Recap: Hogs Lose Battle Of The Barrys, End Nightmare Season

An injury-riddled Battle Line Rivalry Game (presented by Shelter Insurance) has come to a close and so, mercifully, has the Arkansas Razorbacks’ season. In a game where several key players for both teams went down, Arkansas ends up on the wrong side of the scoreboard, losing to the Missouri Tigers 24 - 14.

The Hogs started off strong, with the defense getting a 4th down stop deep in Mizzou territory. The offense took advantage capping off a 5 play drive with a Jack Lindsey touchdown pass to Trey Knox. Knox made a stupendous catch, going over a Mizzou defender to make the play and take the Hogs up 7-0. It was Arkansas’ first outright lead since the Kentucky game on October 12th.

Unfortunately, that lead would be short lived. Mizzou drove the ball down the field, capping a 14 play drive with a 5 yard touchdown run from Larry Rountree III. Arkansas’ defense held for the majority of the rest of the half, only allowing a field goal, but in what defined the Hogs’ season, the offense could get absolutely nothing going. Arkansas’ last 3 possessions of the half went:

Punt
Punt
Turnover on downs.

The Arkansas defense started off the 2nd half in the best way possible. Greg Brooks Jr intercepted a Taylor Powell pass DEEP in Mizzou territory. The offense was able to capitalize, with Jack Lindsey finding Grayson Gunter wide open in the end zone. It was only Lindsey’s second completion of the game, both having gone for touchdowns.

Arkansas forced a punt on Mizzou’s next possession, but the offense once again sputtered, punting the ball back to the Tigers after gaining just 4 yards on 5 plays.

Missouri was able to move the ball well on their next series. They went 84 yards on just 8 plays, carried mostly by running back Tyler Badie, who scored on a 3 yard run.

Both teams punted away on their ensuing possessions. Arkansas was able to move the ball well with Rakeem Boyd and Devwah Whaley, setting themselves up for a 54 yard field goal that was, unfortunately, just short from kicker Connor Limpert.

That missed field goal would be the last time Arkansas had a realistic chance to score. Taylor Powell found former Razorback Jonathan Nance in the end zone to take the Tigers up two touchdowns, effectively ending the game. Arkansas was only afforded 2 more possessions, turning the ball over on downs both times and gaining only 46 yards across both series.

The offense, particularly the passing game, struggled all day. Jack Lindsey was 10 of 26 for 75 yards(!) and 2 TDS. At one point he had 41 yards rushing to 29 yards passing. Ben Hicks came in to run the 2 minute drill (lol) and was 1 for 5 for 2 yards.

We at this blog are not particularly fond of blaming officiating for a loss, but the crew on the field today was particularly shambolic. 3 huge calls kept Arkansas from first downs and could have easily swung the direction of the game. A missed PI call in the back of the end zone lead to the missed Connor Limpert field goal. Jack Lindsey was shaken up on what looked to be a targeting penalty and a clear offsides against Missouri that would have given Arkansas a first down also went un-flagged. Again, we have more problems in the passing game to address than bad calls, but there’s no question these missed calls affected the outcome of this game.

This season can be considered nothing but a complete failure for Arkansas football. They were constantly outmatched, out coached, and out played. John Chavis’ defense ends as, statistically, the worst defense in school history. Our SEC losing streak continues unabated, reaching 19 straight SEC losses. Arkansas ends the season at 2-10 and 0-8 in SEC play.

Our season long nightmare is over, Razorback Nation. Let’s get our new coach in here and look ahead to 2020. Good riddance, 2019. You will not be missed.

Thanks for reading this article. Keep it locked to Arkansas Fight for our coverage of Arkansas’ search for the football program’s next head coach. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast for in depth analysis of all Razorback athletics. For dumb jokes and bad sports takes you can follow Saul Malone on Twitter at @SaulMalone.