Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel’s task: Stopping Brandon Allen, Arkansas
By John Hollis
Published:
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel was always impressed by Brandon Allen, but that respect went a few notches higher more following the Arkansas quarterback’s scintillating performance last weekend.
Allen completed 30 of 43 passes for 406 yards without an interception and became just the second player in SEC history to throw seven touchdown passes in a game when he torched Mississippi State last Saturday night. It wasn’t enough as the Razorbacks dropped a wild 51-50 decision, but Allen’s performance made the whole country take notice.
Pinkel perhaps more than most, given that the Tigers will be traveling to Fayetteville on Saturday to meet the Hogs in the regular season finale for both teams.
“(Allen) is playing at a whole different level than a year ago,” Pinkel told reporters during Monday’s press conference. “Last year, he was very good, but he is playing at an exceptional level right now.”
Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos called Allen’s performance last weekend “one of the best performances I’ve ever witnessed by a quarterback.”
Slowing him down won’t be easy, but Pinkel will have to come up with something in his final regular season game as the Tigers coach. He recently announced that he planned to step down at the season’s end because of health issues.
In the meantime, Pinkel remains impressed with all that he’s seen from Arkansas, especially on offense where Allen directs a potent, well-balanced unit that also features tailback Alex Collins.
Arkansas has averaged an astounding 50.4 points per game in winning four of its past five contests.
“We are playing a really good football team,” he said. “I am really impressed with how (coach) Bret (Bielema) has handled that team and the difficulty they had at the beginning of the season and how they came out of it. That certainly shows that he is obviously a very good football coach and good team. They are very, very explosive on offense.”
The nationally televised game, called the Battle Line Rivalry, will mark the second consecutive year that the permanently-designated cross-division rivals will square off.
Mizzou won the first meeting as SEC members last year in Columbia, 21-14, with the win sealing the Tigers’ second consecutive East Division title.
Another victory would make the Tigers bowl eligible for the third consecutive season, and for the 11th time in Pinkel’s 15 years at the helm.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
