Friday, November 23
Columbia, Mo.
1:30 p.m.
University of Missouri
vs
Arkansas
@MizzouFootball Looks to Cap Perfect November as it Welcomes Arkansas for Senior Day
11/19/2018 10:03:00 AM | Football
Game will kick at 1:30 p.m. (CT) on CBS Friday
| Tigers Honor 19 Seniors Friday in Regular Season Finale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | WATCH | STATS |
| vs. Arkansas | Columbia, Mo. | Friday, Nov. 23 | 1:30 PM | CBS | Stats |
#ShowMe Mizzou Game Notes
The Matchup
- Mizzou Football (7-4, 3-4 SEC) closes the 2018 regular season this Friday as it hosts SEC West rival Arkansas (2-9, 0-7 SEC) at 1:30 p.m. on CBS. Mizzou will look to close the season with four consecutive wins and round out a perfect November slate for the second consecutive season. A win would give head coach Barry Odom his first eight-win season since taking the reins of the program in 2016. It would be Mizzou's 25th eight-win season with a bowl game still to play. It would also be Mizzou's 12th season with eight regular-season wins since 1958.
- A win would also move Mizzou to 4-4 in league play, marking the second consecutive year that Mizzou has rallied from an 0-4 start in league play to finish with a 4-4 mark. Before last year, no SEC team had ever accomplished that feat.
HONORING THE SENIORS
- Mizzou will honor its 19 seniors Friday in what will be the final home game on Faurot Field for the class. Highlighted by four senior captains, the class has won 23 games over the last four seasons and the fifth-year players seen Mizzou win 34 games during their time with the program.
- Paul Adams, OL (Capt.) – Nashville, Tenn.
- Terry Beckner, Jr., DT (Capt.) – East St. Louis, Ill.
- Terez Hall, LB (Capt.) – Lithonia, Ga.
- Drew Lock, QB (Capt.) – Lee's Summit, Mo.
- Nate Anderson, DE – Toronto, Ontario
- Sam Bailey, TE/OL – Lamar, Mo.
- Kendall Blanton, TE – Blue Springs, Mo.
- Nate Brown, WR – Suwanee, Ga.
- Corey, Fatony, P – Franklin, Tenn.
- Emanuel Hall, WR – Franklin, Tenn.
- Cam Hilton, S – St. Louis, Mo.
- Brandon Lee, LB – Indianapolis, Ind.
- Dominic Nelson, S – Florissant, Mo.
- Walter Palmore, DT – Columbus, Ga.
- Kevin Pendleton, OL – Lee's Summit, Mo.
- Tavon Ross, LB – Cochran, Ga.
- Finis Stribling, DB – Thompson's Station, Tenn.
- Rod Winters, LB – Arlington, Texas
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH ARKANSAS
- Mizzou leads the all-time series with Arkansas, 6-3, and has won the last two meetings. Third-year head coach Barry Odom is 2-0 all-time against the program's permanent cross-divisional rival, winning 28-24 in 2016 and 48-45 last year. Since joining the SEC, Mizzou is 3-1 against the Razorbacks.
- One of the more memorable matchups between Mizzou and Arkansas came during the 2007 season in the 2008 Cotton Bowl. In that game, Mizzou earned a 38-7 win to finish with an 11-2 record and a No. 4 national ranking. Mizzou senior RB Tony Temple set a single-game Cotton Bowl Classic rushing record with 281 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
RECAPPING LAST TIME OUT
- Mizzou Football won its eighth consecutive November game and improved to 7-4 (3-4 SEC) with a 50-17 win over Tennessee (5-6, 2-5 SEC) last Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium. Mizzou got a pair of huge defensive plays that led to scores and senior QB Drew Lock guided a dominant Mizzou offense all afternoon. The Tigers have won three straight games overall, marking the second time that Mizzou has won three straight league contests under Odom. Two of the three wins have come on the road.
- After improving to 7-4 on the year, Mizzou now has at least seven wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2013-14 when it won back-to-back SEC East titles. The 33-point win was the largest margin of victory for Mizzou on the road in conference play since Mizzou defeated Nebraska, 52-17, on Oct. 4, 2008.
- Lock was outstanding as he moved into second place on the SEC's career passing yardage list Saturday, going 21-for-30 for 257 yards and two scores. With 11,599 career passing yards, Lock moved past Georgia's David Greene, who had 11,528 from 2001-04. After defeating Tennessee by an identical score in 2017, Mizzou is the first team in SEC history to hang 50+ on Tennessee in back-to-back years.
ARKANSAS vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE
- The Arkansas Razorbacks fell 52-6 on the road to a stout defense at No. 25 Mississippi State. The Razorbacks got just a pair of field goals from K Connor Limpert and gained just 219 total yards on 69 plays (3.2 per play). Mississippi State had 475 yards of offense and averaged 7.3 yards per play. Mississippi State's defense was stout all day, forcing three Razorback turnovers (two fumbles and an interception) to hold Arkansas without a touchdown.
