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Ole Miss vs. Central Arkansas: Final thoughts and a prediction

Published: Sep 9, 2022 · 11:45 AM EDT

Ole Miss takes on another lower-level opponent in Week 2 of the season, facing Central Arkansas after beating Troy 28-10 in the opener.

This is the second time that these programs have faced each other; the Rebels won Round 1 49-27 in 2012 and are a heavy favorite to win again Saturday.

Here are a few keys to keep an eye on as the Rebels prepare for what should be a relatively easy victory.

Luke Altmyer vs. Jaxson Dart competition is in its final phases

There’s been a lot of back and forth in the quarterback competition between Dart and Altmyer since the spring. Both players showed room for improvement along with some decision-making issues early on in camp and there is a case for both. Altmyer technically has the advantage in experience with Lane Kiffin’s system, but the two quarterbacks each have a small sample size of games and Dart looks to have a higher ceiling along with a type of mobility that could be dangerous.

Altmyer will start against Central Arkansas, as has been Kiffin’s plan along, and then a decision will be made.

“Yeah, like I’ve said before, we’d always like to have it figured out, this is not ideal,” Kiffin said earlier this week. “Luke will go first in this game, so that gives both guys an opportunity to go first and see how he plays. So, you know, he didn’t get as many many opportunities we would have liked, obviously would have liked his series to go further. And Jaxson’s interception, you know, (we were) going to switch after that series. But, I think, as you guys know, I take a lot into the psyche of the quarterback and didn’t want his last play to be an interception. So that ate up one of Luke’s series.”

Dart was 18-of-27 for 154 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception against Troy. He added 40 yards rushing.

A chance to get right

There’s a certain amount of shaking the rust off that comes with Week 1 games and in this particular case, Ole Miss is loaded up with transfers and making some transitions. The running game showed a lot of life, racking up 268 yards. Zach Evans was responsible for 130 of those. The offensive line was impressive, the Rebels excelled on 3rd down (9-of-14) and the defense put on a solid effort that Kiffin commended it for after the game.

Eliminating turnovers and getting the passing game going, though, should be a point of focus after the Rebels lacked explosiveness through the air and had some pass-blocking issues. Going up against an FCS opponent that just dropped its season opener, 27-14 to Missouri State, should give the Rebels a chance to make some tweaks.

Trigg time?

Tight end Michael Trigg was pinned as a potential breakout prospect ahead of the season and finished the game against Troy with 4 catches for 33 yards, averaging 8.2 yards per reception. While it’s not a stat line to write home about and the run game very much ruled the day, some of the flashes and chemistry between Trigg and Dart were on display. Dart targeted his former USC teammate Trigg 7 times.

Look at Jaxson Dart go? pic.twitter.com/K03OfAg73L

— Christian Williams (@CWilliamsNFL) September 4, 2022

If the o-line can do its part to consistently protect the quarterback and if Ole Miss can get better at signal-caller, Trigg and the receiving corps could become more involved and certainly post much higher numbers than the 167 yards it put up as a unit in Week 1.

Final prediction

This should be a high-scoring game against in which Central Arkansas is completely outmatched talent-wise. In addition to that, the Bears are also in the process of replacing one of their strongest quarterbacks and have some other important offensive players no longer in the fold. The Rebels use this one to make some adjustments with SEC play still weeks away, winning it 40-10.

Crissy Froyd

Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.