Missouri hosts Arkansas to close season
Missouri will host conference rival Arkansas on Friday to close out regular-season play before its second bowl appearance in as many seasons.
The Tigers will honor 19 student athletes during senior day ceremonies from a class that has witnessed the retirement of Gary Pinkel, the winningest coach in program history, a nationally recognized campus-wide protest, and now back-to-back late-season rallies for bowl eligibility.
After an 0-4 start in SEC play, the Tigers are seeking their fourth straight conference win against the Razorbacks, who are 0-7 in conference play and 2-9 overall.
Missouri secured a bowl berth with its 33-28 win over Vanderbilt on Nov. 10 before routing Tennessee last Saturday, 50-17 in Knoxville, marking the largest margin of victory in a conference road game since defeating Nebraska 52-17 on Oct. 4, 2008 as members of the Big 12.
“I can’t say enough about what this senior class has done,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said Monday.
“There’s been some lows and there’s been some highs, and the way they’ve been able to hold tight together and hold true to them is going to help them down the road. The experience that they finished the year off the right way this year, I want it for them, and that’s something that we’ve got to get done.
“But also, they understand the opportunity that they have to leave their name on what they did their senior year, and that’s important to them as well.”
Arkansas has struggled under first-year head coach Chad Morris, who replaced Brett Bielema following a three-year stint at SMU, but Odom was quick to dismiss the Razorbacks’ underwhelming record.
“I don’t worry about what their record is or isn’t,” Odom said.
“We need to prepare really, really well. They’ve got enough players, they’ve got a really good staff, and we know that we’ll get their best shot. We need to prepare and go play our game, and if we can do that, then we’ve done everything that we need to. To spend time thinking about what our record is or isn’t, or what their record is or should be, then that’s wasted time on preparing.”
