Last year when Missouri faced Arkansas, offense ran rampant. There were 98 points scored, 1200 combined yards of offense by both teams, and defense almost seemed optional for both sides. The 2021 rendition of the Battle Line Rivalry was much different.
For much of the game, defense was the story. Both sides struggled to get offense going, and when the teams came out for the second half, only one showed up. Arkansas finally got their dangerous offense loose, and they were able to separate themselves from a Tigers offense that couldn’t stop from beating themselves.
“It was just a lot of penalties, we kinda backed ourselves up,” RB Tyler Badie said of the Tigers’ self-inflicted wounds after the game.