COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri capped off its tumultuous regular season with a 28-21 win at home against Arkansas. Adding another chapter to its dominant history in the Battle-Line Rivalry, Missouri finished well amidst a snow-filled environment, overcoming a late deficit to win for its talented class of seniors playing their final game on Faurot Field.

Although some Missouri fans may remember a 2018 matchup at South Carolina that was basically played in a monsoon, before Saturday, much of Missouri’s roster and staff hadn’t played a game so heavily impacted by the weather. As the first quarter got underway, that became clear for both teams. Arkansas and Missouri’s first drives lacked potency, with Taylen Green and Brady Cook struggling at the helm. Like most games this season, Missouri’s defense gave its team a spark, forcing Arkansas to fumble and turnover the ball on its second drive. 

Starting with an advantageous field position, Missouri ran over Arkansas, rushing the ball with Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll to the Arkansas 14-yard line. After two failed attempts from Cook to find Theo Wease in the end zone, Missouri went back to Carroll, who added to his stellar stretch of play with a two-yard touchdown burst up the middle.

Arkansas responded quickly in the second quarter, as Green settled down and led a methodical touchdown drive.. Similar to Carroll, Arkansas’ senior running back Ja’Quinden Jackson found the end zone from a two-yard rush inside, tying the game at seven apiece.

For the rest of the first half, the offenses traded punts as neither quarterback could get anything going., A scary moment happened when Arkansas’ senior defensive lineman Landon Jackson was injured. Already with five tackles in the game, Jackson attempted to perform a sixth on Missouri running back Jamal Roberts when his head appeared to whip backward during contact, and he fell to the ground.

Jackson was transported to University Hospital soon after, and assessed for pain in his neck. Following the game, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said the future NFL prospect had been released from the hospital, and was back with the team.

Coming out of halftime, Arkansas took the advantage early, kickstarting both teams’ offenses for another second-half shootout. The combination of Green and Jackson chewed through Missouri’s defense in a quick, six-play drive where Jackson rushed for 23 yards and his second touchdown of the day. Missouri opted for the slower approach, taking eight minutes to push Arkansas back to its 11-yard line, but stalled out from there. The Tigers elected to kick the 28-yard field goal, which redshirt freshman kicker Blake Craig was able to knock through.

Entering the fourth, Missouri was down 14-10, but in classic Tigers fashion, its capable rushers found the endzone from a drive that had extended over from the prior quarter. Carroll provided the score, another short rush to the right, putting Missouri ahead 17-14. After another failed Arkansas drive, Missouri added to its lead with a second field goal from Craig, this time from 34 yards out. Unwilling to surrender, Arkansas scored with 4:19 left as Ja’Quinden Jackson found the end zone for his final touchdown, a nine-yard rush that gave the Razorbacks a 21-20 lead.

Now trailing with the game clock ticking away, Brady Cook took matters into his own hands, refusing to lose in his final game on Faurot Field. In Arkansas territory, Cook broke through the Razorbacks’ pressure, scrambling up the middle for 30 wide-open yards and a touchdown. Rather than settle for the extra point, the Tigers went for two. And as one final reminder of their connection, Cook found Luther Burden with the pass to push their lead to 28-21.

With 1:47 left on the clock, Arkansas had the chance to find the end zone again, but Missouri’s defense held strong and rewarded Tiger fans with a victory to close out the regular season.

The game was by no means one-sided, but Missouri showed poise and ran its familiar style of play, especially in the second half. Brady Cook’s final display at home was rather muted, completing 50% of his passes for only 168 yards and a rushing touchdown. However, credit has to be given to his management of the game when the Tigers were down late. Carroll added another 90 yards and two touchdowns to his season, proving his value once again for the Tigers alongside fellow senior back Noel.

With Saturday’s win, Missouri notched another victory in its growing advantage in its Battle Line Rivalry against Arkansas. Since 2014, Missouri has won nine of the last 11 matchups and remains a perfect 7-0 at Faurot Field.

After the win, Missouri’s regular season ends at 9-3 and 5-3 in conference play. When looking at their schedule in full, one can only wonder what could have been. One-sided losses to Texas A&M and Alabama effectively ended Missouri’s playoff hopes, and a close 34-30 heartbreak against South Carolina will eat away at Missouri fans and team members likely until next season. Not only that, but in Missouri’s nine victories, five were within one score, a brutal reminder of the Tiger’s inefficiencies on offense throughout the season.

Regardless, in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings, Missouri lands at No. 19  heading into conference championship weekend. With time to rest and take account of who will be available heading into bowl season, Missouri has the one last opportunity to win and make a big statement this season.