Two years ago, Arkansas and Ole Miss played the game of the year in the Southeastern Conference.
The Razorbacks won 53-52 in overtime at Oxford’s Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, getting help from a backward heave by former Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry on a fourth-and-25 that was scooped up by running back Alex Collins and returned for a first down to keep the Hogs alive. The loss kept Ole Miss from making its first-ever appearance in the SEC championship game, opening the door instead for Alabama, which barged right through on its way to Nick Saban’s fourth national title with the Crimson Tide.
“I’m trying to forget it,” Ole Miss interim head coach and former Rebels offensive line coach Matt Luke said Wednesday. “It was a very, very hard-fought game. They were able to move the ball on us, and I think we had a good game offensively. It was just back and forth. It was a fourth-and-25 away from us going to Atlanta. Hunter Henry just threw it back – I’m trying to forget it. It was a tough loss.
“Then we stopped them on the 2-point conversion but had a facemask call. People forget about that. That was another gut punch you try and forget about.”
Ole Miss and Arkansas combined for 18 victories two seasons ago, with the Rebels winning the Sugar Bowl and the Razorbacks the Liberty Bowl, but it is very different this year. The Rebels are 3-4 overall and ineligible for postseason play due to a self-imposed bowl ban, while the Razorbacks are 2-5, having lost the past two weeks to Alabama and Auburn by a combined 93-29.