“Arkansas Football: 5 Lessons from Ole Miss Loss”

OXFORD, Miss. — Arkansas football suffered a crushing loss to open SEC play, spoiling an upset chance with a 41-35 loss to No. 13 Ole Miss

The Razorbacks now turn their attention to a nonconference road game against Memphis. They’ll try and bounce back before a grueling three-game slate against Notre Dame, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

Here are five things we learned about the Hogs after their first league game of the 2025 season, led by an impressive showing from Bobby Petrino’s offense.

Taylen Green and Arkansas football’s offense are as good as advertised

The Razorbacks went on the road and had their way with an SEC defense, totaling 522 yards and scoring 35 points in a hostile environment with a swath of new weapons at wide receiver and running back.

Quarterback Taylen Green was efficient and explosive. He completed 22 of 35 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he had 13 carries for 111 yards and two scores. It was the type of performance that might have thrust Arkansas’ quarterback into some Heisman conversations if the Hogs had pulled out an upset win.

His favorite target was once again O’Mega Blake, who had six catches for 81 yards and a score. Mike Washington Jr. finished with 65 yards rushing and two touchdowns as Arkansas punted one time across four quarters.

The offensive line is at the heart of the offense’s success

The most notable difference for Green this year is his time in the pocket.

Ole Miss had eight sacks in the 2024 matchup. The Rebels had zero on Saturday.

“The offensive line just seems to me to get better and better,” Pittman said. “I just didn’t feel anybody on the edge cause problems.”

The starting five of Corey Robinson II, Fernando Carmona, Caden Kitler, Kobe Branham and E’Marion Harris played the entire game. Branham and Harris were especially impressive on Washington’s 47-yard touchdown in the second quarter, winning at the line of scrimmage and making blocks in the Ole Miss secondary to spring a score.

The Razorbacks secondary got exposed

Missed assignments and poor communication were themes coming out of Arkansas’ first preseason scrimmage.

In the Hogs’ first SEC game of the year, those flaws reared their ugly heads as the Hogs were gashed by backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

Unquestioned starters like Larry Worth III and Kani Walker struggled mightily. Worth whiffed on multiple tackles while Walker got picked on by Lane Kiffin, especially in the second half. Arkansas might need to experiment with new players in the back end as it looks ahead to Memphis in Week 4.

There is no faith in the pass rush

It was jarring how often Arkansas blitzed the Rebels. From start-to-finish, the Razorbacks unsuccessfully tried to apply pressure on Chambliss by sending extra defenders. It did not work.

It’s a sign Arkansas doesn’t trust its defensive line to get after the opposing quarterback on its own. It didn’t help Saturday that Quincy Rhodes was limited. The defensive end who entered the game with a team-high three sacks did not start and was listed on the SEC Availability Report throughout the week.

Something has to give here. Either Arkansas needs to get home with its blitzes, or defensive coordinator Travis Williams must dial back the aggression. Ole Miss capitalized on all of the open space in the secondary.

Scott Starzyk isn’t automatic

Arkansas’ kicker entered his first SEC game 1 for 1 on field goals and 15 for 15 on extra points. But in the high-pressure situation of a conference rivalry, Starzyk faltered, missing two kicks that ended up being the six-point difference on the scoreboard.

Starzyk’s first try was from 51 yards and went wide right. The second was a 49-yard kick that went left. Both misses were long tries for a true freshman, but they proved costly.

Starzyk was the No. 1 kicker in the country coming out of high school last year. After the game, Pittman said there was no lost faith in the rookie.

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