The Grove Report Staff Gives Predictions For Ole Miss vs. Arkansas On Saturday

No. 17 Ole Miss is set to open its home SEC slate on Saturday against the No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks in a game that will help determine the final pecking order of the SEC West.

Last season, Ole Miss fell to Arkansas on the road 33-21 in a game that saw Matt Corral throw six interceptions. This season, Corral hopes to reverse those trends from a season ago and get Ole Miss its first conference win of the season.

Last week's SEC games for Ole Miss and Arkansas didn't go well for either squad as they both lost to a frontrunner for the SEC title in Alabama and Georgia, respectively. Now, the stage is set for a bounce-back game for both teams in Oxford at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Here are the predictions for Saturday's game between Ole Miss and Arkansas from The Grove Report staff.

John Garcia

Which SEC darling will bounce back?

Both Ole Miss and Arkansas had become the easy-to-root-for programs in the SEC West led by second-year coaches, and now they face one another to prove who the second best program in the division may be. It's a clash of styles, too, as Lane Kiffin's potent offense is to be combated by Sam Pittman's trench-focused defense with a gritty style.

Depending on the era of college football, I'd pick this thing the Hogs way through most -- until this current era. While there is a bit of a defensive rebirth in college football, shown most notably by Georgia dismantling Arkansas last weekend, the top teams in the country can still threaten 30 points any given Saturday. Ole Miss nearly did it, and probably should have done it, against Alabama while Arkansas fell flat.

While the reported loss of Rebel offensive lineman Caleb Warren is discouraging for an offense looking to get back on track, I'm expecting Kiffin and Jeff Lebby to scheme up the Razorbacks on the edges in the running game to set up Matt Corral and the second level passing game. Arkansas is strongest up the middle at every level, so the potential vulnerability with its cornerbacks could work out well for veterans Dontario Drummond and Braylon Sanders.

Beyond the bounce-back feel of this one relative to last week, remember, it was the Arkansas game last year that saw perception of Corral hit an all-time low, as he threw six interceptions in a surprising loss. The Heisman contender has been efficient and pushed the ball down the field, but his most important improvement has been his ability to protect the football and it will be the difference Saturday.

Prediction: Ole Miss 31, Arkansas 24

Carleigh Holt

Matt Corral will lead his team to victory after feeling a salty loss last week. The Razorbacks are No. 13, and Ole Miss is No. 17, but I believe the Rebels will get a higher ranking in the AP Top 25 after this game after being knocked down by No. 1 Alabama last week. Razorbacks are looking to sack Corral as they did last year and force him into mistakes, but the Ole Miss defense and offense have gotten stronger this year, and I think that will be the difference.

Prediction: Ole Miss 32, Arkansas 25

Matt Galatzan

Ole Miss is looking to bounce back in a big way here, and I think they’ll do just that. Matt Corral has a big day, and the Rebels pull out a solid win.

Prediction: Ole Miss 34, Arkansas 24

John Macon Gillespie

Last week wasn't fun for Ole Miss fans, but I don't believe it should change the perception of the program just yet.

Arkansas has a talented defense, but the Razorbacks are no Alabama, even with a strong defensive coordinator in Barry Odom calling the shots. Odom was able to cook up some schemes last season that forced Matt Corral into some mistakes, and he'll be looking to do the same again on Saturday, but I think Corral is a different player than he was a year ago. He's seemingly matured as an individual and a quarterback, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's had this game circled on his calendar for a while now as a "bounce back" game from last year's road loss to the Hogs.

While I do think Arkansas is a better team than it was a season ago, I think Ole Miss is too, and with this game being in Oxford, I'm taking the Rebels to win and cover.

Prediction: Ole Miss 42, Arkansas 28

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