FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' defensive work against Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly played a big role in the Razorbacks' 34-30 victory over the Rebels on Saturday.
Kelly, a senior, was 18 of 39 passing for 253 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for 89 yards and 2 scores. He produced 342 yards and three touchdowns, but it was considerably less than the 468 yards and six touchdowns he amassed against Arkansas last season.
Kelly's completion percentage of 46.1 represents the lowest he has posted in a game. His previous low (53.8 percent) came in the Rebels' 45-34 loss to Florida State in the 2016 season opener.
"We wanted to control him, maybe intimidate and rattle him a little bit," Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said.
Arkansas safety Santos Ramirez said the Hogs tried to get under Kelly's skin by referring to some of his off-the-field issues.
Kelly made headlines during the Rebels' bye week when he came to the defense of his brother, also a quarterback, after a late hit in a high school game.
"As a defense, you want to get into the opponent's head," said Ramirez, whose hit on Kelly forced a fumble on the Rebels' final offensive snap. "And I feel like we rattled him enough."
Bielema called Kelly a "very good competitor" and the two had a brief chat after the game.
"To have that game end the way it did with the QB scramble, I think our guy laid the wood pretty good, popped that ball out, was kind of a fun way to end it," Bielema said.
"We knew he was a good player just from last year," said Arkansas defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter, who had an 8-yard sack on Ole Miss' final series. "We knew we could rattle him. We got pressure on him. We focused on the mistakes we made from last year and perfected them."
Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze said Kelly had a variety of good throws and some he would like to do over.
"He was a little off on a couple of throws that give you a first down," Freeze said. "He was under some pressure, but he did some nice things too. No doubt he competed.
"I thought he had a chance to get the first [down] at the end. That may have been a jump start for us. We had plenty of time to go down and score. He's feeling awful right now because he takes it so personal."
Sneak peek
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said he told his players last Sunday that there is no shame in losing to teams like Texas A&M and Alabama, the two clubs responsible for the Razorbacks' losses.
"You have to keep it in perspective," he said. "I told those guys, you lost to two teams that are undefeated, might be two of the best teams in college football. Keep in perspective where we are, keep working, keep grinding, and someday we'll be there."
Nine-point dog
Arkansas has opened as a nine-point underdog for Saturday's 5 p.m. road game at Auburn. The Tigers (4-2, 2-1 SEC), who had an open date last week, are riding a three-game winning streak. They are No. 21 in the AP poll.
Poll data
The national poll voters were in sync on Arkansas for the second consecutive week. The Razorbacks jumped five spots to No. 17 in both the Associated Press top 25 and the USA Today coaches polls.
The Razorbacks will take on No. 21 Auburn Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
Six of the seven SEC West teams are ranked; the SEC East is represented by No. 15 Florida and No. 18 Tennessee in the AP poll.
Baker wins
Arkansas punter Toby Baker won the Crip Hall Award winner for his performance in Saturday's game. The award is given to the top performing senior on homecoming.
Baker averaged 46.2 yards on five punts with a long of 54 yards. The senior from Memphis put three punts inside the 20 and came close to having another one downed at the 1.
Baker ranks second in the SEC and fifth nationally with a 47.3-yard punting average. The Razorbacks lead the SEC and are fifth nationally with a net punting average of 43.7 yards.
Whoa, Nellie!
Arkansas rushed for 200 yards against the Rebels, but the Hogs could have piled up considerably more if not for a first-down play from the Ole Miss 18 in the third quarter. Quarterback Austin Allen didn't get a handle on the snap, the ball hit the foot of an Arkansas lineman and caromed 24 yards behind the line before Dominique Reed secured it.
ESPN play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore described the big lost-yardage play as like "one of those old NFL Films blooper-reel" highlights. Arkansas receiver Jared Cornelius and Ole Miss defensive back Jalen Julius both tried to scoop the loose ball, but both managed to send the ball farther down the field before Reed beat Julius to it for good.
Arkansas lost another 24 yards while burning time off the clock at the end of the game to assure it would not have to take a snap on fourth down. The lost yardage came when Allen jockeyed around before taking a knee on all three snaps.
Kudos to Kody
Arkansas fans inundated sixth-year running back Kody Walker with uplifting messages on Sunday, as Walker was scheduled for another foot surgery that will end his Razorbacks playing career.
Walker's freshman season came to an early end in 2011 after he already scored five rushing touchdowns with a hairline fracture in his leg. A broken leg knocked him out of the 2012 season after Week 2, which is why the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility.
"I hate that for him," sophomore tailback Rawleigh Williams said of Walker's latest injury. "But he's a great person ... and I think he's going to be successful in life whatever he does. I think he'll bounce back from it like he always does."
Stat chat
Tailback Rawleigh Williams' career-best 180-yard game lifted him to No. 2 in the SEC with 112.1 rushing yards per game, behind Texas A&M's Trayveon Williams (117.3). Williams ranks No. 17 in the country.
Quarterback Austin Allen leads the SEC and ranks No. 7 nationally with 18 touchdown passes. Allen is No. 2 in the SEC and No. 15 in the country in pass efficiency. He is No. 3 in the SEC and No. 31 nationally with 265.9 passing yards per game.
Tempo talk
Arkansas has faced numerous teams who like to snap the ball quickly, but Ole Miss was likely the most up-tempo of them all.
The Rebels got a handful of plays snapped before Arkansas could get positioned on defense, and a few turned into long gainers, such as a pass to uncovered Markell Pack for an 18-yard gain.
"We felt that our tempo was giving them problems," Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze said. "We went empty and thought our guys could win some one on ones, and they did many times.
"We had a few bad throws, some drops, some poor calls. We probably should've stuck to running the ball a little bit, but I'll have to look at the film."
Extra points
• Arkansas gained 429 yards , giving the Razorbacks 400-plus yards in each of their past six games.
• Arkansas forced a three and out on Ole Miss' first series, the second time the Razorbacks have done it this year. The other time was against Alcorn State. It was the first time the Rebels failed to score on their opening drive.
• Ole Miss used three punters: Gary Wunderlich, who averaged 39 yards on two punts; Will Gleeson, who averaged 41.5 yards on two punts; and quarterback Chad Kelly, who had a 40-yard pooch punt.
Players of the week
Offense
RB Rawleigh Williams
• Williams, a sophomore from Dallas, rushed for a career-high 180 yards on 27 carries and caught a 2-yard TD pass. His 53-yard burst set up Drew Morgan's 13-yard TD reception in the second quarter. His 22-yard carry set up Jared Cornelius' 6-yard go-ahead TD with 2:20 remaining. Williams had no negative-yardage runs.
Defense
SS Santos Ramirez
• Ramirez, a sophomore from Shreveport, had four tackles and a key pass breakup in his first extensive action since suffering a leg injury three weeks ago. Ramirez' biggest play was a hit on the ball on Chad Kelly's fourth-down scramble near the first-down marker that forced the ball out of bounds to end Ole Miss' final drive.
Sports on 10/17/2016