Arkansas Hosts Missouri On Senior Day

Game Notes | Hype Video

Game 12: Missouri | Friday, Nov. 27 | Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium

Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. CT
TV: CBS
Tickets: SOLD OUT

Arkansas and Missouri will face off in the final regular season game for both programs as the Razorbacks host Senior Day at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. A total of 17 seniors will be recognized prior to the game.

PLAYERS TO BE RECOGNIZED ON SENIOR DAY (17)

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (Last School)
10 Brandon Allen QB 6-2 210 Fayetteville, Ark. (Fayetteville HS)
68 Austin Beck OL 6-7 325 Nowata, Okla. (Nowata HS)
69 Cordale Boyd OL 6-3 282 Memphis, Tenn. (Ridgeway HS)
59 Marcus Danenhauer OL 6-4 312 Bentonville, Ark. (Bentonville HS)
26 Rohan Gaines DB 5-11 195 Bainbridge, Ga. (Bainbridge HS)
32 Drew Gorton LS 6-0 210 Fayetteville, Ark. (Fayetteville HS)
93 DeMarcus Hodge DL 6-1 340 Monroe, La. (Neville HS)
54 Reeve Koehler OL 6-3 331 Kailua, Hawaii (St. Louis School)
89 Mitchell Loewen DL 6-5 275 Lahaina, Hawaii (Lahainaluna HS)
13 Davyon McKinney DB 6-1 215 Forrest City, Ark. (Forrest City HS)
29 Chris Saunders WR 5-11 195 Dallas, Texas (Life Charter School)
65 Mitch Smothers OL 6-3 322 Springdale, Ark. (Springdale HS)
57 Nicholas Thomas-Smith LB 5-10 225 Chesterfield, Mo. (Marquette HS)
31 Scotty Thurman DB 5-11 210 Pine Bluff, Ark. (Fayetteville HS)
73 Sebastian Tretola OL 6-5 334 San Bernardino, Calif. (Iowa Western CC)
46 Alex Voelzke TE 6-5 253 Longview, Texas (Spring Hill HS)
32 Jonathan Williams RB 6-0 223 Allen, Texas (Allen HS)

The Battle Line Rivalry presented by Shelter Insurance
Arkansas and Missouri will meet for the second annual Battle Line Rivalry presented by Shelter Insurance. Missouri won the first meeting last year, 21-14 in Columbia, Missouri. The game features a brand new trophy (last year’s winner received a temporary one).

Despite being in neighboring states, Friday will be the first time that Missouri has ever played a football game in Fayetteville. The teams met in Little Rock once in 1963 but that is the only time they have played within the borders of the Natural State. Arkansas did win a meeting in the 2003 Independence Bowl, 27-14, and Missouri won the 2008 Cotton Bowl, 38-7. The Tigers hold the all-time series lead at four games to two.

The Opponent
Missouri has a lot riding on this game. Two weeks ago, head coach Gary Pinkel announced his resignation at the end of the season due to a battle with a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer of the blood. This is Pinkel’s 29th season as a head football coach and is in his 15th season at Missouri.

Not only will this be potentially Pinkel’s final game, but Missouri also sits at 5-6, just win away from bowl eligibility. A win for them on Friday would mean an extra month of football for the team and Coach Pinkel.

The Tigers have been exceptional on defense this season, ranking third in the SEC in scoring defense (15.1 points allowed per game) and fourth in total defense (301.3 yards allowed per game). Senior linebacker Kentrall Brothers leads the nation with 140 total tackles and sophomore defensive lineman Charles Harris leads the SEC with 18.5 tackles for loss.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Missouri’s offense, which ranks last or second to last in the SEC in nearly every offensive category. The Tigers have scored just 15 touchdowns this season, a total that the Razorbacks have topped in just the past three weeks.

Connections
– Arkansas has five players from the state of Missouri: QB Rafe Peavey (Bolivar), LB Nicholas Thomas-Smith (Chesterfield), RB Kody Walker (Jefferson City), OL Brian Wallace (Florissant) and DL Armon Watts (St. Louis).
– Missouri has two players from the state of Arkansas: WR Jeffrey Cathey (Little Rock) and OL Mitch Hall (Russellville).
– Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman served in the same capacity at Missouri for one season in 2000. Pittman and Missouri’s associate head coach/quarterbacks Andy Hill coached together from 1992-1993 at Hutchinson CC in Kansas where Pittman was the head coach and Hill served as an assistant.
– Missouri offensive lineman Brad McNulty and Arkansas running back Jonathan Williams played high school football together at Allen HS in Allen, Texas.
– Arkansas running back Kody Walker and Missouri linebacker Joey Burkett both attended Jefferson City HS in Jefferson City, Mo.

News & Notes
– The Razorback offense has scored 50 points four times in the past five games. The four 50-point games are the most in a single season in program history, breaking the previous record of three set in 2007, 1916 and 1910.
– Three of Arkansas’ 50-point games have come in SEC action, which is also a single-season record.
– The Razorbacks have eclipsed the 200 rushing yards plateau in five of seven SEC games so far this season – good for third-most in program history.
– Senior quarterback Brandon Allen is Arkansas’ all-time leader in career passing touchdowns with 63.
– True freshman Dre Greenlaw leads all SEC freshmen and is third nationally among freshmen with 88 total tackles.
– Arkansas leads the SEC in scoring in SEC games, averaging 35.3 points per conference game.
– The Razorbacks are one of just four teams in the nation to have less than 10 turnovers this season.
– Arkansas’ tight end corps is tops in the SEC, totaling 927 yards receiving.