PLAYERS TO WATCH
–LB Willie Hibbler was once a tight end and hasn’t been a huge contributor on defense — until now. Even this season Hibbler had dropped down the depth chart before his steady rise. He showed quickness and timing in Little Rock to finish with five tackles and a tackle for loss. His biggest play, though, was a pass break-up in the final minutes. It stopped the clock, saved a timeout and forced an Arkansas punt that led to the 97-yard game-winning drive.
–DB Myles Hartsfield has played every position in the secondary, and that came in handy Saturday. Hartsfield, slowed with an ankle sprain, did not start at cornerback, his usual spot, but came off the bench and played well at free safety in place of Armani Linton. Linton was a running back two weeks ago, but injuries in the secondary have caused defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff to reconstruct things on the fly. Hartsfield had three tackles in the game and also got some snaps at cornerback and nickel back.
–TE Octavious Cooley had zero catches when the Arkansas game began but had two catches for 85 yards and changed the momentum with a 66-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. Cooley broke a tackle and ran about 50 yards to the end zone. It was a huge play personally for Cooley, whose fumble after a big gain in Oxford last year swung the momentum to the Razorbacks. Cooley is primarily the Rebels’ blocking tight end.
–TE Dawson Knox also had a big game against the Razorbacks with two catches for 65 yards. The more athletic of the Rebels’ tight ends, Knox broke a tackle and had a 48-yard gain on the game-winning drive to put Ole Miss in chip-shot field goal range had they not reached the end zone. Ole Miss tight ends hadn’t had four catches in a month but had four for 150 yards against Arkansas.
SERIES HISTORY: Auburn leads Ole Miss 31-11, but the Rebels lead 10-4 in Oxford. Auburn has won four of the last five including in Oxford in 2014 and 2016. Ole Miss won at Auburn, 27-19, in 2015.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “You don’t replace a DK Metcalf, so we’re not going to try. We’re just going to look at the weapons in the arsenal now.” — Ole Miss offensive coordinator Phil Longo