Hog huntin': Mizzou football reaches Arkansas finale with chance to reach 10 wins, New Year's Six Bowl

The nine wins to date won’t have done much for heart rates across the Show-Me State.

Whether it’s 61-yard field goals, drilling UK on the road, kicking some Vols and Gamecocks up and down Faurot Field or through a fourth-and-17 near-miracle, the Tigers keep finding ways to win — ways to hunt down their best record in recent history.

One more win should help those Missouri tickers, mind you.

Heading into rivalry week for the final game of the regular season, Mizzou football is one victory away from 10 wins in a regular season for the first time in a decade.

The Tigers take on Arkansas in their regular-season finale at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Win, and a New Year’s Six Bowl is all but assured. Win, and they’ll be 10-2.

Can you tell they’re geared up?

“We don't need to trick them to play. There’s a rivalry and a trophy,” Drinkwitz said. “I'm not worried about these guys being motivated to play at all. I don't worry about the emotions of the previous three games. I worry about our physical health, but our team’s gonna wanna play. They're gonna want to show up. … This game means a lot to them, and it means a lot to me, and it means a lot to our staff, and we have a whole lot riding on this game. And it starts with the Battle Line trophy.”

It’s one step away. Whether it’s Fiesta, Cotton, Peach or another, the Tigers are a victory from arriving at what appeared to be a far-fetched destination at the start of the year.

That has settled MU quarterback Brady Cook. The mantra each week, all season has been 1-0, or ‘Something to Prove.’ The Tigers just have to prove it one more time.

One more one-and-oh week will by default bring the rewards.

“We're getting close, “Cook said, “and we just got to finish. It's right there.”

Cook said that the Tigers emerged from their loss at Georgia in the first week of November — SEC Championship dreams as of that night out the window — with a renewed goal to reach double-digit wins.

It took some theatrics against Florida to keep that alive, but the dream drives on.

“We try not to think too far ahead of it,” MU wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. said “We just try to keep it as simple as possible. Just 1-0, just handling it this week, and we’ll go from there.”

In that vein …

On paper, Missouri and Arkansas are polar opposites.

Missouri is likely to be playing after Christmas and with a win in a selection committee bowl. The Razorbacks are waffling at 4-7, with a postseason only coming if they beat the Tigers and get a good deal of help.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman will stay on as UA coach, the university said, and offensive coordinator Dan Enos was recently fired. Meanwhile, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz has backed up his 2022 contract extension with results and is more worried about other teams poaching his assistants this offseason.

But woes-be-damned, Drinkwitz was steadfast in his compliments for Arkansas, highlighting what makes most games in the SEC — Florida included — tougher than the records indicate.

Everywhere you look, you’ll see players teetering on Sunday action.

At the top of Drinkwitz's list: KJ Jefferson, who has given Missouri a fair share of problems over the years.

“That is a difficult challenge,” Drinkwitz said. “One that we haven't really solved very well in four seasons.”

The quarterback has played every game against Missouri since getting his first start in the 2020 contest. In MU’s last trip to Fayetteville, which is Arkansas’ only win against MU in that time, Jefferson gave the Tigers hell, putting up 320 yards from scrimmage in a 34-17 win.

Jefferson is Arkansas' leading rusher, even ahead of star running back Rocket Sanders, who has been ruled out of the game with a torn labrum. Drinkwitz quoted Nick Saban on Monday, saying Jefferson, with his size and style, can throw off tacklers “like a gnat on a cow’s ass.”

Missouri, meanwhile, is listing linebackers Ty’Ron Hopper and Chuck Hicks as questionable for the matchup, creating a potential shortage at linebacker with Chad Bailey out for the season. Drinkwitz said the Tigers will not be looking to burn Brayshawn Littlejohn’s redshirt, but Dameon Wilson, Will Norris and Carmycah Glass could be in line for increased reps.

Elsewhere, left tackle Javon Foster, tight end Brett Norfleet and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. are all questionable, per Drinkwitz.

Whether the Tigers are shorthanded after the short week or not, the finale presents an opportunity not seen in Columbia in a decade.

The season has by no means been straightforward. The Tigers often have needed moments of inspiration to reach rarified air.

Now it’s down to the last hurrah.

“It's one more,” Cook said. “You know, let's go finish this one out strong and we’ll worry about the rest later.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou reaches Arkansas finale with chance to reach 10 wins, New Year's Six Bowl