Dec 30, 2003
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - When Arkansas coach Houston Nutt sees Missouri play, it's almost as if he's watching his own team. Missouri coach Gary Pinkel probably feels the same way.
The participants in Wednesday night's Independence Bowl have loads of similarities. Both are 8-4 after 4-0 starts. Both were in the Top 25, but aren't now. Both are among the best rushing teams in the nation, a yard apart in production.
And both lean on big-play quarterbacks.
"They're not the biggest, we're not the biggest, but both of us play with a lot of emotion and play fast," Nutt said. "They have a running quarterback, we have a running-type quarterback."
Missouri's elusive Brad Smith is 178 passing yards shy of becoming the first quarterback in NCAA history with two 1,000-yard rushing, 2,000-yard passing seasons. Smith, who joined Woody Dantzler of Clemson last year as the only players to do it once, is the biggest reason the Tigers are in a bowl game for the first time in five years.
As Smith goes, so goes Missouri. This season he's run for 17 touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry, and passed for 11.
"There's no question, people are going to circle him and say we've got to stop No. 16," Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen said. "And you know what? They're absolutely right."
Arkansas' answer is the tandem of Ryan Sorahan and Matt Jones. Sorahan, a dropback passer, will get his fifth start in six games. But Jones, who has thrown 18 touchdown passes and run for seven, will share time.
"They give you two different worlds," wide receiver George Wilson said. "It's a two-headed monster."
Arkansas is ranked seventh nationally in rushing at 237 yards per game, and Missouri is eighth at 236. Cedric Cobbs has 1,179 yards for the Razorbacks while the Tigers have Smith (1,310) and tailback Zack Abron (1,018).
Arkansas is averaging 34 points after scoring a school-record 409 points, and Missouri is averaging 32 points.
The Tigers' strongest suit is holding on to the ball. They lead the nation with just 10 turnovers.
The one major difference between the teams is postseason pedigree. Arkansas is in a bowl for the sixth straight season under Nutt, while Missouri has been to only three bowls in the last 20 seasons.
In Pinkel's third year, the Tigers have won eight regular-season games for the first time since 1980.
"He brought discipline, and that's what we really needed," said center A.J. Ricker, who'll be making his school-record 47th consecutive start. "What better way to go out than going to a bowl and finally getting a little bit of respect around the nation?"
Pinkel was 73-37-3 in 10 seasons at Toledo and before that went to 11 straight bowls as an assistant at Washington. He was 4-7 and 5-7 in his first two years and needs a victory on Wednesday to reach .500 (18-18) at Missouri.
Arkansas has lost its last three bowl games and 10 of the last 11.
"Bowls, for whatever reason, the tradition has not been good," Nutt said.
This is the first meeting in 40 years between schools that share a border. It'll be Missouri's first game against an SEC opponent in 19 years, while Nutt is 2-1 against the Big 12 - two of the games in bowls.