The 10 things to know about Hogs’ matchup with Ole Miss

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.

Joe Foucha PHOTO BY TED McCLENNING | HITTHATLINE.COM

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.

Kamren Curl PHOTO BY TED McCLENNING | HITTHATLINE.COM

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.

Hayden Henry PHOTO BY TED McCLENNING | HITTHATLINE.COM

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.

Rakeem Boyd PHOTO BY TED McCLENNING | HITTHATLINE.COM

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.

Ben Hicks PHOTO BY TED McCLENNING | HITTHATLINE.COM

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.

PHOTO BY TED McCLENNING | HITTHATLINE.COM

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.

Trey Knox PHOTO BY TED McCLENNING | HITTHATLINE.COM

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.

Connor Limpert PHOTO BY TED McCLENNING | HITTHATLINE.COM

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.