Arkansas football adds Battle Line Rivalry trophy to collection
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football completed the sweep of trophy games, reclaiming the 180-pound Battle Line Rivalry trophy for the first time since 2015 with a 34-17 win over Missouri on Friday.
The Razorbacks beat Texas A&M and LSU earlier this season to win the the Southwest Classic trophy and the Golden Boot.
Arkansas' offense broke out in the third quarter and the defense stymied Missouri (6-6, 3-5 SEC). Arkansas (8-4, 4-4) reached eight wins for the first time since that same 2015 season.
Here are five takeaways from Arkansas' regular-season finale.
Five plays, 14 points
Arkansas' offense was sluggish in the first half. It had six first downs and 73 rushing yards, 49 of which came on one run by quarterback KJ Jefferson. In the third quarter, however, Arkansas changed the game on five plays.
Back-to-back drives took less than a minute and a half off the clock but saw Arkansas gain a combined 113 yards and score two touchdowns.
The first drive was three plays, one of which was a 55-yard catch and run by De'Vion Warren. Trelon Smith punched it in from 4 yards out to give Arkansas a 17-3 lead. On its next possession, Jefferson threw an incomplete pass before getting another chunk play, a 52-yard touchdown pass to Treylon Burks to make it 24-6. Missouri made it a two-score game with a field goal late in the quarter, but those five plays on two drives made the difference for Arkansas.
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Hayden Henry's day
At the start of the second quarter, Missouri was driving. The Tigers were in Arkansas territory, and on second-and-8, linebacker Hayden Henry tackled star running back Tyler Badie for a loss. On the very next play, on third-and-11, Henry got a big hit on receiver Keke Chism as he caught a pass, stopping Missouri well short of a first down. Arkansas held the Tigers to a field goal.
He later had a huge pass breakup in the red zone and finished with 10 tackles. Fellow senior linebacker Bumper Pool had a team-leading 13 tackles.
Burks in elite company
Burks became just the fourth player in school history to have more than 1,000 yards in a single season. He later set the program record for most games in a season with at least 100 receiving yards with six.
Burks finished with seven catches for 129 yards.
Missouri's Badie gets work
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman knew the Razorbacks would have their hands full with Badie. He entered the game leading the SEC in rushing yards with 1,385.
Badie carried the ball 41 times, the most by an Arkansas opponent since Tennessee's Travis Stephens 20 years ago.
Penalties work in Hogs' favor
In Arkansas' last three games, penalties have been a hot topic. In last week's loss against Alabama, Arkansas was called for six penalties, several of which raised questions among fans. On Friday, Arkansas again had six penalties for 55 yards, but Missouri didn't fare much better.
Missouri was called for six penalties, and many of them were in key moments. Missouri's second drive of the game stalled due to penalties after both a holding and a block below the waist call on the same play set Missouri back.
Another costly play came when Badie brought a defender down by the facemask, costing Missouri 15 yards in Arkansas territory.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas football adds Battle Line Rivalry trophy to collection by beating Missouri
