Mississippi @ Arkansas preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 24, 2009 ) Arkansas 17, Mississippi 30

Two teams that entered the season with hopes of contending in the SEC West have had to readjust their goals entering the second half of the season.

Arkansas (4-2, 1-2) and Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2) find themselves tied for last in the division and squaring off Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark., to avoid the outright cellar.

While No. 21 Arkansas is mathematically alive in the race, its hopes for an SEC West title are fading fast, with four teams ahead of the Razorbacks.

Arkansas is hoping for the return of quarterback Ryan Mallett, who suffered a concussion in Saturday's 65-43 loss to Auburn, the highest-scoring game in SEC history. If Mallett can't play, Arkansas has confidence in sophomore Tyler Wilson, who replaced Mallett against Auburn and passed for 332 yards, four touchdowns and two late interceptions in his first extended playing time.

The Razorbacks grabbed a fourth-quarter lead against Auburn but committed costly turnovers and couldn't slow down the Tigers.

Arkansas entered that game ranked 13th nationally in scoring defense, holding opponents to 15 points a game. But Auburn erupted for 330 yards on the ground.

The Razorbacks are first in the SEC in passing offense (366.3 ypg), and second in the SEC and 10th in the nation in total offense (480 ypg). The Razorbacks will be attacking a defense that has one interception, fewest in the nation.

Mallett has had a strong year, if not quite the Heisman-caliber performance many expected. He leads the SEC with 1,844 passing yards and 14 touchdowns, but has thrown six interceptions.

Arkansas' deep receiving corps is led by Greg Childs and Joe Adams, who have 65 catches for 1,022 yards and nine touchdowns between them. Most of the rushing load has fallen to Knile Davis, who has averaged 6.7 yards a carry on 44 attempts for 307 yards. The Razorbacks average just 113.7 yards a game on the ground.

The Razorbacks rank second in the SEC in pass defense, allowing 163.2 yards a game, and have given up an SEC-low five touchdown passes.

In Mississippi's 23-10 loss to Alabama last Saturday, quarterback Jeremiah Masoli had one of his poorer performances, throwing for 110 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He completed 18 of 40 throws. For the season, the Oregon transfer has passed for 933 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 302 yards and three touchdowns.

Without a dominant back, Mississippi has spread the carries around enough to average 215.5 yards a game on the ground, second in the SEC. Branden Bolden is the Rebels' leading rusher with 550 yards and five touchdowns on 86 carries.

Mississippi won this matchup 30-17 at home last year but trails the all-time series 30-25-1. Rebels coach Houston Nutt coached at Arkansas for 10 years before coming to Ole Miss in 2008.