Ole Miss Football's Lane Kiffin Breaks Down Challenges Arkansas Razorbacks Present

Originally posted on Ole Miss Rebels on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 9:00 AM ET

No. 17 Ole Miss will welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks to Vaught Hemingway in Week 3 with the pair of Southeastern Conference foes set to battle it out in Oxford.

After back-to-back wins to open the season, Lane Kiffin and Co. will enter the SEC matchup unbeaten as quarterback Austin Simmon gets in a groove as the new starter for the program.

The redshirt-sophopmore lifted Ole Miss to an SEC win over the Kentucky Wildcats in Week 2 after earning a victory at Kroger Field in his first conference start.

“I think, and usually coming back home, I’ll say again, that was his first road start, and we have high expectations for our players, but, you know, first road starts in any level, including NFL, guys sometimes struggle early," Kiffin said.

"I think coming back home would be good and want him to take care of the ball, and not feel rushed when it’s not there. There were times in that game early I felt like because they were getting beat on some good rushes early, he started to feel that even when it wasn’t there. So, just calming him down.”

Now, all focus is on Week 3 against the Arkansas Razorbacks with Kiffin dissecting what Sam Pittman's program is capable of.

A look into the game information and Kiffin's take ahead of the Southeastern Conference matchup.

The Game Information: Week 3 Edition

Matchup: Ole Miss Rebels vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
Kickoff Time: 6 p.m. CT
Venue: Vaught Hemingway Stadium - Oxford (Miss.)
TV Channel: ESPN
Radio: Ole Miss Sports Radio Network
Ole Miss Rebels Record: 2-0
Arkansas Razorbacks Record: 2-0

What He Said: Lane Kiffin's Take

The Challenge: Stopping Arkansas QB Taylen Green

“Really dynamic. First of all, he’s dynamic, you know, athlete from a height, weight, speed standpoint to be able to run like he can, and I don’t think he was fully healthy in our game a year ago.

"He’s a problem. He’s a lot to deal with and I think kind of similar that way to the South Carolina quarterback, LaNorris Sellers. Here’s two guys that are really hard to game plan for because they’re big and they can throw and run.”

The Arkansas Defense: Challenges the Razorbacks Present

“There’s a lot of new players, which is kind of what seems like everybody around the country has, which is on a different topic on that. It’s like teams are able to really change from year to year. So the year before doesn’t mean very much.

"You used to have some teams, maybe they were down in a position area or a whole offense or defense, and then you’re like, well, you play them again the next year, they’re probably down again. Everybody just has the ability now with the portal and money to fix their problems. I think you’re seeing that in the conference.

"It’s why our bottom of our conference is, I think, different than everybody else because they fix their problems. So these guys have a lot of new players that they’ve plugged into places where I think they probably want to get better, and they look like it.”

This article first appeared on Ole Miss Rebels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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