Arkansas 28, Missouri 3
Razorbacks rushers heat up on cold, soggy day
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas dominated offensively challenged Missouri on a rain-soaked day and Alex Collins rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns as the Razorbacks won their second trophy of the month with a 28-3 victory Friday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
The Razorbacks (7-5, 5-3 SEC) wrapped up the regular season by winning five of six games, evening their season-ending series with the Tigers (5-7, 1-7) at 1-1 in SEC play and denying outgoing Missouri
Coach Gary Pinkel a victory in his last regular-season game.
UA officials announced 72,496 tickets were sold for Friday’s game, but all-day rain with temperatures in the low 40s kept the crowd to probably fewer than 40,000.
The victory over Missouri gave Arkansas possession of the new 180-pound Battle Line trophy to go along with the Golden Boot trophy, which it retained after defeating LSU 31-14 on Nov. 14. More important, it solidified its bowl standing with Liberty Bowl officials in attendance again.
“To win another trophy game, that’s going to mean a lot to put that one down there next to the Boot and have those in our possession for another year,” Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said.
Missouri did not qualify for the postseason, although the 40 bowls might have to
take teams with losing records this year.
“You want to win everything all the time,” Pinkel said. “That’s what you want to do … and obviously I didn’t want it to end this way.
“It was a great run. … At the end of the day, I feel honored. Honored that we could build a program. A program with integrity and a program that had had a lot of success, even though the last few games we didn’t.”
The weather conditions dictated the style of play, with Arkansas rushing 52 times for 208 yards, more than tripling quarterback Brandon Allen’s 17 pass attempts. The Razorbacks outgained Missouri 310 to 171 in total yardage and held the ball for 40:15 to the Tigers’ 19:45.
“That was probably one of the worst-weather games I’ve ever been in,” said Allen, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 102 yards with 1 interception. “Wet’s one thing, wet and cold is another thing.”
Missouri stacked the box and frequently sent run blitzes at the Razorbacks, but Arkansas eventually got its running game in gear.
Collins notched his ninth 100-yard game of the season on a career-high 30 carries as the Razorbacks built a 21-3 lead.
“It was all the offensive line and the tight ends and receivers blocking,” Collins said. “They got a great push.”
Collins, defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr., who had a sack for the fourth consecutive game, and offensive lineman Marcus Danenhauer rolled the big Battle Line trophy off the field and into the Broyles Athletic Complex in the rain.
Kody Walker, who grew up in Jefferson City, Mo., added 77 yards and the final touchdown, a 9-yarder over the right side in the third quarter.
“Oh man, it was awesome,” Walker said. “Against the home-state team and all the friends and family watching, it was awesome just to get in the zone.”
Arkansas’ early 14-0 lead forced Missouri to go to the air, and that wasn’t a good place for the Tigers to be.
Missouri freshman quarterback Drew Lock completed 9 of 27 passes for 83 yards. The Tigers were in position to score late in the game, but Lock’s throw in the end zone was intercepted by Arkansas safety Josh Liddell.
The Tigers rushed for 88 yards on 25 carries.
“I think we made a huge step forward in this game,” Arkansas defensive tackle DeMarcus Hodge said. “I think it was very important, really not just for us as a defense, but for the program. It kind of … lets the world know what we can do when we actually play.”
Arkansas dominated field position from the opening kick, which was muffed by John Gibson, who managed a 15-yard return to the Tigers’ 16. But Arkansas failed to drive past midfield on its first two possessions, despite starting at the Hogs’ 44 and 39.
The third series was different, even after Missouri stuffed a Collins run and a catch for minus-2 yards each. On third and 14, Allen stood in the pocket and took a lower-leg shot from Kenya Dennis as he found Dominique Reed for a 15-yard reception.
The Razorbacks kept it on the ground the next six plays, gaining 28 yards, before Hunter Henry’s 10-yard catch set up Collins’ 4-yard touchdown.
Collins had four consecutive runs that netted 32 yards on Arkansas’ next possession, then Walker added a 22-yard burst on a cutback around left end. Collins finished off the 84-yard series with a 7-yard scoring run up the middle.
The Tigers finally found a spark, with Lock hitting Wesley Leftwich for a 35-yard gain on first down, then Ish Witter running for 9 and 17 yards to reach the Hogs’ 19. The series bogged down and Andrew Baggett made a 35yard field goal.
Arkansas used the clock and a good play-call mix to net Collins’ third touchdown, a 25-yard tackle-breaking run to cap a drive that lasted 5:30, with 39 seconds left in the half. Walker converted on fourth and inches on a toss play and Drew Morgan caught a 15-yard pass to the Missouri 25 with the clock ticking to less than a minute.
Collins broke up the middle, cut to the left edge and then back to the middle for a score on the next play.