****Official 2014 Missouri Tigers Football Thread****

['Hamas' Jenkins]

None of this matters. Fire Pinkel.

[Saul Good]

Arkansas could very well kick our asses. The line opened as a pick 'em, so I'm sure MHM will be a rich man come Friday night.

[Mile High Mania]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Arkansas could very well kick our asses. The line opened as a pick 'em, so I'm sure MHM will be a rich man come Friday night.

Yeah, I don't bet on games. I've seen the Hogs play good football in some tough losses. Over the last month, they've played really well. So, traveling Columbia isn't as frightful. And, I don't think I'm going out on any limbs here.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Yeah, I don't bet on games. I've seen the Hogs play good football in some tough losses. Over the last month, they've played really well. So, traveling Columbia isn't as frightful. And, I don't think I'm going out on any limbs here.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Arky won the game. Of course, Tennessee Fan thought they were going to blow us out as well. It'll be an interesting game for sure.

[Dr. Gigglepants]

It should be a fun game. A lot on the line for both teams, should be the start of a fun rivalry.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Mile High Mania]

Originally Posted by Dr. Gigglepants

It should be a fun game. A lot on the line for both teams, should be the start of a fun rivalry.
Posted via Mobile Device

It would be nice for a natural rivalry to develop... they're trying to force one with A&M, the one with LSU isn't all that either.

[duncan_idaho]

I think Friday's game will be a good one... but I have to LOL at the Arkansas fans predicting a blowout.

Missouri defense just keeps getting underrated, especially the interior DL.

Missouri goes 4 deep in the middle with quality guys, and the two reserves are probably better than the two starters. Ray and Golden are both explosive players who are effective against both phases of the game.

This is the best Missouri defense in my lifetime. With the emergence of Kenya Dennis (and change in philosophy to allow less cushion for WRs), there really are no weaknesses in that unit. And the front 4 is excellent (and 9 deep).

Missouri has held every team it has faced significantly below its rushing average (YPA) - yes, even Georgia. I don't expect that to change on Friday.

Question is what Missouri's offense is capable of doing. It doesn't need to be a lot... but can it be enough?

[Mile High Mania]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I think Friday's game will be a good one... but I have to LOL at the Arkansas fans predicting a blowout.

Missouri defense just keeps getting underrated, especially the interior DL.

Missouri goes 4 deep in the middle with quality guys, and the two reserves are probably better than the two starters. Ray and Golden are both explosive players who are effective against both phases of the game.

This is the best Missouri defense in my lifetime. With the emergence of Kenya Dennis (and change in philosophy to allow less cushion for WRs), there really are no weaknesses in that unit. And the front 4 is excellent (and 9 deep).

Missouri has held every team it has faced significantly below its rushing average (YPA) - yes, even Georgia. I don't expect that to change on Friday.

Question is what Missouri's offense is capable of doing. It doesn't need to be a lot... but can it be enough?

I called it a 13 point win, dunno if I call that a blowout.

Looking at the schedules these two have played, the Hogs are going to be more than ready. Hell, the Hogs could very well lose - it was only 3 weeks ago we were 0-17 in SEC play with this crew, 2-0 since then... I like our chances, definitely on a huge upward swing.

[kepp]

ARK defintely has momentum...they've played lights-out the past two weeks. They also have a huge OL, but I think we hold them below their average run game output. I hope we knock the snot out of Jonathan Williams as an added bonus.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

I called it a 13 point win, dunno if I call that a blowout.

Looking at the schedules these two have played, the Hogs are going to be more than ready. Hell, the Hogs could very well lose - it was only 3 weeks ago we were 0-17 in SEC play with this crew, 2-0 since then... I like our chances, definitely on a huge upward swing.

It's mild compared to what I've seen from a lot of your Hoggie brethren.

Missouri is excellent up front and excellent at limiting rushing yardage per carry. That's a good matchup against Arkansas (especially since this team really can rotate 4 guys in the middle with no drop-off and has been getting good production from its reserve ends).

I like Missouri's chances, but the passing game is going to have to show up. Arkansas is good vs. the run but surrenders something like 9 YPA on passes. If the Missouri offense holds up its end of the bargain and doesn't leave the defense on the field all game, Arkansas fans are going to walk away as surprised on Friday as Tennessee fans did on Saturday night.

[NewChief]

Hog's starting quarterback, Brandon Allen, is questionable. His brother, Austin, did decent backup work against Ole Miss, but there's certainly a drop off there, especially against a brutal Mizzou pass rush.

AJ Derby is also questionable, and he's our primary receiving threat outside of Hunter Henry. We've also recently kicked (most likely) Korliss Marshall off the team, who was our big play and return specialist. Even if he remains on the team (not likely), he certainly won't be playing this weekend.

