By DON KAUSLER JR.

Here are 5 takeaways from Arkansas’ 58-25 victory last Saturday at Mississippi State:

1.  The Razorbacks’ defense had 5 takeaways (3 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions), plus 2 turnovers on downs.

2. But take away the 5 takeaways that led to 28 points and the Razorbacks’ defense wasn’t stiff, allowing 471 yards (162 rushing, 309 passing). That included 11 explosive plays.

3.  Freshman running back Braylen Russell was overpowering, averaging 10.9 yards per attempt as he ran 16 times for 175 of the Razorbacks’ 359 rushing yards. One fourth-down carry went for 75 yards. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week.

4.  Quarterback Taylen Green was unstoppable, throwing for 314 yards and 5 touchdowns and running for 79 yards and 1 touchdown. He was named the National Offensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. 

5. But the offense that rolled to 673 yards and 58 points was – gasp! – 0 for 7 on third-down conversions.

So there’s room for improvement – really – when Arkansas (5-3, 3-2 in the SEC) plays host to No. 19 Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2) at 11 a.m. Central Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The game can be seen on ESPN.

The Rebels are an 8-point favorite.

A victory would make the Razorbacks bowl-eligible, but this is going to be a challenge.

The Rebels rank No. 2 in the nation in total offense (538.1 yards per game), No. 4 in passing offense (354 yards per game), No. 1 in scoring defense (11 points per game) and No. 1 in rushing defense (76.6 ypg).

The Rebels, one of the early favorites to reach the 12-team College Football Playoffs, lost 20-17 at home to unranked Kentucky and 2 weeks later lost 29-26 in overtime at then-No. 13 LSU. They are coming off a 26-14 victory over visiting Oklahoma, which led 14-10 at halftime.

So who knows what to expect?

Take it away. …

FIRST DOWN

Pass: This game will match 2 of the best quarterbacks in the SEC: Green and Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart. The Rebels QB ranks No. 3 in the nation in passing yards (2,695) and No. 3 in total offense (362.8 yards per game). He has passed for 15 touchdowns with 3 interceptions.

Green ranks No. 13 in the nation in total offense (306.5 yards per game), putting him ahead of Georgia’s Carson Beck (294), Alabama’s Jalen Milroe (289.6) and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia (258.9). Green has passed for 11 TDs and run for 5. Seven of his passes have been intercepted.

Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said some of things Dart does reminds him of Kansas City Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes, a 3-time Super Bowl champ.

"He's got Mahomes-like stuff in him," Pittman said. "I'm comparing the magic throws that he makes, because he can make them. You're going, 'How did he shovel this?' Where he's super dangerous as well is that he can run, and he's very competitive and very confident."

Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin is similarly impressed with Green, particularly his mobility.

"We've got to do a great job of containing him," Kiffin said. "This guy's as talented and long as they come. We're going to have to rush really well, contain him and have a really good plan. “

SECOND DOWN

Catch: This game could match 2 of the SEC’s best receivers: Ole Miss’s Tre Harris and Arkansas’ Andrew Armstrong (Craven Whitlow photo).

Harris ranks No. 2 in the nation in receiving yards (987 on 59 catches in 7 games), even though he missed the Oklahoma game with an injury. He was listed as questionable last week, and he’s listed as questionable this week. Don’t be surprised if he plays, but his effectiveness could be limited.

Armstrong ranks No. 14 in the nation in receiving yards (722 on 49 catches in 7 games). He ranks No. 2 in the SEC with an average of 103.1 yards per game. He is 1 of 8 FBS players averaging 100-plus yards receiving per game this year.

Harris has 6 TD catches compared to Armstrong, who caught his line TD 2 weeks ago against LSU.

“Everybody was worried about me scoring a touchdown and things like that,” Armstrong said last week. “That was the last thing on my mind. The first thing on my mind was trying to win. I wasn’t too focused on my personal goals.”

Armstrong and Green have connected well.

“My thing is I just wanted to be a quarterback-friendly wide receiver,” he said last week. “When he’s rolling out, and he’s done it multiple times, he’ll find me. I feel like that builds the trust in him with me, that he can roll out and look for me, and find me and throw it. I feel like it’s just ... his connection has been great, from the spring through the summer through fall camp and there.”

THIRD DOWN

Run: Arkansas played without leading rusher senior Ja’Quinden Jackson (592 yards) at Mississippi State. Pittman expected Russell to step up.

“We’re going to turn around and let the horse eat a little bit,” Pittman said early last week.

The horse was hungry, posting the highest total for an Arkansas freshman since Darren McFadden had 187 in a 14-10 loss to South Carolina on Nov. 5, 2005.

Pittman said he spoke with Russell on Friday night in Starkville and reminded him what he said.

 “I start running my mouth, and then of course in the locker room (afterward) he said, ‘I don’t think I’ve made you look like a fool, Coach.’

“I said, ‘No, I appreciate you for that.’ But he’s a really good kid and had a hell of a game.”

Russell, 6-1, 253, is an in-state signee from Benton High School, about 25 miles south of Little Rock. He’s big.

Ole Miss has a back who is bigger. J.J. Pegues, a 6-2, 285-pound defensive tackle, has found a role as a short-yardage back on offense. He has run 9 times for 25 yards and has scored 5 TDs. The record for a defensive lineman scoring rushing touchdowns in a single season is 9.

"He's huge," Pittman said of Pegues, who starred at Oxford (Miss.) High School and signed first with Auburn. "He's freaking good. He's big. He's skilled. He's got great hands, because he can catch the snap. Once he gets motoring downhill, he's hard to stop. What a great idea by their offensive staff to use him, because he's hard to stop back there on short yardage."

Pegues makes an impact on the defense line, which is an Ole Miss strength.

"Seems like this year, a little bit different," Pittman said of the Ole Miss defense. "They've always played well on defense, but you're looking at the No. 1 rush defense in the country. No. 1 against points allowed. Very, very good. Their front is deep. They're going to be big challenges. … Every spot up there, they're good. I mean, real good. Some of that is we're going to have to run the football, stay out of some long situations."

FOURTH DOWN

Tempo: Ole Miss takes 22.4 seconds between plays, the sixth-fastest in FBS, according to TeamRankings.com.

Arkansas faced a similar tempo in its 19-14 victory over Tennessee.

"They can tempo or not," Pittman said of the Rebels. "They can do it as good as anybody in the country. We certainly have worked on it this week. Got a taste of it against Tennessee, so that helped us prepare for this week as far as tempo goes. We know we'll see it."

Arkansas defensive tackle Eric Gregory acknowledged the challenge.

"They tempo lot of teams and makes them [opponents] where they can't really think," Gregory said, adding that teams can lose track of their assignments and technique because of fatigue. "That's a bigger thing that we're working on, trying to match their tempo."