ODOM IN ELITE COMPANY AS TIGERS GAIN BOWL ELIGIBILITY
- As Mizzou gained bowl eligibility with a 33-28 win over Vanderbilt two weeks ago, third-year head coach Barry Odom found himself among some elite company at Mizzou. Odom became just the fourth Mizzou head coach ever to earn bowl eligibility two of his first three seasons, and he is the first to do so since Warren Powers took his team bowling in each of his first four seasons from 1978-81. The only other Tiger head coaches to accomplish that feat are Dan Devine and Don Faurot, both of whom are in the College Football Hall of Fame.
- Mizzou has now won at least seven games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2013-14 when the Tigers won back-to-back SEC East titles. Before Barry Odom, the last Mizzou head coach to win seven or more games in two of his first three seasons was Warren Powers in 1978-79.
THOSE WHO WIN IN NOVEMBER, WILL BE REMEMBERED
- Mizzou's 50-17 win at Tennessee last Saturday continued an impressive streak for Mizzou in the month of November. Mizzou is 9-2 in games played in November under third-year head coach Barry Odom. After winning the final game of the 2016 season over Arkansas, all four games in November last year, and the first three games this year, Mizzou is currently riding an eight-game winning streak in the month of November. Since 2013, the year Mizzou won the first of back-to-back SEC East Championships, the Tigers are an incredible 18-5 in games played during November. That 18-5 record includes three perfect 4-0 slates in the month of November (2017, 2014 and 2013). Mizzou will look for its fourth such month Friday against Arkansas. It is no surprise that Mizzou has been bowl eligible in four of those seasons.
LOCKED IN
- Mizzou senior QB Drew Lock enters the Arkansas game playing arguably the best football of his career, and that is saying something for a player who ranks second in SEC history in career passing yards and third in TDs while resetting the league's single-season TD record a year ago.
- Over his last three games, Lock has completed 67-of-95 passes (71 percent) for 760 yards (11.3 per completion, 8.0 per attempt) and seven touchdowns and only two interceptions. His two INTs in that span came vs. Vandy, one when the receiver ran the wrong route, and another on a tipped pass.
- While his numbers are not the gaudy ones that he put up last year, his numbers represent much more efficient play as a game manager. His 71 percent completion rate over the last three games is his best three-game span in SEC play over his four-year career. Lock's QB rating over those three games is 157.8, his best three-game QBR span in league play since the final three regular season games a year ago.
- Mizzou is converting third downs at a 57.5 percent clip in that stretch thanks to Lock's decision making.
EIGHT WINS IS A BIG DEAL
- As mentioned earlier, a win Friday would give Mizzou eight regular-season wins for just the 12th time in the last 60 years and first time since 2014. Head coach Barry Odom would be just the fourth Mizzou bench boss to finish a regular season with eight wins in one of his first three seasons, joining Gary Pinkel (2003 - year three), Warren Powers (1980 - year three) and Dan Devine (1960 - year three). Below is a look:
| Year | Reg. Season | Final Record | Final AP Rank |
| 1960 | 10-0 | 11-0 | 5th |
| 1969 | 9-1 | 9-2 | 6th |
| 1980 | 8-3 | 8-4 | n/a |
| 2003 | 8-4 | 8-5 | n/a |
| 2006 | 8-4 | 8-5 | n/a |
| 2007 | 11-2 | 12-2 | 4th |
| 2008 | 9-4 | 10-4 | 19th |
| 2009 | 8-4 | 8-5 | n/a |
| 2010 | 10-2 | 10-3 | 18th |
| 2013 | 11-2 | 12-2 | 5th |
| 2014 | 10-3 | 11-3 | 14th |
THE COMPUTERS LOVE MIZZOU
- In virtually every computer ranking available to college football pundits, Mizzou rates as one of the nation's best teams.
- Mizzou is 10th in the Massey rankings with the No. 1 strength of schedule (SoS).
- Mizzou is 14th in ESPN's FPI and is 12th in combined efficiency (14th offense, 23rd defense, 12th special teams).
- Mizzou is 17th in the Sagarin rankings with the No. 9 SoS.
- Mizzou is 22nd in the Colley Matrix with the No. 4 SoS.
- While the computers put Mizzou in a favorable light, the humans have been slow to give Mizzou the credit the computers say it deserves. However, Mizzou did rank No. 10 in the College Football News Top-25, released Sunday.
It's worth noting that Mizzou is 7-4 against one of the nation's toughest schedules, with two last-play losses, several tough breaks in those games, all while doing so without its top receiver (who is vital for Mizzou's offense) for half of the season.
