10 Things to Know – Missouri

Arkansas (3-5, 3-5 SEC) plays its second consecutive trophy game as it travels to Missouri (4-3, 4-3 SEC) on Saturday, Dec. 5 for an 11 a.m. kick off with the Battle Line Trophy up for grabs.

10 Things to Know Before Kickoff

1. - Arkansas last laced up its cleats on Nov. 21 inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, falling to defending national champion LSU, 27-24. The Hogs held a 24-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Tigers went on a 10-play, 67-yard touchdown drive to take a 27-24 lead they would not relinquish. The Arkansas offense racked up over 400 yards of total offense for the fourth straight game (443) while gaining over eight yards per play in its second straight week.

2. - Over the last two weeks, junior WR Mike Woods has been on a tear, making six catches, totaling 269 receiving yards, with two touchdowns against Florida and LSU. Against the Tigers, he reeled in four receptions for a career-best 140 yards, recording back-to-back 100+ yard receiving games for the first time in his career. He averages an SEC-best 20.5 yards per catch and is one of seven FBS receivers this season to average at least 20 yards per catch with 25 or more total receptions. The Magnolia, Texas product’s 553 receiving yards this year is his career single-season high, and his four touchdown grabs tie his high from last season.

3. - Sophomore WR Treylon Burks eclipsed 1,000 career receiving yards against LSU in his 18th career game, tying Boo Williams (1999-00) as the fastest Hog receiver to 1,000 yards since 1997. The Warren, Ark. product leads the team and ranks fifth in the SEC with 598 receiving yards and is sixth in the conference, making six touchdown catches. His average of 85.4 receiving yards per game is fifth in the SEC, and 5.6 catches per game are ninth. Burks is one of only six FBS players to register five or more games with at least five receptions and one rushing attempt.

4. - Arkansas redshirt senior QB Feleipe Franks threw for 300+ yards in a game for the second time this season, accruing a career-high 339 yards on 17-of-26 passing with a touchdown against LSU. He tossed his 17th touchdown of the year, the most at Arkansas since Austin Allen’s 25 touchdown passes in 2016. He has completed 155-of-228 passes for 2,017 yards, ranking fourth in the SEC in touchdowns, passing yards, passing yards per game (252.1) and passing efficiency (161.3). Franks is the first Arkansas QB since 2000 to throw for 200 or more yards in each of the season’s first eight games. The grad transfer’s 68-percent completion percentage is on pace to break the school’s single-season record (Kevin Scanlon, 1979, 66.2-percent). He has also found success throwing the deep ball, completing nine passes of 50+ yards, which ranks second in FBS.

5. - Under the direction of first-year head coach Sam Pittman, Arkansas has won three games, the school’s most SEC wins since 2016 and most wins overall since 2017. The Hogs' three wins are the most for a team coming off a zero-win SEC schedule since Auburn in 2016. Pittman is also the only first-year Arkansas head coach to win three or more SEC games in his first season since Houston Nutt won six in 1998. First-year defensive coordinator and Broyles Award nominee Barry Odom has guided a remarkable improvement through eight SEC games compared to last season. This year the Hogs have improved their defensive numbers by 43.9 yards per game and 70.6 rushing yards per game while allowing 9.0 points per game fewer than last year.

6. - Arkansas’ 13 interceptions this season lead the conference while ranking second in the country and are the most in a single-season at the school since 2009 (13 interceptions). Against Tennessee, the Hogs made two picks for their third multi-interception game of the year, becoming the first Razorback team to have three multi-interception games since 2015. Making picks against Tennessee and Florida, redshirt freshman DB Jalen Catalon is the first Hog to have interceptions in back-to-back games since 2007. Even though the Hogs did not record an interception against LSU, they recovered a fumble, forcing a turnover in their third straight game.

7. - Redshirt freshman DB Jalen Catalon is the only player in FBS with 85+ tackles and at least three interceptions. His 86 total tackles lead all FBS freshmen, and he is the first SEC freshman since Tennessee’s Eric Berry in 2007 with at least 86 tackles and three picks. He made a career-high 16 tackles against LSU and has totaled five 10+ tackle games this season, including three straight against Tennessee, Florida and LSU. Catalon is also the first Razorback freshman to have over 50 tackles in a season since Dre Greenlaw in 2015 (95).

8. - Against LSU, redshirt senior LB Grant Morgan made 19 tackles in a game for the second time this season, which is tied for second-most in an FBS game this year behind teammate Bumper Pool's 20 at Mississippi State. Morgan, a former walk-on, leads the country with 104 tackles and was one of 16 semifinalists for the Dick Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's best linebacker. Pool (82 tackles) and Morgan and are the highest tackling LB tandem in the SEC.

9. - For the 12th time, Arkansas will meet Missouri on the gridiron, where the Tigers hold an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series. The Hogs have not beaten Missouri since 2015, a 28-3 triumph inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, in the first-ever game featuring the Battle Line Trophy. Despite only playing 12 times, the series dates back to Nov. 10, 1906, an 11-0 Missouri win in Columbia. Missouri joined the SEC in 2012, and the teams have met every year since 2014. This season’s game was initially scheduled to be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., but was shifted back to Columbia due to COVID-19.

10. - The Tigers have won four of their last five games, dismantling Vanderbilt, 41-0, in their last contest on Nov. 28. Redshirt freshman QB Connor Bazelak has lifted Missouri since his first start of the season in Week 3 and is now 5-1 as a starter in his career after beating Arkansas last season. The Dayton, Ohio product has completed 147-of-209 passes for 1,622 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions this season. Senior RB Larry Roundtree III is seventh among FBS active leaders in career rushing yards (3,398) and leads the team with 650 rushing yards and eight scores this year. Junior Jalen Knox is the team’s leading receiver making 26 catches for 261 yards. The matchup features two Butkus Award Semifinalists in Arkansas’ Morgan and Missouri’s Nick Bolton, who has made a team-leading 76 tackles and ranks second in the SEC in tackles for loss (7.5). Alma, Ark. native and Arkansas Tech graduate Eli Drinkwitz is in his first year as the Tigers head coach.