Tag: Arkansas Missouri

Matt Landers was NOT going to drop that touchdown

All the Missouri defender needed to do was knock it out of Matt Landers’ hands. He couldn’t.

The second half of Matt Landers’ season has seen the transfer wideout break out.

His touchdown reception with 9:26 left in the second quarter of Arkansas’ season finale against Missouri may have been the most important catch of the season.

With the Hogs trailing 17-7, Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson was looking down the left sideline for Landers. The high pass landed into the end zone where it found Landers and a Missouri defender at practically the same time.

All the defender had to do was free the ball. He didn’t have to take it away to keep the Hogs from scoring.

He couldn’t.

Landers held on to the ball and pulled himself and the defender to the ground as the official standing nearby signaled for a touchdown. Even once down, Landers wasn’t letting go easily. That same official had to tap him, as if to suggest “You’re good, man.”

The score was Landers’ seventh touchdown reception of the season and Jefferson’s 21st touchdown pass, tying his career high, set last year.

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WATCH: KJ Jefferson gets Arkansas to end zone first vs Missouri

Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson gave Arkansas the first touchdown of the game against MIssouri.

As if Arkansas didn’t know it already, the Razorbacks are a different football team with KJ Jefferson playing quarterback.

The junior capped a 9-play, 75-yard drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown to give Arkansas a 7-3 lead over Missouri with 5:26 left in the first quarter.

The touchdown was set up four plays earlier when KJ Jefferson found Matt Landers for a gain of 37 yards to the Missouri 17. Jefferson ran for a gain of 10 immediately after that play to get into goal territory.

Jefferson’s touchdown run was his seventh of the season, one shy of tying Matt Jones’ eight for the Arkansas lead by a quarterback.

Missouri countered with a touchdown on the next drive to re-take the lead with 2:56 left in the first.

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Twitter reacts: Myles Slusher speculation rampant ahead of Arkansas-Missouri

Arkansas probably should have made statement on Slusher sooner than 30 minutes before kickoff.

Arkansas and Missouri were set to go in the final game of the regular season Friday afternoon from Columbia, but more focus seemed to be on the status of one particular Hogs player than the game itself.

Arkansas sports information personnel confirmed about 30 minutes before kickoff that Myles Slusher had quit. Slusher tweeted shortly thereafter that “quit” was an inaccurate word.

In the meantime, social media did what social media does. Speculatation ran rampant.

The Razorbacks clinched bowl eligibility with a victory over Ole Miss last week and the Battle Line Rivalry has never exactly taken off as such. So most of the Twittersphere was wondering the status of Arkansas’ starting nickel.

Slusher, or someone using his account, posted on Instagram on Thursday with a dateline from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Arkansas team was supposed to be in Columbia at the same time the IG post was made. On Friday, someone using Slusher’s Twitter account tweeted about two hours before kickoff.

Slusher missed Arkansas’ game two weeks ago against LSU as he served a one-game suspension following an arrest in early November. He returned for the Ole Miss game last week and no update was given about his status on the team – suspension, injury or otherwise – during Missouri game week.

Fans made a meal of the speculation beforehand.

Myles Slusher quits Arkansas football team ahead of Mizzou game

Arkansas starting nickel Myles Slusher quit the the team sometime between last week’s Ole Miss and Thursday.

Arkansas defensive back Myles Slusher was not in uniform pre-game ahead of the Hogs’ final game of the season Friday at Missouri.

Arkansas communications staffers confirmed Slusher had quit the team.

Slusher, the team’s starting nickel, posted from Instagram on Thursday with a dateline in Oklahoma. Slusher is from Broken Arrow. Arkansas was set to fly out to Columbia earlier Thursday. On Friday, about two hours before kickoff, someone controlling Slusher’s Twitter account was tweeting, as well, fueling online speculation about his status.

Slusher, along with teammate Anthony Brown, was initially suspended for one game by coach Sam Pittman following an arrest for disorderly conduct on the weekend of November 5 after the team’s loss to Liberty.

Police body-cam footage made public last week suggested officers ignored other civilians who were participating in the same activities that allegedly led to one of the officers grabbing Brown.

Slusher played in six games for the Razorbacks this season with 28 tackles, two sacks and five tackles for-loss.

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Three reasons Missouri will beat Arkansas in Battle Line Rivalry

Missouri isn’t favored, but the Tigers’ defense gives them a good chance against Arkansas on Friday.

The Battle Line Rivalry hasn’t had a ton of stakes in most iterations since Missouri joined the SEC.

It does Friday.

Arkansas would feel better about its season with a 7-5 record as opposed to a 6-6 one. Missouri needs a victory over the Razorbacks to reach bowl eligibility at 6-6, itself.

The Hogs have more momentum, if that’s such a thing, coming off a massive victory over Ole Miss in Week 12. Missouri has dropped two straight SEC games, but beat New Mexico State last week to put itself into position qualify for the postseason with a final win.

The Tigers may only have two SEC wins, but every loss they’ve had but one (Tennessee) was by a just a single possession. And armed with one of the best defenses in the conference, Mizzou could surprise and pull an upset Friday.

Here’s how.

Arkansas offensive lineman Jalen St. John arrested

Arkansas offensive lineman Jalen St. John was arrested for theft on Tuesday.

Arkansas reserve offensive lineman Jalen St. John was arrested on Tuesday for theft of property, according to Washington County detention records.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman gave a statement regarding the arrest stating the program was aware and was making determinations.

“We are aware of the charges against Jalen St. John,” the statement read. “He has been suspended indefinitely while we gather more information from the proper authorities. Once we have that information, we will determine his status with our program moving forward.”

St. John has been No. 2 on the Razorbacks depth chart at left guard this season behind starter Brady Latham.

