How did Razorbacks grade out after 41-35 road loss to No. 11/13 Ole Miss

Not best game for Arkansas in all three phases, particularly the defense or special teams that may have been difference

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) passes the ball as Ole Miss Rebels defensive lineman Zxavian Harris (51) attempts to break up the pass during the first quarter at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILE, Ark. — After yielding 63 points to Ole Miss in an embarrassing blowout home loss in 2024, Arkansas' defense was looking to give a much-improved performance on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.

Instead, it was more ineptitude by the Razorbacks' defense.

Arkansas gave itself a chance by being more competitive offensively than a year ago. It did not prevent the Rebels from winning all three phases of the game, plus the turnover battle, in a tight 41-35 triumph.

The Hogs' defense was scored on in all but two possessions of the matchup, but Arkansas still had a chance to finish with a game-winning drive.

The Razorbacks were driving late, but facing a 2nd-and-4 on the Ole Miss 27-yard line with just under two minutes to play the old turnover bug took a bite.

Senior quarterback Taylen Green found receiver Jalen Brown on a swing pass in the left flat, Brown then turned up field and broke inside the 25-yard line.

But as he was seeking extra yardage three Rebels defenders converged on him with one ripping the ball out before another Ole Miss defender pounced on it near the left sideline.

It turned out to be the turnover by either team in the tilt, leading to Ole Miss picking up one first down on offense before kneeling on the ball in victory formation to run out the remainder of the game clock.

Losing close games and losing the turnover battles have become commonplace during the Sam Pittman era at Arkansas.

His record is now 7-18 in one-score games.

"Yeah, I knew that was coming," Pittman said after the game. "I don’t know what to do with it. Tell me what to do.

"They’re hurt, which is a good thing. It means something to them, which is a good thing. When you have that, they’ll go back to work and they’ll do a good job with that."

Ole Miss has won the last three meetings between the schools, but Arkansas holds a 37-32-1 advantage in the all-time series.

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington Jr. (4) runs for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Razorbacks offense against Ole Miss

Arkansas got a big performance from senior quarterback Taylen Green, who hit 22-of-35 passes for 305 yards, a touchdown, and ZERO interceptions to go with 115 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 14 carries.

It was Green's second consecutive game of throwing for 200-plus yards while rushing for 100-plus yards with at least one touchdown each as a passer and rusher.

Green's 5-yard touchdown run with 1:15 left in the second quarter capped the Razorbacks' fourth consecutive touchdown drive. That came after a missed field goal on the first possession of the game, and it allowed Arkansas to tie the game at 28-all.

Washington also had a 35-yard catch.

Ole Miss was flagged for defensive holding on the play which nullified the turnover. It set the Hogs up with a first-and-goal at the 4 in what turned into the team's third touchdown drive of the first-half to tie the game at 21-21.

Through three games, Green is 63-of-92 passing for 866 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions to go with 307 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing on 32 carries.

Transfer running back Mike Washington, Jr., surpassed 100 scrimmage yards for a third consecutive game to open the season with 65 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He also had 53 yards receiving on two catches.

His 47-yard touchdown gallop capped a 4-play, 75-yard drive early in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-all. His second touchdown was a 3-yard run with 4:56 remaining in the game that closed the Razorbacks within a one-score deficit, 41-35.

Washington also authored a 35-yard reception in the contest.

Through three games, Washington has a total of 339 scrimmage yards (260 rushing and 79 receiving) and 4 touchdowns (3 rushing and 1 receiving) on a combined total of 35 touches (31 carries and 4 receptions).

Sophomore running back and Benton native Braylen Russell had 9 carries for 37 yards, including a grinding 3-yarder into the end zone that allowed Arkansas to tie the game at 21-all in the second quarter.

The team's leading receiver, transfer O'Mega Blake, led with 6 receptions for 81 yards and 1 touchdown. His score was Arkansas' first of the game as it came on a 30-yard reception when Green found him down the field, allowing Arkansas to pull even, 7-all, in the first quarter.

Blake has 18 receptions for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season.

Tight ends Jaden Platt (3 receptions for 53 yards) and Rohan Jones (1 reception for 21 yards) were productive with each recording at least one explosion play (i.e. plays of 20-or-more yards).

Receivers Jalen Brown (4 receptions for 40 yards), CJ Brown (2 receptions for 26 yards), and Raylen Sharpe (2 receptions for 23 yards) also aided the Hogs' cause on offense.

As a team, Arkansas piled up 526 yards of offense with a balanced attack on the ground (221 yards and 4 touchdowns on 6.0 yards per carry) and through the air (305 yards and 1 touchdown on 22-of-35 passing for 8.7 yards per attempt).

The Razorbacks picked up 30 first downs which included converting a stellar 9-of-12 on third-down plays.

