By Harry King

OXFORD, Miss. — The Jevan Snead zinger is shelved for at least a week. So,
too, questions about the whereabouts of Dexter McCluster.

The junior quarterback quashed the yucks with a career-best performance and
McCluster did something positive almost every one of the 29 times he
touched the ball. Intertwined, their production was too much for Arkansas.

The Snead joke? After he was 11-of-34 with four interceptions against
Alabama, it went something like this: Ole Miss fans were worried that Snead
would turn pro after the season ended; now, they’re worried that he won’t.
One of his two interceptions occurred when he threw deep on the final play
of the half. For the afternoon, he was 22-of-33 for 332 yards, and his
execution on a time-consuming, 14-play drive for a 13-point lead was as
good as it gets. It included six straight completions, an eye-opener for
those who pigeon-hole Houston Nutt’s teams as run-only when leading in the
fourth quarter.Gaining 123 yards on 22 carries, McCluster shot down the
premise that the game would come down to Snead vs. Mallett. In the Rebels’
three previous games, the senior had a total of 14 carries and seven
catches, raising questions about play-calling. For sure, officials had
nothing to do with the 30-17 final. Just as certainly, Ole Miss was not
intimidated by whatever Arkansas was perceived to accomplish against No. 1
Florida.

Although Mallett hit a couple of big plays and suffered from a couple of
drops, he also was credited with a 58-yard touchdown pass when two
defenders collided and the deflection was grabbed by Carlton Salters,
rarely the intended receiver.

“They beat us in all phases,” said Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino. The
numbers agree — 553-299 total offense, 221-45 rushing, and 37:13-22:47 time
of possession. Sacked four times, Mallett was 12-of-34, the third time in
four Southeastern Conference losses that he has completed less than 50
percent.

Very good against Tim Tebow, Arkansas could not get to Snead, who often
threw quickly and contributed a 16-yard scramble to set up the Rebels’
first TD. From the 1, safety Anthony Leon and others lost the ball, but
Snead showed it to the crowd as he walked into the end zone.

Despite a no gainer, McCluster gained ran for 73 yards in the first quarter
on eight tries, helping Ole Miss to a 14-0 lead. On several occasions, he
embarrassed Arkansas defenders, like the time his dip to the inside brought
Andru Stewart to his knees. In that period alone, he had runs of 10,14, 19,
8, and 12.

Arkansas’ only chance to tie came when it was 17-10 in the third quarter.
The possession began with Mallett recovering his own fumble and ended wtih
Greg Childs failing to secure a long and perfect throw up the right
sideline on third down.

From the Ole Miss 36, Arkansas’ defenders poured in on Snead, who dumped a
quick screen to McCluster. He got a block, split two defenders, and his
closest pursuer was an Ole Miss ball boy sprinting down the sideline,
football under his right arm.

The “Houston Nutt, Houston Nutt” chant fired up for the first time with
2:49 to play and rekindled a couple of times afterwards. At 5-2, the Rebels
could be headed for a nice bowl.

Arkansas has to win three more to be bowl eligible and Eastern Michigan
comes along at just the right time.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau.
His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.