FAYETTEVILLE -- Houston Nutt knew the boos were coming. As the Ole Miss coach crept arm-in-arm with his players out of the southwest tunnel in Reynolds Razorback Stadium Saturday evening, he was prepared for the onslaught. Unlike his Arkansas years, though, Nutt didn’t feel rushed to lead his team onto the field.

“I did (know they were going to boo) and you know, I understand,” Nutt said. “I mean they’re fighting for their home team and I understand that. And I’ve been booed while I was with the good, on that sideline.

“So I understand all that. I knew they were going to boo me, and that’s alright.”

Waiting for just the perfect moment, Nutt charged his Rebels onto the field just as his former Razorbacks were making their way through the famous Arkansas marching band ‘A’. And just like that, Nutt timed his entrance just as well as he did his escape, holding every last breath as his new SEC West team squeaked out a 23-21 win in front of 74,168 fans.

While the victory was as sweet for Nutt as the loss was gutwrenching for the Razorbacks and their followers, the former Arkansas head man admitted he’s glad to be leaving Fayetteville once again.

“It was tough, it was tough,” Nutt said. “I tried not to let on, tried to hide it, but it was tough. (My wife) Diana can tell you because she’d say, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ at three o’clock in the morning, four o’clock in the morning. And I don’t know, because I’ve always slept like a baby.

“But this was different. This was really hard.”

Hard, Nutt said, not so much because of the rough treatment Saturday. Or because of the ugly divorce last December between he and Razorbacks. But because of those close to him that he left behind.

After the game, several Arkansas players approached Nutt — in a kind way — a gesture he genuinely seemed to appreciate.

“It’s just the relationships,” Nutt said. “You’re close to them, you’ve been in their living room. That’s why it’s so hard on the coaches that had been here so long. It was harder than I thought this week. And those players coming up (and greeting us after the game), it just shows you all the relationships that we have.”

Even after the game, many of the current Razorbacks continued to downplay Nutt’s return.

“I think there was a little fire and they were definitely louder at times” Arkansas senior center Jonathan Luigs said of the crowd. “I think they were really into this game and they really wanted it along with the rest of the state and the team.

“But that’s football. You go out there and decide who’s going to win and unfortunately they came out on top.”