Offenses nothing alike for Hogs, Tigers
FAYETTEVILLE — Missouri descends on Reynolds Razorback Stadium for Friday’s 1:30 p.m. game with quarterback Drew Lock on fire, its Spread offense in sync and confidence brimming with every call on coordinator Josh Heupel’s play sheet.
The Arkansas Razorbacks have lost a handful of their top offensive weapons, senior quarterback Austin Allen’s right shoulder still doesn’t look right, and their downfield passing game has shriveled to a trickle.
The contrasting styles are a stark contrast for the two offenses on display in the fourth edition of the Battle Line Rivalry.
Missouri enters with the SEC’s top offense, which is churning out 299.5 passing yards and 195.2 rushing yards per game, and it ranks 11th in the country with 494.7 total yards per game.
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads rounded the numbers up at his Monday news conference.
“They want to run the football as well as they throw it, and they’ve been throwing it for 300 yards per game,” Rhoads said. “They run it for 200 yards per game, and those are large numbers.”
Arkansas has had a rotating cast on its offensive front, and at receiver, running back and quarterback due to injuries. The Razorbacks rank 100th in total offense with 366.8 yards per game. Their scoring average of 27.3 points is 73rd, more than 11 points per game fewer than Missouri’s 38.5, which is good for 13th nationally.
Lock leads the country with 38 touchdown passes,
and he has a list of tall wide receivers — starting with 6-3 senior J’Mon Moore and 6-3 junior Emanuel Hall — to whom he likes to aim his deep passes.
“The number of exposures they’re going to give us is probably going to increase just because of our personal history,” Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said, in reference to the deep-ball damage done to the Hogs much of the season.
In the running game, tailbacks Ish Witter and Larry Rountree III have become a dangerous duo after the loss of Little Rock Christian graduate Damarea Crockett with a shoulder injury. Crockett was averaging 80.2 yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry at the time of his injury.
Witter, a 5-10, 200-pound senior, has 822 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry. The 5-11, 210-pound Rountree has 577 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns and is averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
“I think this is the most skilled group in the SEC,” Rhoads said. “I’ve thought that for the last two years, and since everybody returned from the offense a year ago, that hasn’t changed my mind.”
Lock unloads multiple “shots” per game and leads the country with 16 completed passes of 50 or more yards. He’s tied for second in the FBS behind Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph with 8 passes of 60 or more yards, and he also has 3 for 70-plus yards.
“We know they’re going to come in and threaten us deep,” Arkansas defensive back Kevin Richardson said.
“We just have to be disciplined,” cornerback Henre Toliver said. “Disciplined eyes, be in the right position, stay on the upfield shoulder. He can throw the ball like 65 yards.”
Lock leads the SEC and ranks fifth with a pass efficiency rating of 168.26. He has thrown three or more touchdown passes in seven consecutive games, the longest streak in the FBS this year. He’s the first quarterback for a Power 5 school to accomplish that feat since 2013.
“The quarterback has got
a big arm,” Rhoads said. “He can throw it a long way. He can throw it with great velocity. He throws it with great accuracy. The receivers can all get it. They do it every week.
“Big play after big play after big play. They’ve got great hands. They tested us a year ago in both loose and press coverage and made us pay in both of those areas.”
The Tigers have given up 8 sacks, 25 fewer than the Razorbacks, who have thrown 44 fewer passes.
“The quarterback is good at scrambling when he has to, getting out of the pocket and not taking much contact,” Arkansas nose guard Bijhon Jackson said.
“The quarterback is a very heady player,” Arkansas defensive line coach John Scott said. “You’ll see sometimes when he does get pressure that kid will do just enough, and he’s got a strong enough arm that he’ll get rid of the football. He does a great job
of understanding where escape hatches will be based on a look or a coverage. I give him a lot of credit, and I give their O-line a lot of credit.”
Hall is tied for third nationally with seven receptions of 40-plus yards. That figure is tied for the SEC lead with LSU’s DJ Chark, who burned Arkansas with touchdown receptions covering 45 and 68 yards two weeks ago.
Moore has five catches of 50-plus yards, which is tied for third nationally and tied with Alabama’s Calvin Ridley for the SEC lead.
The Razorbacks realize the counter to Missouri’s high-powered attack is to grind out their possessions on offense.
“We’re obviously playing a very potent, hot offense right now,” tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. said. “We need to hold on to the ball. That’s our formula. Our formula, when we win football games here, is we run the ball effectively and keep the ball out of those types of team’s hands for a significant amount of time.”
Said quarterback Austin Allen: “That’s one of our keys to victory this week is to be able to control the ball, control the clock and kind of limit their opportunities at the big play and finish our drives with points. That way we get the momentum, keep the momentum.”