It’s an Ole Miss vs. Arkansas 2025 matchup in that will renew one of the most underrated rivalries in all of college football in Oxford, Miss.
The No. 17 Rebels (2-0) are coming off their first SEC win of the season over Kentucky in Lexington, while Arkansas enters its first SEC contest of 2025 on the heels of a 56-14 victory over Arkansas State in Little Rock.
Here’s what you need to know before Saturday’s showdown at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Ole Miss vs. Arkansas: Series History
Even before the Hogs and Rebels were conference foes in the SEC, they had a history with each other.
The two teams first met in Fayetteville, Ark., in 1908, with Arkansas taking a 33-0 win. Ole Miss didn’t host a meeting in Oxford until 1928.
Over the last decade, the Arkansas-Ole Miss game has become one of the most exciting yearly contests in college football.
In 2015, Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry launched a lateral on 4th-and-25 that ended up being picked up by running back Alex Collins and converted for a first down. A few minutes later, Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen bulldozed his way into the end zone for the game-winning two-point conversion that kept the Rebels from an SEC Championship Game berth.
The next year in Fayetteville, Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly was rocked on a fourth-down run, which led to a packed crowd at Razorback Stadium generating 117 decibels worth of noise.
In 2017, Arkansas rallied from a 31-7 deficit to score a wild 38-37 win – the final SEC victory for Bret Bielema as the head coach at Arkansas.
2018 saw Arkansas blow a lead to the Rebels in Little Rock in Chad Morris’ first taste of the rivalry. In 2021, a back-and-forth affair saw the Rebels avenge their 2015 loss to the Hogs by stopping a two-point conversion on the final play of the game.
It’s those kind of nail-biting affairs that this rivalry is built on.
Ole Miss vs. Arkansas 2025: Week 3 Keys to the Game
Key Players: Arkansas
Taylen Green has found himself on several pundits’ Heisman Trophy watchlists already, and despite throwing a pair of interceptions in Arkansas’ win over Arkansas State, it’s easy to see why.
Green has already thrown 10 touchdown passes through the first two games of 2025, the most for any Razorback QB over a two-game stretch since Ryan Mallett threw 10 in two games in 2009. Any time a Razorback QB is compared to Mallett, that’s a good sign.
Green also ran for 151 yards and a score against the Red Wolves, and his mobility will be key against a strong Ole Miss defensive front.
On the defensive side of the ball, Xavian Sorey Jr. is the clear standout for the Razorbacks. Sorey totaled 15 tackles and an interception against Arkansas State, and the Hogs will need Sorey to be flying around the field on Saturday evening.
Key Players: Ole Miss
An injury to Ole Miss QB Austin Simmons late in the Rebels’ win over Kentucky means there’s plenty of uncertainty regarding Ole Miss’ signal-caller for Saturday night.
But if it is Simmons under center on Saturday, he’ll have to perform better against Arkansas than he has over the first two weeks of the season.
Simmons was respectable in the season-opener against Georgia State, but threw zero touchdowns and two picks against Kentucky. That’s not a stat line that inspires much confidence for the sophomore QB going into Saturday’s contest.
But that doesn’t mean Arkansas can take Simmons lightly. If there’s any coach in the country that can turn around his QB in a heartbeat, it’s Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.
Defensively, keep an eye on Ole Miss DT Zxavian Harris. A strong defensive front has been commonplace for the Rebels in recent years, and Harris already has two sacks and 11 tackles through two weeks of play. An untested Arkansas offensive line will have to keep Harris and his teammates at bay if the Hogs want to win.
How Ole Miss Wins in Week 3
Don’t force Austin Simmons to do too much.
Even if Simmons isn’t hobbled for Saturday’s contest, thrusting him into the primetime spotlight and asking for a 300-yard, four-touchdown performance against a bitter SEC rival may not be realistic.
If Simmons is playing hurt, Ole Miss’ defense will have to step up. It certainly can, and whether it contains a high-flying Arkansas offense will determine how heroic Simmons will have to be.
How Arkansas Wins in Week 3
Keep Taylen Green clean.
When Ole Miss shellacked the Razorbacks 63-31 in Fayetteville in 2024, the Rebels totaled eight sacks. That was coupled with a disastrous performance from the Arkansas defense, but from Arkansas’ first play from scrimmage, it was evident that the Razorback OL had no answer for the Ole Miss front.
That can’t be the case on Saturday. If Green has time to throw, he’s capable of dicing up the Ole Miss defense – something he can’t accomplish while on his back.
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