Arkansas' lone turnover was not only costly as it terminated a potential game-winning drive, but it meant losing another turnover battle in a game as Ole Miss did not suffer a single turnover.

After having its way offensively in the first half, the Razorbacks managed only one score during the entire second half.

Although Arkansas' offense out-gained Ole Miss', the Rebels (a perfect 5-of-5 on scoring drives in the first half) were consistently better in both halves of generating and finishing scoring drives.

Arkansas' offensive grade: A-minus

Arkansas Razorbacks defenders Stephen Dix and Larry Worth move in for a tackle of Ole Miss Rebels running back Kewan Lacy at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. | Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

Razorbacks defense against Ole Miss

Other than getting a stop for the first time in the game on Ole Miss' third-quarter-opening drive.

The Hogs defensive unit did give the team a chance to win in the end by getting a 3-and-out with under four minutes remaining in the game.

Everything else was a disaster for Travis Williams' defensive unit.

After giving up 515 passing yards and 6 touchdowns last season to now-NFL quarterback Jaxon Dart in Ole Miss' 63-31 win in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks caved in once again on Saturday.

But this time it was Ole Miss' backup QB, Division II transfer Trinidad Chambliss, who chewed up the Hogs' defense to the tune of 21-of-29 passing for a game-high 353 yards and 1 touchdown to go with 62 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing on 15 carries.

To add insult to injury, the Rebels usual starting quarterback Austin Simmons (an ankle injury made him a backup) came into the game noticeably hobbling in relief of Chambliss to finish off a touchdown drive.

He scrambled for 8 yards on a third-and-8 play that set Ole Miss up with first-and-goal at the Hogs' 4. Then he threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open teammate to put the Rebels ahead, 21-14, in the second quarter.

The Razorbacks' front got very little pressure on Chambliss, which mostly held true once Arkansas started using middle blitzes.

Combine that with soft downfield coverage and slow-to-react pursuit after quick-hitting passes in the flats, and it ALL conspired to undo the Hogs defensively.

Chambliss and Simmons combined for 22-of-30 passing for 357 yards and 2 touchdowns. At least half of those incompletions were unforced errors on dropped passes when Rebels receivers had both hands on the ball.

Arkansas did manage to limit Ole Miss' run game, holding the Rebels to 118 yards on 40 carries (3.0 yards per tote).

Chambliss' 17-yarder was the longest play in the running game, and no running back for the Rebels had as many as 10 yards on a carry.

The Rebels did rush for three scores with Chambliss owning two of those.

After turning the ball over late, Arkansas did have two timeouts with 1:52 remaining needing a 3-and-out to get the ball back with a second chance to mount a game-winning drive. The defense couldn't prevent an Ole Miss first down that ran out the game clock.

Ole Miss finished with 475 yards total offense, 5 touchdowns, and ZERO turnovers while picking up 25 first downs and going 8-of-12 on third down plays.

Veteran returning linebackers Stephen Dix, Jr. (9 tackles, including 4 solo and one-half tackle-for-loss) and Xavian Sorey, Jr. (7 tackles all solo) led the team in stops.

Senior transfer defensive back Julian Neal had 6 tackles (4 solo) and a team-leading 2 passes defended.

Defensive back Miguel Mitchell was credited with the team's only sack as Arkansas managed just four tackles for lost yardage in the game.

Arkansas' defensive grade: F

Arkansas Razorbacks kicker Scott Starzyk attempts a field goal against the Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. | Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

Razorbacks special teams against Ole Miss

Major win here for the Rebels.

Rebels junior kicker Lucas Carneiro was a perfect 2-of-2 on field goals, including a 36-yarder to close the first half with a 31-28 Ole Miss lead.

He later had a 23-yard boot with 10:58 to play in the game to give the Rebels their biggest lead of the game, 41-28.

Conversely, Arkansas true freshman kicker Scott Starzyk was 0-of-2 on field goals, although both were much further out (51 and 49 yards).

Starzyk came into the game 1-of-1 in field goals (a 53-yarder) in his fledgling career.

Both kickers were a perfect 5-of-5 on extra points, but in the end Ole Miss' winning margin was primarly on the strength of the kicking game. The Hogs missed a pair of field goals.

There were three punts total in the game: Arkansas' Devin Bale had one boot for 47 yards while Ole Miss' Oscar Bird had two punts each traveling more than 50 yards as he averaged 55.0 per punt.

There was one punt return in the contest when Arkansas' Kam Shanks lost two yards on his return early in the third quarter.

Neither team had a kick return in the game as kickoffs traveled deep into the end zone for both teams.

Arkansas' special teams grade: D

Mistakes and miscues haut Hogs

As mentioned above, Arkansas lost the turnover battle 1-0.

Each team had 7 penalties, costing the Hogs 68 yards compared to 63 yards for Ole Miss.

Arkansas' mistakes and miscues grade: C-minus