Battle Line Rivalry loss shows just how far Arkansas football has fallen behind Missouri

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- A little more than 300 miles separate Arkansas football's home stadium and the University of Missouri, but the two programs couldn't be further apart in college football's pecking order following another Tigers' victory — this time in blowout fashion — in the Battle Line Rivalry.

From start to finish, the Razorbacks (4-8, 1-7 SEC) were no match for No. 9 Missouri (10-2, 6-2) Friday afternoon. Missouri punched Arkansas in the mouth, both literally and figuratively, as the Razorbacks suffered an agonizingly embarrassing 48-14 loss.

Right now, the Missouri program is where Arkansas wants to be.

The Tigers are 10-2 this season, on the verge of a New Year's Six bowl game and 8-2 against Arkansas since coming to the SEC. Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz was passing out celebratory cigars to his coaches as they entered the visitor's locker room Friday.

He talked trash, called his walk-on running back a Heisman candidate and turned Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium into a sea of black and gold by the third quarter.

Arkansas fans scoffed at Missouri just last year. Now, they're looking up at the Tigers with envy.

Even the most delusional of Razorbacks' supporters aren't asking for a team that continuously wins SEC titles, but they want to be relevant. They want meaningful victories over conference rivals and fun Saturdays in Fayetteville.

None of those desires came to fruition this season. Arkansas took one giant step backward, missing a bowl game and returning to a place it has visited too many times since the turn of the century: the deepest cellars of the SEC.

So where does Arkansas go from here? Last week, athletic director Hunter Yurachek said head coach Sam Pittman would return in 2024.

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Yurachek hasn't spoken publicly aside from a social media statement released on Sunday, but it's clear he thinks Pittman can return Arkansas to where it was just two seasons ago when the Razorbacks went 9-4 and entered 2022 ranked in the preseason AP Poll.

Arkansas didn't begin 2023 ranked, but there were similar expectations with the return of KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders. Neither player could save the Hogs from 2023's spiraling downfall.

"I think we can get momentum back," Pittman said. "We obviously have been invited to three bowl games in the last four years. This one right here is a disappointing year, more so, to be honest with you, that there was way, way higher optimism about this year than what it ended up being. We gotta change it. We gotta fix it."

There were no indications Friday, or this season, that the Razorbacks are remotely close to fixing their problems.

Pittman's program was built on a foundation of good offensive line play and running the football. Arkansas entered Friday 90th in the country in rushing offense and 127th in sacks allowed.

"You don’t have to be a football coach to know that we need help," Pittman said about his offensive line. "So we have to go and address that and that will be our no. 1 place to address because without that you really can’t have a lot of success offensively."

Pittman's supposed strengths have become weaknesses, but maybe that's cause for optimism.

How differently could this season have been with an average offensive line, instead of one of the worst in the nation? Hire the right offensive coordinator and hit on a few transfers in the portal, and maybe this team can get back to bowl eligibility in 2024.

But just up the I-44 interstate, Missouri is accomplishing much greater feats than simply securing an extra game. The Drinkwitz era started slow, but it's gaining steam.

The Battle Line Rivalry drew a line of separation for both programs. Pittman and the Hogs have no choice to make up some ground in 2024, otherwise, a head coaching search will be a year too late.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Loss shows just how far Arkansas football has fallen behind Missouri