Week Three Arkansas Football Report Card

Does it get any better than Arkansas and Ole Miss when they meet on the football field?

In what was a great football game, Arkansas fell to Ole Miss, 41-35, to open SEC play for 2025. The final score was not surprising if one followed these rivals’ meetings over their history. In what was a back-and-forth contest, we will now grade the three keys we analyzed in pre-game.

Before we begin, we want to remind you of the three keys and mention a scary situation that occurred. We at Last Word on Sports tasked the Razorbacks with embracing the road environment, maintaining the Lane train, and playing mistake-free football. With this, in the recap, we will use these in a different order, with the reasoning being how the game transpired.

In perhaps the most difficult key of the week, we asked the Razorbacks to do the impossible in football. What is that? It is to maintain a Lane Kiffin-led offense. We had previewed that fans may not see the Rebels’ quarterback, Austin Simmons, start the game, and we were correct. In his place was Trinidad Chambliss, formerly of D2 Ferris State. In the end, his debut at the SEC level was terrific. Kiffin allowed Chambliss to play freely, and the results speak for themselves.

The senior passed for 353 yards on 12-of-29 and a touchdown. If this was not enough, he also ran for 62 yards on 12 attempts for 2 touchdowns to lead the Rebels in both passing and rushing on the night. Chambliss targeted eight different receivers for his over 300-yard performance through the air. Based on these numbers, we grade this key on the report card, a D-. While this is harsh, the Ole Miss offense carved through the Arkansas defense all night

In what was the final key in our preview, we requested that Arkansas play mistake-free football. For almost the entire game, this key was accomplished. We saw Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green precisely dissect the Rebels, finishing 22-of-25 for 305 yards and one passing touchdown. Perhaps his most damage was done on the ground as Green rushed for 111 yards on 13 attempts and one touchdown.

This success was played well from a statistical perspective on offense. The Razorbacks gashed the Rebels for 217 yards on the ground as a team, along with 305 through the air. If we were to tell you that Arkansas would have over 500 yards and lose, would you believe us? In this case, one moment changed the game. As Arkansas drove with an opportunity to possibly tie the game, the bubble burst. As Green completed a pass to the left side of the field, Hogs receiver Jalen Brown caught it, then fumbled, as the Rebels overtook possession. This one mistake assisted in the trend of SEC opening losses continuing into the 2025 season and beyond. With this, we have to grade this key on the report card as another D.

The Grove was packed as the fans of the Rebels welcomed those from Arkansas. As the game kicked off, a striped Vaught Hemingway Stadium came alive as the Razorbacks missed a 51-yard field goal. This took a fever pitch as the Rebels took an early 7-0 lead on their first offensive drive. The crowd, announced at 65,068, was treated to nearly 1,000 yards, with a total of 997 yards between both teams, thanks to the offensive coordinators’ play calls.

If you are of the defensive mindset, this game was not for you. As mentioned earlier, Arkansas missed a field goal on its first drive. Following this, these two power-house offensive units scored on their next eight combined possessions before the 36-yard field goal from Ole Miss to take a 38-28 lead into half. As we previewed before the game, this first key was indicative of how the remaining keys unfold. Because of how the game transpired, especially at the end, we have to grade this key on the report card a D.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, a scary moment occurred when Kani Walker was pursuing a pass play and went down. Walker stayed on the field for many minutes before being carted from the field. As the cart drove away, we saw Walker raise his arm. According to Arkansas, Walker was moving all extremities and was transported to a local hospital.

In closing, the loss tonight is more profound than just these three keys. Yet, within these three, we detailed how, if successful, the outcome could have been different. But it was not, and Arkansas has now suffered its first loss of the season. The loss for Arkansas does not get easier. Next on the schedule is another road trip as the Razorbacks head to Memphis to try and tame the now 3-0 Tigers.