Eli Drinkwitz grew up in Alma. That’s about 45 minutes south of Razorback Stadium.
I’d guess no game on Missouri’s schedule means more to him than this one.
Watch how his teams have handled the Hogs lately and it’s hard to argue with me. A few of those games got out of hand, and Arkansas still hasn’t found an answer for him.
So pardon me if I’m not buying the usual previews for Arkansas vs. Missouri this week.
You’ve read them. Run the ball, stop the run, protect the football and hold the Tigers to field goals. It’s all true, and it’s all stuff you could say about any game on any Saturday.
This one’s going to come down to players and coaching. Right now I don’t think the Razorbacks have the better end of either one.
One coach I trust right now
I’ll give credit where it’s due. Defensive coordinator Ron Roberts has been the one guy on this staff I can count on week to week.
He admitted early in the season he was putting the best he had on the team out there. Considering the screwed-up mess this program has been the last couple of years from poor management above the program they were basically a half-step from asking for volunteers.
Past him, I’m still waiting. I haven’t seen enough from anybody else to get carried away.
Missouri doesn’t have that problem. Jamal Roberts has 867 rushing yards, and nobody in the country had more going into the off week. Ahmad Hardy is back in the mix, too.
Then there’s Austin Simmons. The quarterback who came over from Ole Miss has tossed 14 touchdowns and been picked off twice.
That whole offense treats the ball like it’s borrowed. Four turnovers all year is about as good as it gets nationally.
If there’s a crack, it’s near the goal line. The Tigers have reached the red zone 28 times and come away with a touchdown on half of them.
That’s the opening. Force a few field goals and maybe this thing stays close late.
The Hogs have shown a little something
To be fair, fans are hoping Arkansas isn’t the same team it was earlier this season.
The 31-21 win at Vanderbilt two weeks ago ended a stretch of 14 straight SEC losses. The Razorbacks ran for 187 yards and three scores that day, and KJ Jackson led the way with 58 yards and a touchdown of his own.
Drinkwitz noticed. He said Tuesday the Arkansas staff is doing good work, and he pointed out the improvement at quarterback.
Nice of him. I’d still pull up the film from last November before I got too comfortable. Nobody is bothering to point out, though, this Commodores’ team is nowhere near as good as the past couple of years and is probably worse than Tulsa.
I’m not too sure that’s as much progress as some seem to think it is.
Roberts’ defense has five takeaways over the last two games. Both Tennessee and Vanderbilt were playing young quarterbacks, though, so I’d hold off on the parade.
Missouri’s run defense is a different animal. Teams are averaging 103 rushing yards against the Tigers.
Last year still matters, whether Silverfield likes it or not
This is Missouri’s second straight trip to Fayetteville. Last fall, the Tigers won 31-17 here.
They ran for 322 yards. Arkansas managed 61. The Hogs were up 17-14 at the break and didn’t score again.
Missouri has won four straight in the Battle Line Rivalry, and the Razorbacks have one win in the last 10 meetings.
Ryan Silverfield, in his first year running the program, won’t go near any of it. He said Monday those losses have “zero reflection or zero effect” on what his team does next.
I get it. He’s got to sell his locker room on this group, not the last one. Ryan rightly doesn’t want to bring up the past because he doesn’t want comparisons to it.
Whether he wants to admit it publicly or not the fans aren’t going to be forgetting much of anything these days. It’s been so bad for most of the last 14 years what they see these days isn’t exactly inspiring them to start writing checks.
But the guy on the other sideline remembers. You can bet on that.
Halloween might not care about any of this
Now for the part that makes all my grumbling pointless.
Kickoff is 6:45 p.m. on Halloween night, with No. 23 Missouri (5-2) visiting an Arkansas club that’s 3-4 and 1-3 in league play.
The Hogs haven’t lost on Oct. 31 since a 2020 trip to Texas A&M. They’re 9-1-1 on that date going back to 1953.
It’s homecoming weekend, too. The Razorbacks’ last homecoming win came against Tulsa in 2018.
Stack all that on a strange, messy SEC season and I’ve got no idea what happens.
Maybe the talking points hold up. Maybe Missouri just pounds the ball and goes home happy.
Or maybe the Hogs’ players and coaches finally show up on the same night.
That’s the only preview that matters.