DEFENSE SHOWS OUT AT TENNESSEE
- Mizzou played arguably its best defensive game in the three years since head coach Barry Odom took over the program last Saturday at Tennessee.
- According to ProFootballFocus.com, Mizzou earned its highest single-game defensive grade of the year at 80.7, including a 90.4 grade against the run.
- Mizzou limited the Vols to just 255 total yards of offense, 98 coming on deep 50-50 balls to WR Marquez Callaway that were hauled in on spectacular catches. The 255 total yards were the fewest that Mizzou has allowed to an SEC team since limiting Vanderbilt to just 240 on Oct. 25, 2014, in a 24-14 win in an SEC East Division Championship year.
- The Tiger defense, as it has been all season, was extremely stout against the run in Knoxville, allowing just 82 yards. That was the lowest mark allowed by Mizzou's defense in a league game since Nov. 18, 2017, at Vanderbilt (51). It marked the eighth time since Mizzou joined the league that it has held an SEC opponent to fewer than 100 rushing yards.
- Mizzou limited Tennessee to just 2.93 yards per rush last Saturday, marking the third time this season that Mizzou has limited an SEC opponent to fewer than 3.00 yards per carry (also did so against Kentucky - 2.60, and at South Carolina - 2.72). In all, Mizzou has held its opponents to fewer than 3.00 yards per carry in five of 11 games this season.
- That performance continued a dominant trend for Mizzou against the run. Over the last 18 games dating back to the midway point last season, Mizzou's defense is allowing just 3.5 yards per carry. For perspective, that mark would rank 22nd nationally this year.
- Mizzou has surrendered just 1,423 yards on the ground this season. That's on pace to allow just 1,552 rushing yards in the 12-game regular season, which would be the fewest allowed by Mizzou in a 12-game slate since 2014 (1,517).
TURNOVERS KEY IN KNOXVILLE
- Mizzou's defense came away with three turnovers last Saturday at Tennessee while turning it over just once. Two of the turnovers turned out to be huge momentum plays as well.
- After Mizzou scored on a 13-play drive to extend its lead to 19-10 late in the second quarter, it appeared Tennessee was going to add points going into halftime. Mizzou's defense forced a big third-and-eight with 57 seconds remaining, and following a timeout, Tennessee QB Keller Chryst threw a pass to the boundary and Mizzou junior CB DeMarkus Acy jumped the route and hauled in his second career interception. He returned it 76 yards down to the Tennessee 11 and three plays later, Drew Lock found redshirt junior WR Johnathon Johnson for a three-yard TD on third and two, extending Mizzou's lead to 26-10 heading into the intermission.
- Then, after the team traded TDs to open the second half, Mizzou's defense struck again, this time finding the end zone on a 39-yard scoop-and-score fumble recovery by S Joshuah Bledsoe.
TIGERS STRONG ON THE KEY DOWN
- Heading into Friday's game vs. Arkansas, Mizzou is among the nation's best teams on third down, both offensively and defensively. Mizzou is 21st nationally, converting 79-of-172 third downs this season (45.9 percent). On the flip side after limiting Tennessee to just 2-for-10 on third down last week, Mizzou has allowed its opponents to convert just 51-of-154 third downs (33.1 percent), which ranks 24th nationally.
- Mizzou is one of just 10 teams nationally to rank in the top-25 nationally in both third down offense and defense and one of just three SEC teams to make that claim - the others are Alabama and Georgia which will play for the SEC title in December.
- Of the nine teams that Mizzou finds itself on this common ground with, seven are ranked in this week's coaches poll while the other two - UAB and Cincinnati - were ranked last week and are receiving votes this week. The average rank of the nine teams ranked or receiving votes on the list is 12th nationally (Army is 26th while Fresno is 28th when looking at votes received).
GROUND GAME THE KEY TO SUCCESS
- While Mizzou's passing attack led by Drew Lock often steals the headlines, it is the Tiger ground game that has been the key to the offensive success this season. Over the last three games vs. Florida, Vanderbilt and Tennessee, Mizzou has rushed for 701 yards (233.7 avg.) on 140 attempts (5.0 per carry). Mizzou has scored seven TDs on the ground in that span as well.
