Razorbacks linebacker Bumper Pool said the defense simply didn’t make plays when they needed to in fourth-quarter collapse.
GAMEDAY BLOG: Hogs-Missouri commentary through second half
4Q 4:47: In the span of just a few minutes in the fourth quarter, the Hogs are dangerously close to blowing a fourth-quarter lead to Missouri … again. Tyler Badie sprinted in from 25 yards out and now the Tigers have the advantage. Missouri 47, Hogs 40
4Q 7:46: Larry Rountree scores from 9 yards out and that’s how quick the Hogs’ two-touchdown lead has evaporated, mainly because the offense is suddenly not getting first downs. Over 1,000 yards of offense and this one isn’t over yet. Hogs 40, Missouri 40
4Q 12:41: Tyler Badie goes 46 yards down the left sideline for a score and cut the Hogs’ lead back to a touchdown. Hogs 40, Missouri 33
4Q 13:15: Trelon Smith and Treylon Burks are having monster days. Behind a circus catch by Burks, the Hogs drove 75 yards in seven plays to score on a 16-yard run by Smith, who has 153 yards on the ground. Burks has seven catches for 179 yards. Hogs 40, Missouri 26
4Q 14:51: Missouri puts together a 14-play drive but has to end up settling for a 40-yard field goal from Harris Mevis, cutting the Hogs’ lead to one score. Hogs 33, Missouri 26
3Q 8:18: The Hogs’ offense holds the Tigers to a field goal, then K.J. Jefferson directs a 75-yard drive in eight plays with Trelon Smith doing much of the work, scoring on a 15-yard run. The extra point was blocked. Hogs 33, Missouri 23
3Q 10:23: After Arkansas goes three-and-out coming out of halftime, Missouri moves down and gets a 37-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis. Hogs 27, Missouri 23
K.J. Jefferson is proving me wrong in the first half against Missouri because I didn’t believe he was ready to be an SEC quarterback, but Kendal Briles has him playing like one.
It helps his roommate Treylon Burks is one of the Hogs’ most dynamic players (you have to put Trelon Smith in that category now) and it’s starting to look like a threat as Arkansas takes a 27-20 lead at halftime over the Tigers.
The announcement came just before kickoff Feleipe Franks was out with rib injuries and Jefferson would start.
The redshirt freshman has responded.
Burks has six touches, 116 total yards and three other passes were thrown his direction and fell incomplete.
2Q :20: Arkansas’ defense figured out a way to force Missouri to punt, then K.J. Jefferson directed a 70-yard drive with big runs from Trelon Smith and a fake field goal where holder Jack Lindsey ran right up the middle for 20 yards. That set up Jefferson’s 1-yard sneak to give the Hogs a lead with 20 seconds to go to halftime. Hogs 27, Missouri 20
2Q 3:39: The Hogs answer with offense as K.J. Jefferson has settled down in this game and the moves them 75 yards in 13 plays with Trelon Smith running in from 6 yards out as this one is starting to look like a shootout. Hogs 20, Missouri 20
2Q 7:45: If the Hogs can’t figure out a way to at least slow down Larry Rountree this game is going to be tough to win as the senior running back has 73 yards and added a 6-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers back on top. Missouri 20, Hogs 13
2Q 11:16: Roommates Treylon Burks and K.J. Jefferson catch the Missouri secondary moving the wrong way and connect on a 68-yard scoring play and get the Hogs right back in the middle of things. Hogs 13, Missouri 13
2Q 11:56: Arkansas’ defense trying to hang on and keep them in the game as Larry Rountree has 57 yards on the ground early in the second quarter as the Tigers get a 29-yard field goal when a drive stalls. Missouri 13, Hogs 6
1Q 1:48: After a rough start, K.J. Jefferson settles down and makes enough plays scrambling and hitting key passes to lead a 12-play, 75-yard drive and flipped a 2-yard scoring pass to tight end Blake Kern. Special teams problems pop up as A.J. Reed pulls the extra point to the left. Missouri 10, Hogs 6
1Q 6:17: The Tigers limit the Hogs to just 2 yards of offense after taking the lead, then proceed to go 69 yards in 12 plays and Larry Rountree ran the ball in from 2 yards out with 6:17 left in the first quarter. Missouri 10, Hogs 0
1Q 12:12 Missouri’s offense dominating Arkansas’ defense as K.J. Jefferson only managed three passes, one of which was backwards to Mike Woods for just a 2-yard gain. The Tigers’ offense got a 51-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis with 12:12 left in the first quarter. Missouri 3, Hogs 0
The news broke just before kickoff Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks might be out for the game with injured ribs, which is a complete surprise to everyone.
