Three Keys to Success Arkansas Versus Ole Miss

As Arkansas begins its conference slate, a road trip to Oxford to face Ole Miss is here. In a back-and-forth series between rivals, the Razorbacks and Rebels look to entertain fans with a 6 pm CT kick on ESPN. We may need to pop to popcorn folks, we have three keys to Arkansas’ success in week three. 

Three Keys to Success: Arkansas Versus Ole Miss

Embrace Road Environment

The first key to success is handling being away from home. This will be the first road environment of the 2025 slate. While technically, Arkansas did travel to Little Rock to face Arkansas State, this is outside of the Natural State. Once in Oxford, the Razorbacks enter a venue that historically has not been kind. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the home of the Rebels, holds a record of 284-113-8 all-time in Rebel home games. 

In this series, the Rebels hold the advantage, 9-6, in games played in Oxford. Moreover, Ole Miss is 28-3 in its last 31 home games and 14-4 since the start of the 2023 season. This does not bode well for an opponent entering these hallowed grounds. How will Arkansas react? Will this environment affect them? This is something to keep watch of as the game transpires on Saturday night. 

Maintain The Lane Train

When people think of Lane Kiffin, some of their minds go to a tarmac with USC, but most leap to a hurry-up, yet efficient, offensive scheme. How Arkansas maintains this offense is the second key to success for this week. The Razorbacks have played well defensively, yet have not faced an offense like the Rebels. We spoke above of the record at home since the start of 2023. With that, the offense has averaged 43 points and 531 yards per game played at home. 

While these numbers jump off the page, the speed is elite. Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and eighth nationally at 22 seconds per play. When you add in quarterback Austin Simmons, who will be a game-time decision and has been seen in a walking boot and limited in practice. Last week, Simmons went 13-of-24 for 235 yards and ran for a score on the road versus Kentucky. In the backfield is Kewan Lacy, previously from Missouri, who leads the SEC with 246 yards rushed and four rushing touchdowns. Lacy is hard to bring down as he has forced 21 missed tackles in the season, which leads the FBS level. The Doak Walker Running Back of the Week from a week ago earned this with a career-best 138 yards on 28 carries, which included a touchdown. 

Mistake-Free Football 

The final key for success for Arkansas for this week can set into motion the first two instantly. Arkansas cannot give Ole Miss extra possessions and must play mistake-free football. If they do not, the road environment electrifies and elite and turbo offense. This starts with Taylen Green, the Arkansas quarterback, and his smart play. Green must rely on offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino to put the offense in its most successful positions. In addition, Green must rely on the weapons surrounding him, which he has utilized in the first two weeks. 

Historically, Arkansas has not performed well in SEC opening games as a program. For this trend to change, turnovers must be minimized. Taking care of the football has been a great emphasis for Arkansas during the offseason, as we have discussed. You may recall that, in the losses last season, the ratio was 15-1 in favor of the opponents in the turnover ratio. This is something head coach Sam Pittman wants to change. Thus far in 2025, Arkansas has been intercepted twice while remaining fumble-free. Of the three keys this week, the final one is the most explosive. One mistake and he entire game can take a fast turn. 

In closing, the opening game in conference play is not easy for Arkansas. As with this series, absolutely anything can, and will, happen. In order for Arkansas to come out of the game successful, these three keys to success we have analyzed will need to be graded highly in the postgame.