The bad news: Arkansas dug itself in a deep, deep hole with some shaky play from the start.

The good news: The Razorbacks must feel pretty good that it’s just 17-7 at halftime.

Arkansas put together a scoring drive at the end of the half to pull to within 10 points a few minutes ago. That score, coupled with Ole Miss’ awful two-minute offense, has to give the Razorbacks a little lift as they head to the locker room. But it doesn’t erase the fact that Ole Miss has been the much better team in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium so far.

Here’s what sticks out:

• Arkansas’ defense is simply getting run over so far. Dexter McCluster — who was the subject of much conversation this week because he has barely touched the ball this season — has gashed the Hogs over and over. He has 136 yards on 13 carries at halftime.

• The Hogs defensive front, which had been so active the past three games, is struggling against Ole Miss’ line so far. Arkansas has put some pressure on Snead, but it’s ability to stop the run game and get after the quarterback has not been the same.

• Arkansas’ passing offense has been hit-and-miss so far. Mallett has overthrown some receivers. His receivers have dropped some passes. Jarius Wright was responsible for the biggest gaff, dropping a sideline pass that likely would’ve resulted in a 63-yard touchdown.

• It will be interesting to see what happens at cornerback with the Hogs in the second half. Ramon Broadway has been limping around on the sideline for much of the second quarter. Rudell Crim went down with an injury on a kickoff a few minutes ago. Right now, Andru Stewart and freshman David Gordon are manning the spots. We’ll see how Gordon and others hold up with more playing time.

I just got some stats in my hands, too. So let’s run through some of the numbers:

Total Yards: Ole Miss 298, Arkansas 186

Rushing Yards: Ole Miss 175, Arkansas 66

Passing Yards: Ole Miss 123, Arkansas 120

Turnovers: Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 0

Penalties: Ole Miss 1 for 5, Arkansas 2 for 20

Third-Down: Ole Miss 4-for-7, Arkansas 2-for-6

Passing: Jevan Snead 11 of 17 for 123 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; Ryan Mallett 6 of 18, 120 yards

Rushing: Dexter McCluster 13 for 137, TD; Michael Smith 5 for 36

Receiving: Shay Hodge 1 for 25, TD; Greg Childs 2 for 47