That means redshirt freshman K.J. Jefferson may be the starter, which nobody saw coming.
Nobody may know better than Odom how to slow down Rountree
Arkansas’ game with Missouri has been played the day after Thanksgiving for so long fans came to automatically assume it’s always scheduled that way.
Nope.
It is set every year for the Saturday after Thanksgiving, then moved to Friday in the summer. When LSU was played at the end of the year it was handled the same way.
This year fans had hoped to see the Hogs and Tigers play in Kansas City in Arrowhead Stadium. Then covid got in the way and now everybody is glad the game is going to be played anywhere.
And it’s essentially a pick ’em game. Oh, Missouri is a consensus 2.5-point favorite among the sports books. Considering the home team gets three points just for being at home that makes it about even.
The bigger story line for this game is it’s a contest between two of the top coach of the year candidates in the Hogs’ Sam Pittman and the Tigers’ Eli Drinkwitz, who is from Arkansas.
All of that is just noise around the main issue, which is what happens at 11 a.m. when this game gets under way.
Just about everything is equal in this game and the Hogs certainly have tilted the law of averages in their favor on getting critical calls from officials. It makes about as much sense as anything else these days considering we don’t know until kickoff who’s available and who is out (for whatever reason).
Handicapping games this season is mostly by guess and by golly, which is pretty much what we’ve got this week.
Missouri is 4-1 in its last five games, causing folks to point at that as evidence they have things headed in the right direction. That’s what Drinkwitz is hoping.
Those wins have come over Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Kentucky and LSU wrapped around a 41-17 loss to Florida that wasn’t nearly as competitive as the final score sounds.
On the other hand, Arkansas is 2-3 in the last five games with wins over Tennessee and Ole Miss and losses to Texas A&M, Florida and LSU.
With two games left in the regular season it’s time for Kendal Briles’ offense to figure out how to have all the pieces come together at the same time. Consistency has been the problem.
We’ve seen flashes of how good it can be. The third quarter of the Tennessee game may have been the most consistency we’ve seen in it.
A lot of that has been due to an offensive line that didn’t have a lot of stars to begin with and it’s been pretty much a series of moving pieces between injuries and covid.
It’s about time for it to come together.
Defensively, the Hogs have to figure out a way to get off the field on third down which will likely mean stopping Tigers running back Larry Rountree, who is averaging 4.5 yards per carry.
Hogs defensive coordinator Barry Odom recruited him to Missouri and coached him for three years. He knows how good he is … and it won’t be surprising if anyone has an insight on how to slow him down it will be Odom.
That’s the key and the hunch here is Odom has some know-how tucked away that will make the difference.
Arkansas 27, Missouri 23
With a two-game lead, it may be the shakiest lead this late in the season I’ve ever had. Pete Morgan has hope he can catch up. The problem is hope ain’t a good plan.
Texas A&M (-5.5) at Auburn
The Aggies still have a shot at landing in the College Football Playoff. Don’t giggle. They are sitting at No. 5 and if the committee likes their resume better than Ohio State they could slip in. Auburn, on the other hand, has been all over the place this season, but will be at least .500 this year with the assistance of the league’s replay officials. That won’t make a difference this week. Texas A&M 31, Auburn 14
Florida (-17.5) at Tennessee
This won’t even be close. Maybe the biggest question is where Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt can have a good enough showing to keep the seat he’s sitting on from throwing up flames. That’s a question for Phillip Fulmer and nobody knows which way he’ll come down, but it won’t affect this game. Florida 63, Tennessee 14
South Carolina at Kentucky (-11.5)
The Gamecocks are just playing out the schedule, which is what the Wildcats are doing, too, except Mark Stoops still has a job. South Carolina doesn’t have a coach right now. Neither team is very good this season but they both will play a complete 10-game schedule, which really is a win for this season. Kentucky 35, South Carolina 10
Alabama (-29) at LSU
You would be hard-pressed to find a defending national champion being over a four-touchdown underdog at home just a year after winning the title, but that’s where the Tigers find themselves. A win in this one and the Crimson Tide can take the third and fourth team to Arkansas the next week and their playoff spot rests squarely on the SEC Championship game. Alabama 56, LSU 7
Hogs’ game with Lipscomb moved up an hour, creating jammed schedule
Apparently television decided to make Arkansas a fixture Saturday afternoon on ESPN’s SEC Network so fans won’t have to change television channels.
The start time for the Arkansas-Lipscomb men’s basketball game on Saturday has been changed to 4 p.m. and will be telecast nationally on SEC Network … right after the network broadcasts the Hogs’ game at Missouri starting at 11 a.m.
The new tip time was made by the Southeastern Conference and SEC Network due to the postponement of the Georgia- Vanderbilt football game that was originally scheduled for SEC Network during that time.
