Arkansas football: 5 reasons Hogs will beat Missouri
The Battle Line Rivalry will be played on Friday afternoon (2:30 p.m. local time) in Fayetteville. Another trophy is on the line and we know how well the Razorbacks play when hardware is involved. Arkansas is 2-0 in trophy games this season, having already captured the Southwest Classic with a 20-10 victory over Texas A&M in Arlington, and the Golden Boot by beating LSU 16-13 in overtime at Tiger Stadium.
Now Arkansas looks to add to its trophy case on Friday against a 6-5 Missouri team that has won its last 2 games to become bowl eligible. The Razorbacks have never defeated Texas A&M, LSU, and Missouri all in the same season.
They’ll accomplish that feat as the program continues to trend upwards and win their 8th game, the most in one season since 2011. Here are 5 reasons Arkansas will beat Missouri on Friday.
1. Arkansas run game
For starters, consider that Missouri ranks last in the SEC against the run. The Tigers are giving up an average of 235.4 rushing yards per game; that ranks 125th nationally.
Couple that with Arkansas’ powerful rushing attack that ranks 2nd in the SEC and 13th in the nation with an average of 222.3 yards per game, and you have the makings of a rout.
Senior Myron Cunningham, redshirt senior Ty Clary, and junior Ricky Stromberg have led an offensive line that has dominated this season, opening running lanes for one of the most prolific quartets in Razorbacks’ history.
That foursome of quarterback KJ Jefferson, and running backs Dominique Johnson, Raheim Sanders and Trelon Smith are the first at Arkansas since 1975 to rush for 400-plus yards in 1 season since.
Johnson has emerged as the top RB. Missouri will be hard-pressed to keep him within his average of 6.0 yards per carry. Not bad for a 5th-stringer at the start of the season.
2. Treylon Burks
The junior wideout has been named to watch lists for the Biletnikoff Award, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. He’s simply unstoppable. Alabama couldn’t do it. I certainly don’t expect Missouri to be able to handle this rising star, either.
Burks leads the SEC with 20 plays of 20-plus yards and is the only receiver in the country this season with 2 receiving plays of over 80 yards, which includes a 91-yard touchdown catch against Georgia Southern; the 2nd-longest passing play in program history behind the 92-yarder from QB Matt Jones to WR Richard Smith in a 2002 game against Tennessee.
The difference-maker is 1 of only 3 active receivers to record a reception in every game played (31) of their career (minimum 20 career games).
He’s already recorded back-to-back 800-yard seasons and has 10 receiving touchdowns this year. His 5 100-yard games tie the Arkansas all-time single-season mark. Burks needs just 25 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the season.
He should get that and much more Friday.
3. 3rd-down defense
While Arkansas has been able to somewhat control the tempo with a dominating run game, getting the opposition off the field has been a key to the Razorbacks’ success this season.
The Razorbacks are 2nd in the SEC in 3rd-down defense, allowing the opposition to convert on just 32.5%. If Missouri can’t convert with the SEC’s top running back Tyler Badie, they’re in for a very long Friday afternoon.
4. Linebacker play
Arkansas’ LB play has been a big bright spot this season. The trio of Bumper Pool, Grant Morgan and Hayden Henry is as good as any. Their combined 280 tackles account for 34 percent of Arkansas’ total tackles this season.
Granted they’ll have their hands full with stopping the running of Badie and the passing of Tigers QB Connor Bazelak, this trio is capable of doing just that. All 3 rank among the top 8 tacklers in the SEC.
5. Missouri transfer Tre Williams
The redshirt senior defensive end from Columbia, Mo., will set up camp in the Tigers’ backfield on Friday. Williams leads the Razorbacks with 6.0 sacks. He got 4 of those in the first 4 games of the season. His 14.5 career sacks are most of any current Arkansas player.
The Missouri transfer will want to play his best against his former team. I look for a big game from Williams and the entire Razorbacks defense.