OXFORD, Miss. — Get ready for a quarterback change.

Arkansas sputtered offensively in the first half with Ben Hicks starting his second game, then Nick Starkel came on in the second half, but there was not a whole lot of improvement until it was too late in a 31-17 loss to Ole Miss.

That evens the Razorbacks’ record at 1-1, but kicks off the SEC schedule 0-1 after an 0-8 league record last year and will start to increase the discontent among the Razorback fans.

Hicks was 7-of-16 for 98 yards and no touchdowns in the first half. The offense was simply lacking the ability to get into the end zone.

Starkel came in and didn’t make a lot of improvement in getting into the end zone until just over a minute to play on a 6-yard pass to Koilan Jackson, but it was too little too late.

He finished the night 17-of-24 with that lone touchdown.

Rebels running back Scottie Phillips gashed the Arkansas defense for 143 yards and two touchdowns, a lot of it in the fourth quarter.

On the other hand, the Hogs couldn’t run the ball, getting just 61 net yards all night. Rakeem Boyd had 67 yards, but disappeared with the Arkansas running game in the second half.

It will be an interesting week.

4Q-1:21: Koilan Jackson hauls in a 6-yard scoring pass from Nick Starkel to make it a little closer as Starkel leads a seven-play, 81-yard drive against an Ole Miss defense that was just looking to not give up a huge play.

Ole Miss 31, Hogs 17

4Q-6:03: Scottie Phillips breaks free for a 26-yard scoring run to put the dagger into the Hogs. The gap is too big to overcome.

Ole Miss 31, Hogs 10

4Q-11:09: Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral answered Arkansas’ score with a 46-yard scoring pass to Elijah Moore after a quick five-play, 74-yard drive to open a two-touchdown edge.

Ole Miss 24, Hogs 10

4Q-13:31: Kamren Curl forced a fumble on a 5-yard run by Ole Miss’ Octavius Cooley, then picks it up and avoids tacklers for a 69-yard touchdown return and Hogs have life.

Ole Miss 17, Hogs 10

3Q-2:33: After coming on a blitz untouched, Hogs’ linebacker Zach Williams grabbed Matt Corral’s facemask to give the Rebels new life and they scored on a 1-yard run to open a two-touchdown lead.

Ole Miss 17, Hogs 3

Nick Starkel started the second half for Arkansas against Ole Miss, but had a three-and-out to open, then a nine-play, 44-yard drive ended a yard short.

He had hit a key pass to Trey Knox, then an apparent penalty against Ole Miss after a first down catch by C.J. O’Grady was moved back to fourth-and-1 with no penalty and Rakeem Boyd was stuffed short of the marker.

Connor Limpert hooked a 43-yard field goal attempt 50 seconds left in the first half after Arkansas had moved downfield on a miracle pass from Ben Hicks to Trey Knox.

The Razorbacks’ offense has sputtered like an old car running half the cylinders with some bad gas as Hicks has overthrown two passes that likely would have been scoring plays and both have allowed Ole Miss to keep momentum.

At the half, Ole Miss has put up 240 yards while holding the Hogs to just 137 with just 38 yards on the ground as the Rebels are crashing inside, shutting down the run game and getting consistent pressure on Hicks.

2Q-2:24: Luke Logan hits a 33-yard field goal as Ole Miss’ offense works to hit the outside and if Hogs’ defense doesn’t do better setting the edge, it’s going to be a long night.

Ole Miss 10, Hogs 3

2Q-8;19: Connor Limpert bounces a field goal off the left upright to get the Hogs on the scoreboard after a no-call on a defensive holding or pass interference call as C.J. O’Grady was turning upfield.

Ole Miss 7, Hogs 3

1Q-8:41: Ole Miss gets on the board first on a 2-yard pass from quarterback Matt Corral to Elijah Davis to cap a 13-play, 85-yard drive, taking advantage of a big missed tackle by cornerback Jarques McClellion on Davis earlier.

Ole Miss 7, Arkansas 0

Arkansas won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, then stopped Ole Miss without a first down as things are under way in Oxford.

Some information from Razorback Sports Communications

Arkansas begins SEC play at Ole Miss on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Oxford, Mississippi.

You can hear the game on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.

In addition, you can listen locally to the live broadcast of the game online at HitThatLine.com.

The Arkansas GameDay pregame show begins at 1:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on SEC Network, as well as the ESPN app. Here are 10 things to know about the game before kick off.

1. It will be the 66th meeting between the two schools on the gridiron, with the Razorbacks holding a 36-26-1 edge in the all-time series.

The series is tied at 6-6 in games played in Oxford. Each of the last four games against the Rebels have been decided by six points or less, with the last two contests in Oxford finishing as one-point games.

Saturday’s game against the Rebels will be the earliest SEC opener for both teams since 2014 and is the first time the two teams have opened conference play against each other.

2. The Razorback defense made it a point of emphasis since the beginning of the spring to create more turnovers, with the goal of at least three per practice.

In 2018, Arkansas produced 13 takeaways, with five interceptions. Entering the 2019 campaign, no active member of the roster had a collegiate interception to his name.

After Saturday, three Razorbacks could claim that distinction as Kamren Curl, Joe Foucha and Jarques McClellion all picked off passes against Portland State.

