona State transfer has led the team in rushing all three games and paces the squad with 167 rushing yards and 14 receptions.

3. - Graduate transfer QB Feleipe Franks eclipsed the 300-yard mark for the first time in his career, throwing for a career-best 318 passing yards with four touchdowns last week at No. 13 Auburn. The Florida transfer became the first Razorback signal caller to throw at least four touchdowns passes since Brandon Allen (7) in 2015 against Mississippi State. Over his last two games, Franks has thrown for 530 yards and six touchdowns without an interception. He ranks fifth in the SEC in passing touchdowns (7), sixth in completion percentage (64.9%) and seventh in passing yards (730).

4. - Junior LB Bumper Pool and redshirt freshman DB Jalen Catalon are each averaging 12.0 tackles per game to lead the SEC and rank second nationally. Catalon also leads the country, making 8.7 solo stops per game, and is coming off a career-high 14 tackle outing at No. 13 Auburn.

5. - Veteran WR De’Vion Warren has jumped out to a fast start in his senior campaign, leading Arkansas with 223 receiving yards and three touchdown catches. A week after earning his first career 100-yard receiving game in the upset win at No. 16 Mississippi State, Warren made a career-high five catches for 95 yards and scored two touchdowns for the first time in his career at No. 13 Auburn. His average of 22.3 yards per reception ranks third in the SEC and 14th nationally.

6. - Redshirt freshman DB Hudson Clark earned his first career start last week and made a career-best seven tackles against the Tigers. He became the 10th first-time starter on defense this season and pushed the Hogs’ number of first-time starters to 16. Arkansas has recorded the fourth most first-time starters in the country behind Texas State (23), Navy (20) and Arkansas State (18).

7. - Earlier this week, sophomore center Ricky Stromberg was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List, which recognizes the nation’s best center. The Tulsa, Okla. product has started all three games at center this season after making 11 starts at left and right guard last year.

8. - Arkansas’ defense has tightened up this year on third down, allowing opponents to convert just 34.6% of their tries, which ranks fifth in the SEC and 25th nationally. The Hogs are keeping opposing offenses off schedule, forcing an average third down conversion distance of 6.5 yards.

9. - For the 67th time, the Hogs and Rebels will meet on the gridiron, with Arkansas leading the all-time series, 36-27-1. The two have a deep history before Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992 and first met on Oct. 10, 1908, a 33-0 Razorback victory in Fayetteville. Meetings during the 1950s and 1960s routinely pitted the top teams of the Southwest and Southeastern Conferences against each other. The respective conference champions met on Oct. 23, 1954 in Little Rock and Arkansas’ 6-0 win on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Bob Benson to Preston Carpenter, known as the “Powder River Play,” remains a marquee win in program history. The Razorbacks are 11-2 all-time in Fayetteville against the Rebels. The series has been tightly contested of late, as the margin of victory has been four points or fewer in four of the last five meetings.

10. - This season, Ole Miss possesses one of highest-powered offenses in the country, ranking second nationally and leading the SEC averaging 573 yards per game. However, the Rebels defense ranks 14th in the league allowing 641.3 yards per game. QB Matt Corral has thrown for 1,080 yards and nine scores with WR Elijah Moore serving as his top target, making 31 catches for 462 yards. The Rebels are under the direction of first-year head coach Lane Kiffin, who previously made head coaching stops at Florida Atlantic, USC, Tennessee and the NFL’s Oakland Raiders.