1.Their ability to throw the ball better than us
That's fair but it isn't necessarily a wide margin. Corral throws for just under 300 ypg. Hooker not counting BGSU as a "game" throws for about 225. If you count only half the Pitt game against him then he avgs around 236. They're almost identical in rushing O so far.
The other half of that is whose D has performed better. In spite of fairly significant injuries, UT allows 21.5 ppg while Ole Miss allows 31. UT is 7th in the SEC in run D at 112 ypg while Ole Miss is 12th at 194 ypg. Neither has been great in pass D with both averaging in the 230's. Total D, UT allows 344 while Ole Miss allows 432.
Ole Miss is worst in penalties committed. UT is about 7th in penalties committed but improved of late. Oddly UT is 1st in opponent penalties. UT averages getting about 70 ypg through penalties. Tempo forcing mistakes?
Ole Miss and UT are 1 and 2 in first downs. UT is 7th in first downs allowed... Ole Miss is dead last.
Ole Miss is currently 1st in TO margin at 5+. UT is tied for 4th at 3+. UT is first in TFL's at 52 while Ole Miss is 11th with 33. Both allow about 5 TFL's per game.
Both are mid-pack in sacks. UT has taken too many sacks averaging 3.3 per game. Ole Miss averages about half that.
UT is 3rd in INT's while Ole Miss is tied for last.
UT is first in passes defended at 33. Ole Miss is last at 15.
UT is 3rd in 3rd down conversions at 49%. Ole Miss is 11th at 38%.
UT is 6th in RZ conversions at 89%. Ole Miss is 10th with 73%. Ole Miss has allowed 87% RZ scores. UT has allowed 89%.
Depending on what you call a "long" play... UT is actually better. UT has produced 32 plays longer than 20 yds. Ole Miss has produced 31. But they are close at 30, 40, 50, and 60 yds. UT has 2 plays over 70 yds. Ole Miss has none. Both are explosive.
Both teams have allowed long plays about the same.
Really? Do you know Ole Miss' roster well enough to make that claim or are you just parroting what someone else has claimed without actually showing? I know Price and Hubbs have harped on this theme for a long time. But depth is only important in a relative sense.
So where specifically and for what reasons do you think Ole Miss is a deeper team than UT?
Have you checked their injuries before seeing that as a disadvantage to UT? One of their starting OL's is out with ankle surgery. One of their best WR's Mingo is likely out for the year. Those are the two most recently in the news. I'm not sure if they lost anyone vs Arkansas or not or who might be coming back though it is a safe bet that those two are not.
4. The pressure is on us because their HC
Huh? At worst that's a non-issue. At best, the pressure is on Kiffin returning to UT.... and playing against a coach that he's never beaten iirc.
5. They’ve faced better competition than us so far
Have they? Which of their OOC opponents is even close to as good as Pitt? Yes they played Bama but at no point was that really a competitive game. It was 35-0 before Bama started subbing and Ole Miss scored against back ups.
Arkansas is a good team... but how good?
I hope I’m wrong but here’s my game and score predictions.
Do you? If so... why would you say it publicly and why wouldn't you do a better job of researching the opponent before posting it?
For some reason, we go back to making stupid mistakes that cost us a chance.
And... why? It could happen but there's no reason right here and now to assume that it will. In fact, UT has gotten MUCH better since UF. Only two penalties in each of the last two games. Defensively, Ole Miss probably isn't going to pressure UT more than USCe did.
Again, it could happen but on what objective, reasonable basis do you assume that it will? What has Ole Miss done defensively that makes you think they can slow UT down and especially if Mays, Small, and Evans all play?
You could be right. But since you've made all of these negative assumptions and unsupported claims... you'll hear about it if you're not.