Behind Enemy Lines with Ole Miss beat writer David Eckert
Ole Miss is one of the schools in the Southeastern Conference that doesn’t have a Wire site.
However, David Eckert, who covers the Rebels for the Clarion-Ledger (a Gannett-owned site like Razorbacks Wire) was kind enough to answer some questions for us for this week’s Behind Enemy Lines breakdown.
The Rebels are coming off a monumental come-from-behind 55-49 victory over LSU in which their fans rushed the field following the victory and they gained over 700 yards of offense in the process.
Lane Kiffin and Sam Pittman were both hired during the same cycle in December 2019.
Pittman is 2-1 against Kiffin, with the loss coming two years ago in Oxford by a single point, 52-51.
1. Ole Miss compiled 706 yards of offense against LSU. Think they can top that on Saturday night or will there be a natural letdown?
It’s tough to say, because really that LSU game is really the only time we’ve seen the Ole Miss offense with its full arsenal of weapons healthy. Caden Prieskorn and Zakhari Franklin missed the first three games. Tre Harris has missed the better part of three games. Quinshon Judkins has been banged up. Obviously, 706 yards of offense is an insanely high bar, but I’ll be equally interested to see if what Ole Miss did offensively is repeatable. Your readers will be more educated than I am on the Arkansas defense, but from the outside looking in it looks vulnerable.
2. What is the biggest improvement Jaxson Dart has made from 2022 to this year?
Comfort and familiarity, really. The Ole Miss staff kept preaching all offseason about how impactful a second year in the offense could be for Dart and we’re seeing the product of it so far. He’s always had all of the physical tools to be an outstanding SEC quarterback. He looks like he’s got the confidence now, too.
3. Who are the receivers to keep an eye on for Ole Miss? It seems like they always have 2-3 players who aren't renowned but end up playing on Sundays.
If Tre Harris isn’t an NFL guy, I’ll be shocked. He’s physical enough to win in the air against most defenders and fast enough to make players miss in the short game. He left the Tulane game in the first quarter, missed Week 3 and hardly played at all against Alabama, so his numbers aren’t incredible, but he’s this team’s best weapon by a longshot. Behind him Ole Miss will have Jordan Watkins, who’s really reliable. He’s averaging almost 100 yards a game. Dayton Wade can make plays, too. For my money, this group has better receiving options than the Ole Miss team that lost in Fayetteville last year, and that included two guys now on NFL rosters.
4. Has Lane Kiffin been more toned down this year? It feels like he hasn't been as vocal in press conferences or on social media.
He was in full mind games mode for Alabama in Week 4, talking about how their defensive coordinator isn’t actually calling plays and using Taylor Swift to make jokes about Nick Saban’s castle crumbling. Didn’t work out great for him. I was expecting him to go a little bit more crazy after LSU, but in general there hasn’t been a whole lot for him to pop off about.
5. Score prediction?
Ole Miss 48, Arkansas 38. Stops are going to be hard to come by for both teams in this game, but I think Ole Miss just has superior talent on offense. If the Rebels are worried about an emotional dropoff, all they need to do is remember last year’s beatdown.
