FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After last season's heartbreaking 52-52 Arkansas loss at Ole Miss, plenty of points were expected on a freezing Saturday night in Fayetteville. That was half true. The Razorbacks put up plenty of points, but Ole Miss... not as much.
Things were looking up from the start. KJ Jefferson, who missed the LSU game with an injury and was clearly not 100% the week before against Liberty, was back to his old tricks, looking as healthy as he's looked all season.
After a punt on the first drive, the offense, under KJ's guiding hand, sprung to life.
Three straight drives ended in passing touchdowns, two to Matt Landers and the third to Ketron Jackson. Not just touchdown passes, but good-looking touchdown passes, with KJ showing off the strength and the touch on his passes.
The defense that kept Arkansas in the game the last two weeks showed up as well. They got some help, as Ole Miss had two touchdowns called back for holding.
But the defense did what it needed, turning both of those drives into just field goals.
Then, starting from the second quarter and going into the third, the defense forced three straight turnovers: interception, fumble, and on downs.
From halftime on, the only real question was the final score. Rocket Sanders put up over 200 yards rushing with ten minutes left in the third quarter, before ceding carries to Green and Dubinion.
With the win, Arkansas will advance to 6-5 on the season, and no longer have to sweat it out when it comes to bowl eligibility.
There will be postseason play for Arkansas for the second year in a row, but first, one last trophy is on the line.
Arkansas will head to Missouri on Black Friday to try and hold on to the BatteLine Trophy— catch it on THV11 at 2 p.m.