- Only Kentucky and Alabama have been able to slow Mizzou's ground attack this season and of course, Mizzou is 0-2 in those games. In the other nine games, Mizzou is 7-2 and has 2,032 rushing yards in those games (225.8 per game). In those games, Mizzou is averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
LOCK LIVES AMONG SEC'S GREATNESS
- Mizzou senior QB Drew Lock's three TD passes at Florida moved him into sole possession of third place all-time among SEC quarterbacks and he now has 94 career passing TDs after throwing two more at Tennessee last Saturday. At Florida three weeks ago, he passed Florida's Tim Tebow (2006-09) and Chris Leak (2003-06), who both had 88 in their careers, and Tennessee' Peyton Manning, who had 89. Lock has some work to do to catch the next QB on the list - Florida's Danny Wuerffel, so it is likely that Lock will finish his storied Mizzou career with the third-most TD passes in SEC history. Below is a list:
| Rank | TD Passes | Quarterback | School | Year |
| 1. | 121 | Aaron Murray | Georgia | 2010-13 |
| 2. | 114 | Danny Wuerrffel | Florida | 1993-96 |
| 3. | 94 | Drew Lock | Mizzou | 2015-18 |
| 4. | 89 | Peyton Manning | Tennessee | 1994-97 |
| 5. | 88 | Chris Leak | Florida | 2003-06 |
| 88 | Tim Tebow | Florida | 2006-09 |
- Additionally, Lock now has 11,599 career passing yards, making him just the 67th quarterback in college football history to surpass 11,000 career yards. Only six SEC quarterbacks have ever thrown for more than 11,000 yards in a career and before Lock, the last to do so was Georgia's Aaron Murray in 2013. Lock is now second in career passing yards on the SEC's all-time list. Last week, with his 257-yard outing at Tennessee, he moved past Georgia's David Greene. He is 1,567 yards shy of first-place Aaron Murray (Georgia), so he will likely finish his career second in SEC history in passing yards. The complete list is below:
| Rank | Yards | Quarterback | School | Years |
| 1. | 13,166 | Aaron Murray | Georgia | 2010-13 |
| 2. | 11,599 | Drew Lock | Mizzou | 2015-18 |
| 3. | 11,528 | David Greene | Georgia | 2001-04 |
| 4. | 11,213 | Chris Leak | Florida | 2003-06 |
| 5. | 11,201 | Peyton Manning | Tennessee | 1994-97 |
| 6. | 11,153 | Eric Zeier | Georgia | 1991-94 |
| 7. | 11,342 | Drew Lock | Mizzou | 2015-18 |
| 8. | 10,875 | Danny Wuerffel | Florida | 1993-96 |
| 9. | 10,345 | Jared Lorenzen | Kentucky | 2000-03 |
| 10. | 10,119 | Eli Manning | Ole Miss | 2000-03 |
- Among active FBS quarterbacks, Lock is second with his 11,599 career passing yards. Only Boise State's Brett Rypien (13,146) ranks ahead of Lock.
- Lock is just the second Mizzou QB to throw for more than 11,000 yards, trailing only 2007 Heisman finalist Chase Daniel, who holds the school record of 12,515 from 2005-09. That, by the way, ranks 26th in FBS history.
- Lock now has 32 career games with 200+ passing yards, second in school history.
- Lock has thrown for 200+ yards in 27 of his last 30 games. He had a streak of 15 straight games doing so snapped at No. 1 Alabama.
- With 350 yards vs. Memphis, Lock now has 12 career 300-yard games, second in school history behind only Daniel (20).
- Lock registered his 11th career game with four or more TDs vs. Memphis - he has nine such games among his last 13.
- Lock now has 49 career TD passes of 20+ yards, the most in school history.
- Lock needs just 96 yards Friday to become just the second Mizzou QB ever to throw for 3,000+ yards in three straight seasons.
BALANCED OFFENSE
- Over Mizzou's three-game November win streak, the offense has been incredibly balanced. Over those three games, Mizzou has 701 yards on the ground (233.7 avg.) and 760 through the air, good for a 48/52 split, a balance that coaches crave on offense.
- With 253 yards passing and 253 rushing against Vanderbilt, it marked just the ninth time in program history that Mizzou had at least 250 yards on the ground and through the air in a conference game and just the third time since joining the SEC. Two of the three occurrences in an SEC game have come under Coach Odom. Below is a breakdown:
| Year | Opponent | Rush | Pass | Total | Result |
| 2018 | Vanderbilt | 253 | 253 | 506 | W, 33-28 |
| 2016 | at Tennessee | 420 | 320 | 740 | L, 63-37 |
| 2014 | at Texas A&M | 335 | 252 | 587 | W, 34-27 |
| 2011 | Iowa State | 294 | 289 | 583 | W, 52-17 |
| 2009 | vs. Kansas | 250 | 303 | 553 | W, 41-39 |
| 1997 | Texas | 252 | 266 | 518 | W, 37-29 |
| 1984 | at Kansas State | 355 | 259 | 614 | W, 61-21 |
| 1976 | Iowa State | 250 | 269 | 519 | L, 21-17 |
| 1969 | at Kansas | 344 | 307 | 651 | W, 69-21 |
- Last week vs. Tennessee, Mizzou went for 227 on the ground and 257 in the air.
- The balance has led to long drives for the Mizzou. Derek Dooley's offense has produced 22 scoring drives of 10+ plays, second-most nationally and trailing only Army (31).
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