Per the Washington County affadavit report, St. John and a friend stole a woman’s phone overnight and when she awoke the next day, she realized the pair were gone along with her phone.

Police determined that St. John had used CashApp to send himself $1,000, allegedly. An arrest warrant was issued in August 2021.

St. John was booked at 9:29 p.m. on Tuesday and released at 11:24 p.m.

Arkansas defensive backs Myles Slusher and Anthony Brown were arrested earlier in November for disorderly conduct. Both were given one-game suspensions.

Arkansas plays its final game of the season on Friday at Missouri.

Missouri vs. Arkansas – Six players to watch the day after Thanksgiving

These are the six Missouri players Arkansas needs to watch.

Five of the six Missouri losses have been one-possession games, which should tell you the Tigers have some good players.

And if you still need convincing, they held a lead against Georgia deep into the fourth quarter. The can play good football, they just can’t finish games.

Sound familiar?

Arkansas could have its hands full on Friday in the Battle Line Rivalry.

While Mizzou has shown signs of being a good team, they are still 5-6. Missouri doesn’t have any players that pop out at you. What the stat book does show is they are not afraid to use their depth chart.

For Arkansas, if they can ride the momentum gained after dominating Ole Miss, this shouldn’t be much of a game. Still, like Missouri, the Arkansas has had trouble with finishing games and these six players could be some trouble.

Analyzing the Battle Line Rivalry: Is it a rivalry yet?

The Battle Line Rivalry between Missouri and Arkansas still doesn’t have much of a rivalry feel to it.

What makes a rivalry great?

Before the big game moments, before the players, before any of it, longevity determines the legitimacy of a rivalry.

The Battle Line Rivalry between Arkansas and Missouri only has 13 meetings with a 70-year gap a part of it.

Missouri and Arkansas first met in 1906 and wouldn’t meet again until 1944, and then again 1963. From there the two teams didn’t see each other again until 2003 in the Independence Bowl.

The rivalry didn’t become annual until Missouri joined the SEC in 2014. After some local influence, the two schools became cross-division permanent rivals, calling their meeting the “Battle Line Rivalry.”

Missouri holds the series lead, winning nine games, but since the game became annual, only two teams have been ranked entering the game (2014 Missouri; 2021 Arkansas).

It’s obvious the the teams, and perhaps the league, are forcing a rivalry but the fans of both schools or the national audience, do not get hype for this game.

Good try, but we’ll need to see more meaningful battles before the Battle Line Rivalry is important. 

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Which Missouri will Arkansas see on Saturday?

Missouri may have a sub-.500 record but Arkansas cannot overlook the Tigers.

Which Missouri will Arkansas see?

The Missouri Tigers are 5-6, second to last place in the SEC, one game in front of Vanderbilt. On its face, it doesn’t look like Mizzou is much to be afraid of.

The record doesn’t tell the full story of their season or how good this team could be.

The average margin of points the Tigers loss by this season is ten points and it wouldn’t be that high if it wasn’t for the 42-point loss they suffered against Tennessee a couple weeks ago.

Other than that, the other five losses for the Tigers have been one poessision games. Of course the most notable is the 26-22 loss to the defending champs and top ranked team in the nation, Georgia.

Missouri held the lead in that game for 56 minutes until Georgia scored late in the fourth quarter.

They beat South Carolina, holding Spencer Rattler to probably his worst game of the season (who would later drop six touchdowns on Tennessee).

Trying to figure out which team will show up on Saturday makes this an interesting game and one the Razorbacks cannot underestimate.

Arkansas vs Missouri Prediction, Game Preview: SEC Tournament

SEC Tournament: Arkansas Razorbacks vs Missouri Tigers prediction and college basketball game preview.

SEC Tournament: Arkansas Razorbacks vs Missouri Tigers prediction and college basketball game preview.

Arkansas vs Missouri Broadcast

Date: Friday, March 12
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
Network: SEC Network

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– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Arkansas (21-5) vs Missouri (16-8) Game Preview

For latest lines and to bet on college basketball, go to BetMGM

Why Missouri Will Win

The Tigers might have struggled over the late part of the season, but they picked a great time to come up with a terrific performance in the 73-70 SEC Tournament win over Georgia.

It was a typical Mizzou win. There were tons of rebounds, and the O hit 43% from the field, but it didn’t do any one thing at a dominant level. Georgia was right there throughout playing everyone bit as well, but Missouri made four more free throws and won the rebounding margin.

For all of the good things Arkansas does, it’s not great from three and it doesn’t force a ton of mistakes considering the pressure from its style. Mizzou has no problems mucking it up and making this a defensive fight.

Why Arkansas Will Win

The Hogs have no problems keeping up on the boards, especially on the offensive side.

This is the type of team that can get on the floor and simply outrace the Tigers. Missouri has had its moment in high-scoring shootouts, but it will want to play this in the 70s and it’ll take at least 80 to do this.

Yes, the Hogs got boat-raced 81-68 at home on January 2nd, but this is a different team now. It’s been stronger from the field lately and leads the SEC in scoring D to hold on when the O is working.

But …

What’s Going To Happen

How did Missouri win so easily in the first meeting? The defense stopped the Hogs cold both inside and out. However, the Arkansas O stepped up and forced a whole lot more easy baskets in the 86-81 overtime win in the rematch in mid-February.

The Tigers need to make this a fight, and Arkansas will turn it into a track meet.

Arkansas vs Missouri Prediction, Line

Arkansas 81, Missouri 73
Bet on college basketball with BetMGM
Line: Arkansas -3, o/u: 148
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3

Must See Rating: 3

5: The other 17 holes at the TPC
1: The focus on the TPC 17th

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