Anyway, Hogs are down. Like I said earlier, I believe the defenses are a push. The real place where differences will be made is in whose QB can avoid the costly mistake (such as a pick 6). Both kickers are somewhat questionable as well, so it could come down to missed field goals.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

It's mild compared to what I've seen from a lot of your Hoggie brethren.

Missouri is excellent up front and excellent at limiting rushing yardage per carry. That's a good matchup against Arkansas (especially since this team really can rotate 4 guys in the middle with no drop-off and has been getting good production from its reserve ends).

I like Missouri's chances, but the passing game is going to have to show up. Arkansas is good vs. the run but surrenders something like 9 YPA on passes. If the Missouri offense holds up its end of the bargain and doesn't leave the defense on the field all game, Arkansas fans are going to walk away as surprised on Friday as Tennessee fans did on Saturday night.

I would encourage the Missouri receivers to catch balls that hit them in the hands. That alone would help considerably in a game like this.

[Mizzou_8541]

Originally Posted by NewChief

Hog's starting quarterback, Brandon Allen, is questionable. His brother, Austin, did decent backup work against Ole Miss, but there's certainly a drop off there, especially against a brutal Mizzou pass rush.

AJ Derby is also questionable, and he's our primary receiving threat outside of Hunter Henry. We've also recently kicked (most likely) Korliss Marshall off the team, who was our big play and return specialist. Even if he remains on the team (not likely), he certainly won't be playing this weekend.

Anyway, Hogs are down. Like I said earlier, I believe the defenses are a push. The real place where differences will be made is in whose QB can avoid the costly mistake (such as a pick 6). Both kickers are somewhat questionable as well, so it could come down to missed field goals.

No idea about yours, but I can assure you that our kicker much worse than "somewhat questionable."

[Mile High Mania]

Yeah, honestly at this point - a win (3 straight vs SEC) would be more than I imagined a few weeks ago. Hogs are ending on a high note, either way. I'd love for them to find a more capable QB. Allen is ok, but not much more than that...

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by NewChief

Hog's starting quarterback, Brandon Allen, is questionable. His brother, Austin, did decent backup work against Ole Miss, but there's certainly a drop off there, especially against a brutal Mizzou pass rush.

AJ Derby is also questionable, and he's our primary receiving threat outside of Hunter Henry. We've also recently kicked (most likely) Korliss Marshall off the team, who was our big play and return specialist. Even if he remains on the team (not likely), he certainly won't be playing this weekend.

Anyway, Hogs are down. Like I said earlier, I believe the defenses are a push. The real place where differences will be made is in whose QB can avoid the costly mistake (such as a pick 6). Both kickers are somewhat questionable as well, so it could come down to missed field goals.

I don't believe the defenses are a push.

The Tigers and Hoggies have two mutual opponents: Georgia and Texas A&M.

Against Georgia, the Tigers lost 34-0 in a game in which the offense didn't bother getting off the bus. But what did the defense do? (Other than spend 43 minutes on the field?)

Yards Per Rush: 3.6 (Held Nick Chubb to 3.8 YPC)
Yards Per Pass: 5.8

How did Arkansas fare against Georgia?

Yards per Rush: 5.3 (Nick Chubb ran for 6.7 YPC)
Yards Per Pass: 10.5

Georgia only ran 56 plays against Arkansas while gathering 4 turnovers. It ran 87 against Missouri while gathering 5 turnovers. Yet Georgia gained MORE yards against Arkansas that it did against Mizzou.

If Arkansas defended as many plays against Georgia as Missouri did, here are the yardage totals, based on the averages:
305 passing yards
307 rushing yards

That's 612 total yards. Wow.

OK, just one game. And Missouri was playing without a healthy Markus Golden. Was Arkansas missing key defensive personnel in that game?

Let's look at the other common opponent: aTm

aTm vs. Arkansas
Yards per rush: 5.1
Yards per pass: 9.4

aTm vs. Mizzou
Yards per rush: 3.9
Yards per pass: 6.6

aTm gained nearly 200 FEWER yards against Arkansas than it did against Mizzou, in 5 more plays than it faced against Missouri.

Combine the stats against these common opponents...

Arkansas surrendered 5.21 yards per rush and 9.7 yards per pass.

Missouri surrendered 3.7 yards per rush and 6.25 yards per pass.

Arkansas's D has played great the past 2 weeks, but Missouri's D has really been great all year (except for one game without Markus Golden).

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Yeah, honestly at this point - a win (3 straight vs SEC) would be more than I imagined a few weeks ago. Hogs are ending on a high note, either way. I'd love for them to find a more capable QB. Allen is ok, but not much more than that...

I predict that BA will have a really good year next year. I know he isn't flashy, but he's been pretty hampered by surrounding cast, playcalling, and injury. The value of a quality senior QB in this league can't be overemphasized, imo.

I'm certainly looking forward to Ty Storey getting on campus, but I think BA's career in Arkansas will look much more favorable in hindsight than current viewpoint.