Kiffin, Ole Miss set for cold affair against Arkansas
OXFORD — Sub-freezing temperatures likely await Ole Miss football in Fayetteville this weekend.
Rebels coach Lane Kiffin isn’t a fan, and the measures taken to ensure his own comfort include reaching out to Realtree for a specially designed base layer to help him keep warm. Kiffin doesn’t think his Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC) team will be too daunted by the elements, though, when it takes the field against Arkansas (5-5, 2-4) on Saturday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network).
If this clash is anything like last season’s matchup, fans are in for a treat. The Rebels emerged victorious from a 52-51 thriller a year ago in which the Razorbacks unsuccessfully attempted a two-point conversion with no time remaining on the clock.
Here’s what to know ahead of the game.
Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson’s status
On a media call Wednesday, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman stopped short of declaring that star quarterback KJ Jefferson would start Saturday after missing last week’s loss to LSU. He did, however, note that Jefferson had taken just about every snap under center in practice this week.
Never put it past a college football coach to use the media for some oldfashioned misdirection, but that would seem to indicate that Jefferson is trending toward playing. And that’s a big deal for Arkansas.
Without Jefferson last week, Arkansas managed just 249 yards total offense. With Jefferson, the Razorbacks average 34 points per game.
In two games without him this season, they haven’t cracked the 20-point threshold.
The fourth-year quarterback has thrown for 17 touchdowns and three interceptions this season. He’s rushed for 425 yards and six more TDS.
Last year against the Rebels, he threw for 326 yards and rushed for 85, accumulating six total touchdowns in the process.
“He’s obviously a problem because he’s so physical,” Kiffin said. “When he runs the ball, he can make you miss, can run you over. We had a major issue with him (last year), especially later in the game.”
Arkansas’ defense is there for the taking
Perhaps the biggest cause behind the Razorbacks’ descent out of the polls and into the bottom half of the SEC West standings is a defense that is among the least efficient in the conference.
Arkansas had a good day defensively last time out against LSU, limiting the Tigers to just 13 points, but that’s an outlying performance for that unit on the year.
The Razorbacks allow 427.3 yards per game as a team. Their opponents have also averaged 6.2 yards per play against them. Both of those marks are second-worst in the SEC, better than only Vanderbilt.
Opposing teams have racked up 280.5 yards passing per game against Arkansas, which has the worst coverage grade of any SEC team, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF also gives the Razorbacks’ defense the second-worst tackling grade in the conference.
Some of those unflattering statistics are no doubt influenced by the nonconference schedule arranged by Pittman and the Arkansas brass. Liberty, BYU and Cincinnati have all been in and around the top 25 at various points this season.
Still, this looks like a defense the Rebels can succeed against.
Ole Miss availability notes
Zach Evans, part of a lethal backfield tandem for the Rebels alongside Quinshon Judkins, suffered a concussion in last Saturday’s loss to Alabama, Kiffin said.
Kiffin said he had no further information on Evans’ status when he met with reporters Monday. The TCU transfer has averaged 6.4 yards per rush this season, racking up 692 yards and seven touchdowns rushing.
“That has been an issue, statistically, scoring-wise when he goes out and not kind of having that one-two punch,” Kiffin said.
Tight end Michael Trigg also missed a fourth consecutive game for the Rebels. Kiffin teased a potential return for him this weekend.
“He came back and practiced last week,” Kiffin said. “I don’t think he was fully prepared to play in the game, with all that time off and coming back. So he may be this week.”
Score prediction
Ole Miss 35, Arkansas 31. This won’t be easy for the Rebels, especially if Jefferson is under center. It will also be a test of their fortitude, having their SEC West title hopes dashed with last week’s loss. But the Rebels haven’t lost two consecutive games since Kiffin’s first season in charge, and Arkansas’ defense is one that should be vulnerable to Jaxson Dart, Quinshon Judkins and company.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.