No. 10 Mizzou gets 10th win, blowing out Arkansas in regular season finale
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Tigers closed out the regular season by checking all the boxes.
In a single-game sense: Beat Arkansas to keep the Battle Line trophy in Columbia? Check. Dominate the Hogs in a statement both-sides-of-the-ball performance? Done.
For the big picture: Cross the double-digit win threshold for the first time since 2014? Counting up the 10 victories takes all your fingers. Punch a ticket to a New Year’s Six bowl game? Sure looks like an invite will be on the way.
And for the statistically gaudy: Score two offensive touchdowns in 11 seconds of game time? Freshman tight end Brett Norfleet didn’t even need a dozen ticks of the clock to do the double. Get a conference-leading running back more than 200 yards? Put me in, coach, says Cody Schrader.
No. 10 Missouri became the flame that roasted the Razorbacks repeatedly and relentlessly in a 48-14 win Friday afternoon.
Mizzou packed in a substantial offensive punch — losing its starting right tackle to just that sort of thing during a second-quarter skirmish – with a 217-yard signature Schrader showing.
The Tigers’ defense had no problem handling the Hogs either, particularly after Arkansas starter KJ Jefferson left the game with a leg injury. The Razorbacks managed just 87 total yards of offense through the game's three meaningful quarters, running only 39 plays in that span to MU's 54.
The win means Missouri finishes the regular season 10-2 overall and 6-2 in Southeastern Conference play. Arkansas ends up at 4-8 and 1-7 in SEC games.
As the ninth-ranked team in the College Football Playoff hierarchy, the win almost certainly locks up a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl for the Tigers — the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl and Orange Bowl being the options.
MU quarterback Brady Cook didn’t do much in the passing game, finishing with 112 yards and two touchdowns. Wideout Luther Burden III led the receiving corps with six catches for 55 yards.
After only passing on the first drive of the game, MU opened the scoring by turning to the ground game for all seven plays of its early touchdown drive. Schrader took his second carry of the possession through a wide gap between right guard Cam’Ron Johnson and right tackle Armand Membou, trundling 36 yards downfield. Run plays designed for Schrader and Cook set up a two-yard punch-in score for the tailback to give Missouri a 7-0 lead.
Jefferson broke through the line of scrimmage and a tackle on Arkansas’ first play in response, only for Mizzou nickelback Daylan Carnell to poke the ball free while bringing down the Razorbacks’ quarterback. Defensive end Darius Robinson recovered the fumble, and Jefferson did not return to the game after appearing to hurt his leg during the fumble.
Arkansas backup Jacolby Criswell took the quarterbacking reins, only to be hit as he threw on third down, cutting short his first drive at the helm.
Up 10-0 but starting to wade into an offensive quagmire, the Tigers turned to Schrader midway through the second quarter. He darted down the left sideline for back-to-back carries of 14 and 43 yards, putting him comfortably over the 100-yard threshold with 135 rushing yards — when only 25 minutes had gone by.
Then came the Battle Line brawl. The Mizzou offensive line objected to a late, out-of-bounds hit on Cook, prompting some sideline scuffling. On the next play, right guard Cam’Ron Johnson accentuated a block with a shove to the ground, sparking more fisticuffs. Right tackle Armand Membou appeared to throw a punch in the thick of things while also losing his helmet as the sidelines began to clear. Membou and two Arkansas defensive linemen were ejected with just under six minutes to go in the first half.
After all the hullabaloo, Cook scored a three-yard touchdown on a draw play, putting Missouri ahead 17-0.
Schrader delivered a breakaway run yet again, charging 49 yards down the left sideline only to step out of bounds just short of the pylon at the one-yard line. Three cracks at scoring netted negative yardage, bringing on Mevis for a 22-yard field goal. His make gave MU a 20-0 lead at the half.
If the first half was brutal for the Hogs, the second half didn’t start in any sort of optimism-inducing fashion. Mizzou safety Jaylon Carlies knocked the ball from Criswell’s hand as he threw on the third play of the third quarter, sending it skittering across the grass and into the embrace of linebacker Triston Newson.
Cook took a big hit while throwing, leaving the game for a required play after the game stopped for him to receive attention from trainers. Undeterred, Cook ran the ball on his first play back in the game, then found Norfleet wide open in the middle of the field for a 16-yard score to extend the Tigers’ lead to 27-0.
The Tigers sent things spiraling even further out of hand by recovering a fumbled kickoff on the Hogs’ 11-yard line. It only took one play for Cook to find Norfleet in the end zone again — 35-0.
And yet that wasn’t rock bottom for the Razorbacks. Linebacker Chuck Hicks knocked the ball loose from Criswell’s clutches again, plopping it in front of defensive tackle Jay Jernigan. The big man scooped it up and ran it in from 10 yards out to put the score at 41-0 with five minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Hogs crossed midfield for the first time just before the end of the third quarter, which drew Christmas music from the Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium sound system. Converting a fourth-and-six set up an over-the-shoulder pass from Criswell to wide receiver Andrew Armstrong for an eight-yard touchdown to break the shutout.
Up 41-7 with less than 12 minutes to go, MU subbed in its backups, including No. 2 quarterback Sam Horn.
Playing against the Tigers' defensive reserves, running back Dominique Johnson popped for a 41-yard touchdown to set up an Isaiah Augustave six-yard score.
In his last regular season game of college football, MU running back Nathaniel Peat punched in a one-yard score on a fourth-and-goal to extend the score to 48-14 with 2:37 left in the game. The extra point gave Mevis, already the Tigers' all-time leading scorer, 403 career points.
In a rather fitting end to the game, Criswell fumbled with 10 seconds left in the game.
Missouri will learn its bowl location and opponent during the CFP selection show Dec. 3.
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