Curl recorded the first interception of the season in the second quarter, while McClellion’s INT in the third frame set up a Rakeem Boyd touchdown. Foucha’s pick in the fourth quarter allowed Arkansas to run out the clock in victory formation for a 1-0 start to the season.

3. Junior safety Kamren Curl’s presence was felt all over the field in Saturday’s season opener against the Vikings. Curl recorded the first interception of the season for the Razorbacks, the first of his career, in the second quarter to put Arkansas in the red zone.

He also recorded two sacks, both solo, during Portland State’s second and fourth drives of the game. He finished the contest with five tackles, four unassisted stops, for his 12th career game of five or more tackles.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) rated him as Arkansas’ top defender on Saturday with an overall grade of 83.2, including coverage and QB pressure marks of 84.9 and 81.0, respectively, all career-bests from the outlet.

4. Senior defensive tackle McTelvin “Sosa” Agim moved from defensive end and didn’t miss a beat on Saturday, racking up a team-high six tackles, two for loss, including two sacks against Portland State.

It was the second time in his career he’s recorded 2.0 sacks in a game, doing so against Tulsa (10/20) on homecoming last season. He’s the first Razorback since Trey Flowers (2012-13) to produce a game with 2.0 or more sacks in back-to-back seasons.

Agim now has 11.5 sacks over his collegiate career, moving him within 5.0 sacks of cracking the career sacks top-10 at Arkansas. His total of 25 tackles for loss puts him eight away from writing his name into the Arkansas record books at 10th on the school’s career list.

He is one of three in the conference with 2.0 sacks after week one.

5. The Arkansas defense served up some sack lunches on Saturday, posting 6.0 sacks among five players against the Vikings.

McTelvin Agim and Kamren Curl paced the team with 2.0 each, while Hayden Henry (1.0), Gabe Richardson (0.5) and Jamario Bell (0.5) all joined in on the fun on the scoresheet.

Agim was involved in three of the team’s sacks, reaching 6.0 for the first time since playing Tulsa last year, tying for the third-most under a Chad Morris-coached team. Curl and Agim’s combination 4.0 sacks marked the first time two Razorbacks piled up 4.0 in game since 2014, when Taiwan Johnson (2.5) and Darius Philon (1.5) against Nicholls State.

Arkansas is one of eight schools in the country with 6.0 or more sacks after the first week of competition.

6. Junior running back Rakeem Boyd put together a strong showing in the season-opening victory over Portland State.

The Houston, Texas, native tallied 114 rushing yards on 18 carries, while also reeling in three receptions for 22 yards for a total of 136 all-purpose yards in the contest.

It was his highest rushing yard total since arriving on the Hill from Independence CC and the second-most combined yardage day behind a 145-yard performance against Ole Miss in 2018 that featured 109 rushing yards on seven first-quarter carries.

Boyd’s 114 yards vs. PSU was the first time he’s rushed for over 100 yards in a non-conference game and the fourth time as a Razorback to go over 100 yards in a game on the ground.

He is one of 29 Arkansas running backs all time to record four 100+ yard rushing performances while playing for the school, joining senior teammate Devwah Whaley.

Boyd’s 100-yard game on Saturday gave Arkansas its 36th consecutive season with at least one 100-yard rusher.

7. Senior Ben Hicks was named the starting quarterback by head coach Chad Morris on Aug. 26 after transferring from SMU after the 2018 season.

Hicks began his collegiate career with Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock, earning Honorable Mention Freshman All-American (Campus Insiders), an Athlon Sports All-AAC fourth team member, earned various weekly awards and set the school’s single-season and career touchdowns records.

Hicks left SMU as the all-time leader in passing yards (9,081), total offense (8,977), touchdown passes (71), touchdowns responsible for (74), completions (718) and 300-yard passing games (12).

He kicked off his Razorback career with a 14-for-29 line, throwing for 143 yards, while connecting with seven different receivers. Hicks was the first graduate transfer quarterback to start for the Razorbacks since Ryan Mallett in 2009.

8. Arkansas trotted out an entirely new starting 11 on offense from the previous year’s season opener on Saturday against Portland State.

Nine of the first game starters in 2018 have exhausted their time in an Arkansas uniform, while left guard Kirby Adcock and running back Devwah Whaley return to this year’s squad. Of the 132 starting spots on offense last year, only 57 were filled by returning student-athletes.

It was the first time in at least 30 years Arkansas has had an entirely new starting lineup on the offensive side of the ball.

9. The Razorbacks started three true freshmen in the 2019 opener, two on offense in wide receivers Treylon Burks and Trey Knox, and the other on defense in defensive back Greg Brooks Jr.

A total of 11 freshmen saw playing time against the Vikings, combining for four catches and 90 yards, as well as a tackle and a quarterback hurry on defense.

Last season, 27 starting spots went to freshmen.

10. Senior kicker Connor Limpert picked up where he left off last season, connecting on two field goals against Portland State on Saturday.

The left-footed kicker nailed attempts from 34 and 25 yards in the first and fourth quarters, respectively, to help propel the Razorbacks to a 1-0 start to the season.

The Lou Groza Award semifinalist is now tied for eighth in career field goals made with 29, matching the feats set by Greg Horne (att. 53) from 1983-86 and Bill McClard (att. 46) from 1969-71 in fewer attempts, reaching the mark in 35 tries.