LIVE BLOG: Late interception kills any shot as Hogs fall to Ole Miss

We will update with more content Sunday morning to follow up on Razorbacks’ 27-20 loss at Ole Miss on Saturday night. Postgame interviews will be posted tonight.

OXFORD, Miss. — At times this week, Arkansas’ players and Sam Pittman sounded like they hoped Ole Miss would be overlooking them tonight when the two teams square off at 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. You can also listen online here (clock on the bar at the bottom of the page) in coverage markets or on the radio at ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.

“Coming off the LSU win, they’re going to overlook us,” defensive lineman Cam Ball said on Tuesday evening. “I don’t think they’re too much worried about us.” That’s using the power of positive thinking and hoping it happens. It was 45 years ago that Lou Holtz told all of us in a press conference to forget that kind of stuff because “last week has nothing to do with this week and last year has nothing to do with this year.”

All of that means this could be an interesting game tonight. The Razorbacks come into the game and the wheels on the season may be wobbling a little with a 2-3 record and neither one of those wins over a Power 5 team … or in the SEC. The Rebels are sitting at 4-1 (1-1 SEC). Those numbers aren’t far apart, but the Hogs didn’t play well last week and were dominated by Texas A&M. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is hoping last year has nothing to do with this year.

“Not really bulletin board material,” Kiffin said this week. “I just use it as saying, ‘It doesn’t matter what happened last year.’ With Arkansas playing against Ole Miss, it doesn’t matter what they’ve done before. If I remember correctly, I think the week before us they lost to Liberty, didn’t move the ball very well, and then they came out against us and looked like a top-five team in the country. It doesn’t matter what’s happened before. So, I did use that game as evidence of how these guys come to play against us.”

KJ Jefferson (Craven Whitlow / HitThatLine.com)

Live Blog:

When the game before you doesn’t go long and you start on SEC Network pic.twitter.com/FjojqQCOBn

— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) October 7, 2023

1Q 6:08: The coming out party for Ty Washington comes on the Hogs’ first drive of the game, going 80 yards in 15 plays and eating up 7:46 of the first quarter as Washington had 5 catches for 56 yards, the last being a 3-yard flip for a score. The drive overcame a couple of penalties by the offensive line (mostly Brady Latham) and some big sacks, but chalk this one up to Washington and KJ Jefferson. Hogs 7, Rebels 0

1Q 3:21: Ole Miss answers, mostly with quarterback Jaxson Dart’s key scrambles but bog down close to the Hogs’ goal. Linebacker Jaheim Thomas comes wide open on a blitz and Dart limps off after not much of a hit at all and it ends up in a short field goal from Caden Davis. Hogs 7, Rebels 3

1Q :29: Ole Miss quickly answers again, thanks to Jefferson hitting the open receiver, who happened to be Rebels linebacker Ashanti Cistrunk, who nearly had a pick-six. Ole Miss punched it in from inches away on fourth down, moving Quinshon Judkins to take a direct snap through a huge crease on the left side, leaving Hog fans to wonder if that is not in the arsenal of offensive coordinator Dan Enos. Rebels 10, Hogs 7

2Q 1:34: You have to wonder if Ole Miss is starting to wear the Hogs down. They go 50 yards  in six plays and the final 6 coming on a pass from Dart to Dayton Webb and lead by two scores late in first half. Rebels 17, Hogs 7

3Q 10:07: Maybe the Hogs are starting to get offense going, reverting back at halftime to original starters on offensive line. You can discuss later all this shuffling to end up where Sam Pittman started, but Cam Little comes on to kick a 56-yard field goal to get a lead back. Rebels 17, Hogs 10

3Q 02:46: Malik Chavis sets offense up in Ole Miss territory with a fourth-down sack and Hogs move down before drive stalls near the goalline … again. Little has to come on for a short (26 yards) field goal to inch back closer to Rebels. Rebels 17, Hogs 13

4Q 14:11: Hogs finally get a score from a suddenly emerging Ty Washington at tight end, who has either had some click for him lately or nobody saw it until lately. Jefferson finds him for a 17-yard scoring pass and the lead. Hogs 20, Rebels 17

4Q 7:49: Rebels don’t waste any time taking the lead back. Dart leads offense on 75-yard, 12-play scoring march, converting one fourth-and-short in the process to get the lead back on a 7-yard run by Ulysses Bentley. Rebels 24, Hogs 20

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4Q 2:43: Rebels get ball back and move down to Hogs’ 2 before defense makes a stand and have to settle for a 22-yard field goal. Anybody else remember 2021 and thinking redemption. Rebels 27, Hogs 20

Jefferson throws a late interception that killed any chance of setting up a repeat of what happened in 2021 with a late drive and having to make a decision on a 2-point conversion. Razorbacks sitting at 2-4 on season, still looking for first SEC win and heading to Alabama for a game next Saturday morning.