Ankle ouches
Arkansas’ top two receivers left Saturday’s game against Ole Miss with ankle injuries in the third quarter.

Joe Adams was bent backward at the sideline after a 17-yard reception. The injury occurred during Arkansas first possession of the second half. He was escorted to the locker room. Childs’ injury happened on a crossing route with 8:02 left in the period. Trainers attended to him on the sideline. Both returned to the field after a 58-minute weather delay, but both were limping noticeably.

During the game, Adams had two catches for 49 yards and Childs caught four for 45 yards.

Childs and Adams went into Saturday’s game as the top two receivers for Arkansas. Childs, who had caught 37 passes for 527 yards, was averaging 87.8 yards per game. Adams had 28 catches before Saturday, good for 495 yards and an average of 82.5 yards per game.

Weather delay(s)
Two is the magic number when it comes to weather delays at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Play was stopped twice Saturday with lightning in the area. The last time there was a weather delay at a Fayetteville game was in 2001 against Tennessee. There were two play stoppages then, too.

The time changed, in a sense, during the first weather delay Saturday. Ryan Mallett had just passed complete to Cobi Hamilton, who was short of a first down. There was a flag on the play as the clock rolled down to 4:32 left in the third quarter. The referee said Arkansas’ formation was illegal and told officials in the press box to reset the clock to 4:55. Before play resumed, he then announced a suspension of play because lightning was within six miles of the stadium. He also announced that the clock should be reset at 5:06. Play was suspended at 1:42 p.m.

Officials returned to the field at 2:20 p.m., but the stands remained empty. Players returned to the field at 2:30 and the game resumed at 2:40, following a 10-minute warm-up period. When play resumed, Arkansas faced a fourth-and-six, and punted.

The public address announcer said when the first delay was announced that the brunt of the storm would hit in about 10 minutes. Heavy rain and lightning appeared on cue. The university gave fans no option other than to depart the metal stands both times.

The second suspension of play occurred with 9:04 left in the game and Arkansas leading Ole Miss, 31-24. The Rebels had just scored on a 22-yard touchdown and the teams were lining up for the kickoff when play was stopped. The second delay lasted 31 minutes, including the mandatory warm-up period.

Defense first
The Arkansas Razorbacks went on defense first Saturday against Ole Miss, marking the first time in a while they haven’t started the game with the ball. Arkansas has elected to receive anytime it has won the toss. Against Texas A&M, the Aggies won the toss, but deferred. Ole Miss won the toss Saturday, elected to receive, and ended up punting on its second series.

Bequette’s name called
Defensive end Jake Bequette, whose name was never called by the public address announcer at Auburn, tackled Ole Miss quarterback Jeremiah Masoli Saturday on a critical third down in the first quarter, causing a fumble, recovered by the Razorbacks. The recovery likely prevented at least a field goal attempt. Bequette left the field holding his left shoulder and was administered first aid on the sideline. He returned three plays deep into the next defensive series.

Ray on return
Backup wide receiver Lance Ray became the eighth Arkansas Razorback to return an opponent kickoff this season. After the Ole Miss field goal late in the first half, Ray ran from the end zone to the 19-yard line. A second return from a yard deep was to the 20. Cobi Hamilton came into Saturday’s game with the most kickoff returns for Arkansas with eight. Maudrecus Humphrey had six, Joe Adams, four, Dennis Johnson, two, Ross Rasner, two, and Austin Tate and Van Stumon, one each.

When ranked 21st
Arkansas went into Saturday’s game ranked No. 21 in The Associated Press poll. When ranked No. 21, Arkansas held a 1-2 record. The Razorbacks lost to TCU in 1990 and to Ole Miss in 2003, but defeated Troy in 2007.

Seats for sellout
The Arkansas-Ole Miss game was officially a sellout, but the upper deck seats in the south end zone were empty when play began, save a dozen or so, including ushers. That area is an overflow area for students, so the tickets were effectively sold. The official attendance for Saturday’s game was 73,619. About half of the fans bailed after the first weather delay; about half of those left during the second delay.

Nutt return
Houston Nutt, a Little Rock native who spent 10 years roaming the Arkansas sideline as head coach, made his second foray back to Fayetteville Saturday. Nutt’s Rebels had defeated Arkansas in his first two seasons at Ole Miss, before dropping Saturday’s game, 38-24.

— Dennis Byrd • Arkansas News Bureau