‘There Was A Lack of Energy’: Rebels Defensive Back AJ Finley Identifies Reason for Loss at Arkansas
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels were soundly defeated Saturday night by the Arkansas Razorbacks 42-27.
The final score may have been decided by 15 points, but the Rebels trailed by 36 points heading into the fourth quarter.
A lot of the blame has to be put on the defense as they allowed Arkansas to run for 335 yards in the game with 205 of these yards coming in the first half alone. While the defense looked completely lost for most of the game, they actually did tighten up in the second half. After Arkansas ran for 118 yards in the third quarter, they were only able to muster up 12 rushing yards in the fourth quarter and 6 passing yards in the entire second half.
But despite their attempt to make up for these defensive lapses, the Rebels’ offense had two touchdowns taken away by holding penalties in the first half, and they turned the ball over three times on the night.
Their inability to execute could have had something to with the extremely chilly weather or the rumors surrounding Lane Kiffin’s potential departure. Regardless, the Rebels simply did not play up to their expectations.
“I don’t know if it was the weather, or people playing down to the competition,” defensive back AJ Finely said. “I feel like we were definitely a better team than them, so I don’t know exactly what it was.”
While it does not appear to have affected their focus, the rumors surrounding Lane Kiffin’s departure could have played a role in the Rebels shockingly poor performance.
“We don’t really talk about what the media talks about in the locker room,” Finley said. “It is just in the back of our heads. We cannot control anything about it.”
Whatever the exact reason was, it seemed to impact the Rebels effort.
“I just feel like the energy wasn’t where it needed to be,” Finely said.
There were multiple reasons that contributed to the Rebels' loss, but their apparent lack of energy is most concerning. Hopefully for them, they can come out with more energy against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Thursday despite the quick turnaround.
The Egg Bowl starts at 6 p.m. CT in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and it will be broadcasted on ESPN.
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