The Arkansas Razorbacks scored 17 first-quarter points, hobbled Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace, and stormed to a 30-0 victory over the No. 8 Rebels Saturday. Though Ole Miss outgained the Razorbacks, five turnovers -- including a 100-yard third-quarter pick six by Rohan Gaines -- gave Arkansas a significant field position advantage. Ole Miss started every drive inside its own 30, with average field position of its own 21, while Arkansas' average drive started at its own 42. Bret Bielema's offense took it from there: Running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams combined for 160 yards and a score
Arkansas vs. Ole Miss final score: 3 things we learned from the Razorbacks’ 30-0 win
Ole Miss is done, Arkansas is back, and the SEC West just got more difficult.
The win gets Arkansas (6-5, 2-5 SEC) bowl eligible for the first time since 2011, while Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3 SEC) is officially eliminated from contention for an SEC West title.
Three Things We Learned
1. Arkansas has arrived. Two weeks ago, there was a small minority of the college football commentariat that thought Bret Bielema was in trouble. Arkansas had lost its first 12 SEC games under its new head coach, and while they had been more competitive in Year 2, it still looked like Arkansas was at least a year away. Two weeks -- and two top 20 wins -- later, the Razorbacks are the soon-to-be trendy dark horse pick in the 2015 SEC West. The mammoth offensive line, long a requirement of Bielema's system, has meshed, halfbacks Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams have shown vision and strength, and quarterback Brandon Allen finally has become the game manager Bielema has always wanted.
2. Defense wins SEC West games. Even if the Arkansas offense wasn’t so efficient, it wouldn’t matter given how the Arkansas defense has performed. The Razorbacks entered Saturday ranked 28th in scoring defense and only improved on that against Ole Miss. Arkansas’ defensive performance in pitching back-to-back shutouts against LSU and Ole Miss wasn’t just good. It was historic:
After 3, @ArkRazorbacks 27, #8 Ole Miss 0. The Hogs have never shutout consecutive SEC opponents since joining the league in 1992.
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 22, 2014 Arkansas is the 1st unranked team to shut out multiple ranked opponents in the same season since 1942 North Carolina Pre-Flight
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 23, 2014 3. Bo Wallace is the Rebels' only hope. Wallace was not particularly effective Saturday -- 16/31 for 235 yards but two interceptions and a fumble -- due in no small part to a second quarter ankle injury that clearly hobbled the senior signalcaller throughout. But he missed two series after the injury and was pulled in the fourth quarter, with the game out of reach, sending the Ole Miss offense into the deep freeze. Without Wallace, the Rebels ran six plays over two series for 11 yards. Backup quarterback Ryan Buchanan didn't complete a pass until there were ten minutes left in the game, a six-yard completion on 3rd & 10. The Razorbacks were certainly good on defense, but the lack of a full-speed Wallace certainly didn't help the Rebels.
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