Three-minute preview: Missouri at Arkansas
When/where: 1:30 p.m. Friday at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.
TV/radio: CBS; KMBZ (98.1 FM)
The series: Missouri leads 4-2
The line: Arkansas by 14
What’s at stake
Bowl eligibility in coach Gary Pinkel’s final season. Missouri, 5-6, needs a victory to guarantee a bowl appearance for the 10th time in 11 seasons. It is the Tigers’ first-ever game in Fayetteville, Ark.
Cheers if ...
Missouri’s offense scores more than 20 points. Arkansas has the worst scoring defense in the SEC, allowing 30 points per game, but the Tigers’ offense hasn’t scored more than 20 points since Oct. 3 against South Carolina.
Jeers if ...
Arkansas shreds Missouri’s defense. The Razorbacks are second in the SEC, averaging 35.8 points, and are balanced between the run (191.2 ypg) and pass (279.0 ypg). The Tigers have to keep them well under those averages.
Tod Palmer’s pick: Arkansas 27-17
Arkansas’ pass defense gives up more than 300 yards per game, but the run defense is stout, ranking third in the SEC. Missouri might have trouble scoring despite a leaky pass defense, considering the season-long struggles.
MISSOURI (5-6, 1-6 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | Southeast Missouri | W, 34-3 |
Sept. 12 | at Arkansas State | W, 27-20 |
Sept. 19 | Connecticut | W, 9-6 |
Sept. 26 | at Kentucky | L, 21-13 |
Oct. 3 | South Carolina | W, 24-10 |
Oct. 10 | Florida | L, 21-3 |
Oct. 17 | at Georgia | L, 9-6 |
Oct. 24 | at Vanderbilt | L, 10-3 |
Nov. 5 | Mississippi State | L, 31-13 |
Nov. 14 | vs. BYU | W, 20-16 |
Nov. 21 | Tennessee | L, 19-8 |
Friday | at Arkansas | 1:30 p.m. |
ARKANSAS (6-5, 4-3 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | Texas-El Paso | W, 48-13 |
Sept. 12 | Toledo | L, 16-12 |
Sept. 19 | Texas Tech | L, 35-24 |
Sept. 26 | vs. Texas A&M | L, 28-21 (OT) |
Oct. 3 | at Tennessee | W, 24-20 |
Oct. 10 | at Alabama | L, 27-14 |
Oct. 24 | Auburn | W, 54-46 (4OT) |
Oct. 31 | Tennessee-Martin | W, 63-28 |
Nov. 7 | at Mississippi | W, 53-52 (OT) |
Nov. 14 | at LSU | W, 31-14 |
Nov. 21 | Mississippi State | L, 51-50 |
Friday | Missouri | 1:30 p.m. |
Three things about Arkansas
1 Power by junior running back Alex Collins, whose eight 100-yard games are tied for the most in the SEC, Arkansas has eclipsed 200 yards rushing in five of seven conference games this season.
2 Senior quarterback Brandon Allen leads the SEC in pass efficiency at 168.4. He has completed 213 of 327 attempts for 3,023 yards with a conference-leading and Razorbacks-record 29 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
3 Arkansas is the only SEC team with two players in the top 10 in tackles. Junior linebacker Brooks Ellis is sixth with 95 tackles and freshman linebacker Dre Greenlaw is 10th with 88 tackles.
Key matchup
Missouri’s wide receivers vs. Arkansas’ secondary: Let’s assume the protection holds up and quarterback Drew Lock makes good decisions. For the offense to click, the Tigers’ receivers still have to get open and make plays as they did against BYU. It’s a secondary ripe for the picking if the receivers can separate.
MISSOURI OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 6 | J’Mon Moore | 6-3 | 190 | So. |
WR | 2 | Nate Brown | 6-3 | 205 | So. |
LT | 60 | Connor McGovern | 6-4 | 305 | Sr. |
LG | 55 | Nate Crawford | 6-5 | 300 | So. |
C | 77 | Evan Boehm | 6-3 | 310 | Sr. |
RG | 73 | Mitch Hall | 6-5 | 310 | Sr. |
RT | 62 | Taylor Chappell | 6-5 | 305 | Sr. |
TE | 80 | Sean Culkin | 6-6 | 245 | Jr. |
WR | 18 | Wesley Leftwich | 6-1 | 205 | Sr. |
QB | 3 | Drew Lock | 6-4 | 205 | Fr. |
RB | 32 | Russell Hansbrough | 5-9 | 195 | Sr. |
K | 99 | Andrew Baggett | 6-1 | 215 | Sr. |
MISSOURI DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 56 | Walter Brady | 6-3 | 255 | Fr. |
DT | 97 | Josh Augusta | 6-4 | 345 | Jr. |
NG | 95 | Rickey Hatley | 6-4 | 300 | So. |
DE | 91 | Charles Harris | 6-3 | 255 | So. |
LB | 10 | Kentrell Brothers | 6-1 | 235 | Sr. |
LB | 30 | Michael Scherer | 6-3 | 230 | Jr. |
LB | 25 | Donavin Newsom | 6-2 | 230 | Jr. |
CB | 7 | Kenya Dennis | 5-11 | 200 | Sr. |
SS | 22 | Anthony Sherrils | 6-0 | 190 | So. |
FS | 21 | Ian Simon | 6-0 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 11 | Aarion Penton | 5-10 | 190 | Jr. |
P | 26 | Corey Fatony | 5-11 | 185 | Fr. |
ARKANSAS OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 80 | Drew Morgan | 6-0 | 195 | Jr. |
TE | 84 | Hunter Henry | 6-5 | 253 | Jr. |
LT | 55 | Denver Kirkland | 6-5 | 340 | Jr. |
LG | 73 | Sebastian Tretola | 6-5 | 334 | Sr. |
C | 65 | Mitch Smothers | 6-3 | 322 | Sr. |
RG | 72 | Frank Ragnow | 6-5 | 312 | So. |
RT | 70 | Dan Skipper | 6-10 | 331 | Jr. |
TE | 83 | Jeremy Sprinkle | 6-6 | 255 | Jr. |
WR | 82 | Dominique Reed | 6-3 | 180 | Jr. |
QB | 10 | Brandon Allen | 6-2 | 210 | Sr. |
RB | 3 | Alex Collins | 5-11 | 215 | Jr. |
K | 9 | Cole Hedlund | 5-10 | 165 | Fr. |
ARKANSAS DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 97 | Tevin Beanum | 6-4 | 280 | So. |
DT | 93 | DeMarcus Hodge | 6-1 | 340 | Sr. |
DT | 94 | Taiwan Johnson | 6-2 | 290 | Jr. |
DE | 55 | Jeremiah Ledbetter | 6-3 | 280 | Jr. |
LB | 35 | Dwayne Eugene | 6-1 | 235 | So. |
LB | 51 | Brooks Ellis | 6-2 | 242 | Jr. |
LB | 23 | Dre Greenlaw | 6-0 | 222 | Fr. |
CB | 29 | Jared Collins | 5-11 | 172 | Jr. |
FS | 28 | Josh Liddell | 6-1 | 210 | So. |
SS | 26 | Rohan Gaines | 5-11 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 2 | D.J. Dean | 5-11 | 202 | Jr. |
P | 37 | Toby Baker | 6-3 | 202 | Jr. |
| Tod Palmer, tpalmer@kcstar.com
This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Three-minute preview: Missouri at Arkansas."