Arkansas rivalry heating up

In true rivalry fashion, Ole Miss and Arkansas can’t even agree on their football team’s record in head-to-head matchups. 

Arkansas leads the all-time series against the Rebels 29-26-1 or 30-25-1, depending if you check Ole Miss or Arkansas records, respectively, due to a disputed game from 1914. 

The teams played each other 27 times, with the Rebels holding a 15-12, or 14-13, advantage before a 12-year hiatus. The two schools renewed the series in 1981, and Arkansas holds a 17-11-1 advantage since then, including a 10-8 record since they joined the Southeastern Conference in 1992. 

After a NCAA record seven-overtime game and a pair of recent heated games, fueled by Houston Nutt’s departure from Arkansas to Ole Miss, this rivalry has taken on new importance for both schools. 

Quarterback Jevan Snead passed for a career-high 332 yards and two touchdowns while running back Dexter McCluster rushed for 123 yards and added a career-high 137 receiving yards in last year’s 30-17 victory in Oxford. 

Ole Miss jumped out to a 17-0 lead and made 31 first downs compared to Arkansas’ 13, while out gaining Arkansas 553-299 in the game.

The year before, in Houston Nutt’s first year at Ole Miss, the Rebels led 23-14 with less than two minutes remaining in the game, but the Razorbacks cut the lead to two. Arkansas then tried an onside kick and appeared to recover it, but the officials ruled the play out of bounds. 

After review, the call was reversed and Arkansas took over with just over a minute left in the game. 

Seconds later, Arkansas completed a pass into field goal range, but it was called back for offensive pass interference and Ole Miss held on for the 23-21 win. It was only the Rebels’ second victory in 10 chances in Fayetteville, where Saturday’s game will be played.

In 2007, Houston Nutt’s last year at Arkansas, running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones each rushed for more than 100 yards and quarterback Casey Dick threw three touchdown passes to lead the Razorbacks to a 44-8 victory in Oxford. Arkansas then knocked off nationally ranked No. 1 and eventual National Champion LSU Tigers in the regular season finale that year. 

En route to Arkansas’ most recent SEC Western Division Championship in 2006, the Razorbacks overwhelmed the Rebels 38-3, which started with Jones returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

In the recent series’ most memorable showdown, Arkansas outlasted Ole Miss 58-56 in a NCAA-record seven overtimes, a game that lasted nearly four-and-a-half hours in 2001. 

Quarterback Eli Manning threw a school-record six touchdown passes and passed for a career-high 312 yards, but came up a yard short on a two-point conversion in the seventh overtime. 

It was tied 17-17 at the end of regulation and both teams scored in six of the seven overtime possessions, combining for 80 points.