The Razorbacks are young and could be a very formidable team in the SEC in a couple years, but they’re not there yet. They haven’t won a conference game this year and lost to North Texas en route to a 2-9 record thus far, with their two lone wins coming against Tulsa and the alma mater of Jimmy Garoppolo and Tony Romo in Eastern Illinois.
Arkansas has given up over 40 points to SEC teams in 2018. When you do that, the only real hope of a victory comes with an offensive shootout.
This Arkansas team isn’t quite built to do so.
The Razorbacks have the 112th-ranked offense in the nation, averaging just 349.2 yards of offense per game. The only two SEC teams that average less yards per contest are Kentucky, which Missouri held to 15 points, and Tennessee, which Missouri held to 17 points.
The Tigers’ defense isn’t what most would call ‘elite’, but they proved they can slow down ho-hum offenses considerably well to at the very least give Drew Lock and the offense a chance to win.
Led by linebacker Cale Garrett and defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr., Missouri has one of the most stout rushing defenses in the country, ranking 29th in the category and allowing just 3.85 yards per carry. Arkansas should have some major trouble running the ball against the Tigers, as their leading rusher, Rakeem Boyd, barely cracks the top 100 in rushing yards per game at 66.3 and has just two touchdowns on the season.
That will place the Razorbacks’ offensive production in the hands of junior quarterback Ty Storey. And while a solid amount of quarterbacks have had efficient games against Missouri’s secondary this year, Storey could struggle to do so.
Maybe it’s due to a lack of talent surrounding him, but Storey has the 94th-ranked passer efficiency rating in the country (118.2), the 82nd-best completion percentage (57.0) and is 81st in yards per game (173.3). To add to it, the junior has struggled to find the end zone in Arkansas’ first 11 contests, throwing just 11 touchdowns as compared to his nine interceptions.
While it’s never out of the question that an opposing quarterback could tear up the Tigers’ secondary, Arkansas doesn’t seem to have the star power to match-up in a high-scoring shootout.