Tag: Arkansas Missouri State

Five predictions for Arkansas and Missouri State on Saturday night

All Razorbacks Wire writers think Arkansas wins, but one thinks even if Missouri State does, Bobby Petrino will continue his usual sour conduct.

Saturday night’s game between Arkansas and Missouri State could go down in legend.

As much as some locally have attempted to cast the game in a standard “Arkansas plays against former coach” light, anyone who lived through The Great Motorcycle Crash Saga of the early 2010s and is honest with themselves knows that the Week 3 meeting between the Hogs and Bears isn’t just another game like that.

It’s Bobby Petrino, the man who took the Razorbacks to heights not seen in 30 years, practically, then sent the program into a death spiral from which they’re only just now on the other side of the hill.

Toss in the fact that Petrino’s Missouri State is actually good – sixth-ranked in FCS – and the Razorbacks are in the midst of a potential darkhorse College Football Playoff kind of season and the layers of intrigue on Saturday are many.

That said, the game is Arkansas’. Well, as long as coach Sam Pittman and the players don’t let any of that other stuff get in the way.

Razorbacks Wire editor E. Wayne gives two predictions plus his score prediction and writers Kendall Hilton and Taylor Jones toss in theirs below.

Behind Enemy Lines: Missouri State preview with Wyatt Wheeler of News-Leader

Missouri State beat writer says he thinks Petrino has thought about game with Hogs harder than the coach has let on.

Arkansas and Missouri State, after a couple years of anticipation, will finally meet on the football in the return of Bobby Petrino to Fayetteville.

Some fans think the media has talked about it too much. Some think not enough. Thankfully, all of us get to shut up Saturday about what the day will bring. It will actually be here.

Petrino’s Missouri State is a top-six team in the FCS. He has the Bears about to the heights he had the Razorbacks in the early 2010s, just only, you know, in a subdivision lower. Missouri State’s offense is accordingly dynamic, but the defense has been the team’s bell-cow for a bulk of Petrino’s tenure.

We talked with Bears beat writer Wyatt Wheeler of the Springfield News-Leader to get his thoughts on five burning questions we had about Petrino, the game and Bears as a whole.

Former Hogs wideout Jordan Jones has found a home with Bobby Petrino

Bobby Petrino isn’t the only one from Missouri State making a return to Arkansas on Saturday.

Jordan Jones was once considered one of, if not the, fastest player on the Arkansas football roster.

That was a long time ago.

Now 24 years old and at his third school, Jones, an Arkansas graduate, will come back to the place where his college career started on Saturday. Incidentally, alongside his coach, Bobby Petrino, who helped the Hogs to heights they haven’t seen since.

Jones is in his first year at Missouri State after spending the last two seasons at Cincinnati, a team the Hogs beat in Week 1. Jones started and caught two passes for the Bears in their Week 1 game before being placed on concussion protocol after suffering an injury in practice last week. Petrino expects Jones to play – again – inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Jones caught 38 passes for 592 yards and four touchdowns during his three on-field seasons with the Razorbacks. He was the No. 4 player in the state coming out of a powerhouse Smackover program and his 21 grabs with three touchdowns his freshman season suggested a promising future and his 17 grabs the next year were fair, too.

But an ankle injury that was supposed to keep him out for a month in 2019 turned into a lost season. Jones never played for the Razorbacks again, though he did stick around to graduate in 2020.

His career took him to the Bearcats, the team with which he caught 17 more passes before leaving as a graduate transfer back closer to home. Now, with the Bears ranked No. 6 in FCS and Jones in his final go-around, he’s hoping to relive those early days inside his home state’s flagship school’s home stadium.

Even if it’s for the other team.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fc3h383th881vsf1 player_id=none image=https://razorbackswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Arkansas starter questionable for Saturday’s game vs Missouri State

Arkansas isn’t quite the walking wounded, but injuries have taken their toll already.

Two games into the Arkansas football season and injuries are already taking their toll.

Preseason first-team All-SEC safety Jalen Catalon was lost for the season just one half into the first game of the year. Starting nickel Myles Slusher has missed six of the team’s eight quarters over two games. Last year’s starting cornerback LaDarrius Bishop is out for Saturday’s game against Missouri State.

Offensively, the Razorbacks have been more fortunate for the most part. Except for one player.

Tight end Trey Knox is questionable for Saturday’s nighttime kickoff against the Bears as he continues recovering from an ankle injury.

“I think we’ve got to watch him,” coach Sam Pittman said. “I think he’ll be fine this weekend. There was another, too, that had an ankle. Same thing with (safety Latavious) Brini. I think Brini is probably a little healthier than Trey.”

Knox is tied for second on the team with seven catches. He’s alone in second with 80 yards and leads the team with two touchdowns.

Arkansas and Missouri State get underway Saturday at 6 p.m. from Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Arkansas looking to extend win streak against Missouri State to four

It’ll be the first time the two schools have met in over a decade.

The Razorbacks are currently on a 16-game win streak against FCS schools, and Missouri State was victim three times during the streak.

The last time the two schools battled on the field was in 2011. The Razorbacks opened the season with a 51-7 victory over the Bears. Joe Adams took two punt returns to the crib, 61 yards, and 78 yards.

Tyler Wilson also threw for two touchdowns.

Two years prior, the Razorbacks opened the season with a 41-10 victory over the Bears. Ryan Mallet and Tyler Wilson combined for 447 passing yards and three touchdowns. The special teams contributed a kick return thanks to running back Dennis Johnson’s 91-yard scamper.

The 2005 game resulted in the smallest margin of victory for the Razorbacks, 49-17. The Bears had to face the three-headed running back monster of Felix Jones, Peyton Hills, and Darren McFadden.

Jones led the rushing attack with 137 yards on eight carries. Hillis found the endzone three times, and McFadden had a mild day with one touchdown.

If you’re looking for a trend, the special teams seem to be a problem for the Bears, and Arkansas’s passing attack hasn’t been “historical.” Of course, with 10 years separating the last time they’ve played, we can’t expect the same results, but it should be fun.