FAYETTEVILLE --Anticipate rain from the sky and emotions from the heart pouring today at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Arkansas (6-5, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) and Missouri (5-6, 1-6) clash here at 1:30 p.m. with rain predicted for both teams' regular-season finale.
It's Senior Day in Fayetteville for Arkansas' small but vital senior class, led by record-setting, fifth-year quarterback Brandon Allen, who passes for a school-record and SEC-tying seven touchdown passes last week against Mississippi State.
Bowl eligible, they will practice some in December at Reynolds Razorback Stadium but will not play another game there.
Senior Day pendulums tend to swing in emotional extremes from uplifting to draining. The Hogs went through all of that last week against Mississippi State, which blocked a chip-shot field goal with 39 seconds left to preserve its fourth consecutive win in the series.
Missouri has played its last game on the Columbia campus, subjected to racial protests with the football team's support and the ultimate removals of both the school president and chancellor.
No sooner had the protest signs been put away than Gary Pinkel, Mizzou's coach for 15 years and revered by his team in his support of their unified support regarding the campus issues, announced his retirement effective at season's end. Pinkel was diagnosed last spring with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Much as he loves coaching, he says it's time to take care of his health and spend time with his family.
Unless the Tigers win today to gain bowl eligibility, today marks Pinkel's final game.
If he wasn't coaching from the opposite sideline, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said he would be rooting for Pinkel to coach a bowl beyond today.
"Absolutely," Bielema said. "I think coach Pinkel probably has that from a lot of coaches because he's a very genuine guy. Very self-made. Everything he's gotten he's gotten on his own. His tradition, his history, his background, being with Don James (the deceased University of Washington coaching icon whom Pinkel eulogized). Pretty cool."
Of course it's Bielema's assigned task to better his Razorbacks at Missouri's expense.
Strictly on comparing offenses, that ought to be achieved.
A November offensive juggernaut, Arkansas ranks third in SEC total offense while Mizzou is last of 14 conference teams.
The Razorbacks reign a 14-point favorite. Tough odds for the Tigers given only in their 24-10 victory over South Carolina have they exceeded 13 points in their seven SEC games.
Their 20-13 nonconference victory over Brigham Young Nov. 14 in Kansas City marks their offensive zenith since September triumphs over Southeast Missouri State (34-3) and Arkansas State (27-20 at Jonesboro).
Mizzou struggled offensively even with the veteran Maty Mauk quarterbacking before his season-ending suspension. It's been difficult for freshman Drew Lock, 120 for 236 passing for 1,239 yards with four touchdowns vs. seven interceptions and no running back yet netting 500 yards rushing.
Quite a contrast to Allen completing 213 of 327 for 3,023 yards with 29 touchdowns vs. six interceptions while running back Alex Collins has netted 1,262 yards and 14 touchdowns on 218 carries.
However flip the cards to defense and the story reverses.
Led by linebacker Kentrell Brothers, the national leader in tackles with an astounding 140, and a defensive line that "keeps the linebackers clean to make the play" occupying blockers when not making plays of its own, Arkansas offensive-line coach Sam Pittman said, the Tigers have only allowed 166 points scored in 11 games.
Quite a contrast to the 330 scored on Arkansas in 11 games.
"A very, very tough defense," Allen said. "They do a great job stopping he run and defending the pass. We're going to have to have our best effort offensively to put up points on them."
Heavy rain would seem to put an additional hurdle for Arkansas achieving the high-scoring offensive game it prefers to the low-scoring defensive battle that Missouri craves.
Of course a 28-degree freeze couldn't stop Allen and Mississippi State's Dak Prescott from quarterbacking 101 points between them last weekend.
But neither quarterbacked against a defense as stout as Missouri's.
Sports on 11/27/2015