Doors to Bud Walton Arena will open at 3 p.m.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast – Does Mizzou belong in the SEC?
Tye & Tommy on Mizzou in the SEC, Urban Meyer Texas rumors, Dave Matter joins, plus Clay Henry’s keys to the game!
Hogs have pieces for offensive puzzle but have to figure out how to use them
For whatever reason, Arkansas’ offenses the past two years have not been able to get the ball into the hands of Treylon Burks on a consistent basis.
Sam Pittman knows it.
“Just get the ball in his hands,” Pittman said about Burks on Thursday afternoon in his final visit with the media before Saturday’s game with Missouri.
All he has to do is pick up the phone and call Bo Hembree, the coach in Warren who figured out that was a good idea when he saw Burks in the third grade.
“He’s dynamic, he’s big, he’s fast,” Pittman said. “We need to get the ball 10, 12, 15 times a game if we can to him. I don’t know if we’ll ever get him that many, but I’d like to see it in his hands that many times.”
To play devil’s advocate here, other teams aren’t exactly complete idiots. They can look at film, too.
They are doing things to keep the ball away from Burks or swarm him when he lines up in the Wildcat formation for a direct snap.
It’s not just passing, although there have been numerous times Burks is left uncovered on the old Bang 8-type play which is just a slant across the middle. If you’re wondering what that is, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin rode that basic play to three Super Bowl wins in the early 1990’s.
“The way you force that I don’t think necessarily is in the passing game,” Pittman said. “I think you can throw some screens to him and things of that nature. Give him the ball on some motions and give him the ball out of the backfield and things of that nature.”
Adding T.J. Hammonds in the backfield along with Burks and big-play receiver Mike Woods is going to open up something with some speed coming out of the backfield. Maybe enough we can find the missing Trey Knox.
“He’s moved there and he’s earned the right to touch the ball more,” Pittman said about Hammonds. “He did a nice job against LSU and made a couple big plays for us. He’s had a really good week. It’s been a physical week here, but he’s had a really good week.”
If Hammonds has his head on straight and can stay focused, he adds some big-play dynamics to the Hogs’ offense. Against LSU, he had a 51-yard catch and a 29-yard run the only two times he got the ball.
“The guy that’s coming on a little bit is Hammonds,” Pittman said.
You get the idea the pieces are there. The task for offensive coordinator Kendal Briles is figuring out how to get the ball in the hands of the guys who can make the plays.
The problem is, though, that’s not quite as easy as it sounds.
Neighbors on Hogs’ 103-50 win over Louisiana-Monroe; ready to play Baylor
Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors talked with the media after an easy win, but knows bigger test comes Sunday against defending champs.
Daniels recapping Razorbacks’ 53-point win over Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday
Arkansas’ Makayla Daniels (11 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds) on getting big win, but knows bigger game is against Baylor.
Balanced offense leads Hogs to whopping win over Louisiana-Monroe
No. 16 Arkansas (4-1, 0-0) got back into the win column on Thursday night, routing Louisiana Monroe (0-1, 0-0) 103-50 inside Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas’ 53-point win was its largest margin of victory since the Hogs beat Northwestern State last season by 60.
It was also Arkansas’ first time over the century mark this season, and the sixth time reaching triple digits in the Neighbors’ era.
A balanced Hog offense, that featured six different players in double figures, was led by redshirt senior guard Destiny Slocum, who scored a game-high 18 points.
Slocum also pitched in with three assists and three rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Erynn Barnum had a career night against the Warhawks, going for 17 points, the most she’s ever scored with the Hogs.
She also pulled down a season-high eight rebounds.
Turning point
The Hogs got down 4-0 early in the game, missing their first five shots. From there though, the foot hit the gas pedal, as Arkansas went on a 16-0 first quarter run and never looked back.
The first quarter would end with Arkansas up 31-9, as the Hogs got big contributions from Slocum (10 points), redshirt senior guard Chelsea Dungee (nine points) and sophomore guard Marquesha Davis (six points).
Hogs highlights
• Senior forward Taylah Thomas once again led the Hogs in rebounding, pulling down eight boards.
• Dungee, Amber Ramirez and Makayla Daniels all got into double figures once again, going for 15, 11 and 11 points, respectively.
• Daniels led Arkansas in assists, dishing four of them.
• Davis also got back into double figures, scoring 15 points. She also had three steals, a team high.
• Freshman forward Destinee McGhee showed well in extended minutes, scoring a career-best six points while snaring three rebounds.
Next game
The Hogs host the defending national champions with No. 4 Baylor coming to Fayetteville for the 2020 SEC-Big 12 Challenge.
That game will air on ESPN2, and will tip at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
