Inside the matchups

By Chris Givens

Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/212505/

QUARTERBACKS It wasn’t a typical game for Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel, but it was still a better performance than Arkansas’ Casey Dick. Daniel completed only 12 passes for 136 yards while trying to pick his way through nine and 10 Razorbacks in coverage, but he managed the game and never hurt his team. Dick did, throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Dick was 19 for 32 for 197 yards, but his two longest completions came on screen passes and he took three sacks. Daniel made up for his only mistake when he forced a fumble that Missouri recovered after throwing an interception. ADVANTAGE Missouri RUNNING BACKS This category wasn’t close, and when that happens it usually means the edge goes to Arkansas. Not this time. Missouri’s Tony Temple set two Cotton Bowl records with 281 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Temple averaged 11. 4 yards per carry, while Jimmy Jackson also had 39 yards for the Tigers, who had 323 rushing yards. Darren McFadden never got going and finished with 105 hardearned yards before sitting out most of the fourth quarter. Felix Jones added 45, but the Razorbacks’ running game was bottled up all afternoon. ADVANTAGE Missouri

RECEIVERS Arkansas’ receivers were quiet again. Marcus Monk led the receivers with four catches for 28 yards but was never a factor as running backs Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis accounted for most of the receiving yardage. Missouri’s Will Franklin had five catches for 77 yards, and Jeremy Maclin and Martin Rucker each had three. Neither team found much success through the air on the cold and blustery day. ADVANTAGE Missouri OFFENSIVE LINE For the first time this season, Arkansas’ heralded offensive line, featuring Rimington Trophy winner Jonathan Luigs, was dominated. Arkansas’ running backs picked up whatever yards they managed on their own, because the Razorbacks never opened holes on the line. Several times Darren McFadden and Felix Jones ran into their own linemen. Missouri, led by Rimington finalist Adam Spieker, opened enormous holes for Tony Temple to run through. Temple was rarely touched before he was 5 yards downfield and on his way to a Cotton Bowl rushing record. ADVANTAGE Missouri DEFENSIVE LINE Arkansas played mostly two- and threeman fronts, which obviously makes it difficult to get pressure. That said, the Razorbacks got no pressure on Chase Daniel, who on a couple of occasions seemed to have 10 seconds or more to find a receiver. Arkansas’ defensive line also failed to get off blocks and had to watch Tigers running backs blow past all game long. Adrian Davis did have a fumble recovery and an interception, as well as a fumble. Missouri’s defensive line had seven tackles for loss and held Arkansas’ running game in check. Ziggy Hood had six tackles and 1 1 / 2 sacks. ADVANTAGE Missouri

LINEBACKERS Arkansas linebackers were mainly used in the secondary and had little impact on the game. Weston Dacus was the leading tackler from the unit with four. Missouri’s linebackers were all over the field. The middle linebacker position combined for 20 tackles, with Luke Lambert and Brock Christopher finishing with 10 tackles each. Seth Witherspoon had six tackles, including a sack. ADVANTAGE Missouri DEFENSIVE BACKS Missouri’s William Moore led all players with 13 tackles, forced a fumble, returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown and was the best player on either team’s defense. Still, Arkansas had the advantage because the Razorbacks held one of the nation’s most potent passing offenses and a Heisman-caliber quarterback to 136 yards passing, 192 yards below Missouri’s season average. Arkansas did it by dropping as many as 10 players into coverage, and the Tigers didn’t have to rely on the pass as much because of their running game. The Razorbacks’ coverage was still solid. ADVANTAGE Arkansas

SPECIAL TEAMS Arkansas had a disastrous afternoon on special teams. The normally steady Alex Tejada missed first-half field goals of 35 and 37 yards, his first two misses inside 40 yards this season. Jerell Norton fumbled a punt on Arkansas’ 11. Even when things seemed to go right they backfired. The Razorbacks ran a successful fake punt, but they had called a timeout just before the ball was snapped. Missouri made no mistakes. ADVANTAGE Missouri