Gary Pinkel shares his thoughts on budding Mizzou-Arkansas rivalry
By Adam Spencer
Published:
On paper, the Mizzou-Arkansas SEC East-West crossover rivalry makes sense, as the two programs are the flagship universities of neighboring states.
However, after leaving the Big 12, where the Tigers had a hated rival in the Kansas Jayhawks, the rivalry with the Razorbacks has felt a little forced thus far.
Legendary Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel even admits that the rivalry feels forced right now, but while speaking to the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club on Wednesday, he said he has high hopes for the Battle Line Rivalry in the future (via 247Sports):
“I’d like to think that the rivalry is going to grow and grow and grow,” he said. “You wave a magic wand and you say, ‘Okay, you’re rivals.’ You wake up in the morning, ‘Oh, we’re rivals now?’ That’s really what happened.
“It’s going to take some big games and battles that one team is going to win over the other and can’t wait until we play them the next year. Through time, I hope it becomes a great, great college football rivalry and also in other sports.”
Last year’s game between the Hogs and Tigers was a good one, as Arkansas jumped out to a 24-7 lead before Mizzou stormed back to win 28-24.
If the rivalry produces more games like that, it could indeed become one of the best in the SEC.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
