Tigers face Hogs, doubters for East title

FAYETTEVILLE -- Missouri's lot in its early SEC life seems to be a perpetual struggle for respect.

The Tigers (9-2, 6-1 SEC) were picked to finish sixth in the SEC East before winning the division last season.

They were picked fourth in the East this year, and now, only suddenly hot Arkansas (6-5, 2-5) stands in the way of a spot in the SEC Championship Game for the second time in their three seasons in the conference.

Missouri will win the SEC East outright if it beats the Razorbacks on Friday, and Georgia will represent the division in Atlanta if Arkansas wins.

The Razorbacks and Tigers will play annually around the Thanksgiving weekend as permanent cross-division rivals in the geographically funky SEC, but this is the first regular-season meeting between the teams since 1963.

"It won't take long for fans on both sides of this rivalry to figure it out," Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said on Monday. "It should be a great rivalry."

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo.

The outright SEC East title is at stake for the Tigers, who are playing at home against the last-place team from the SEC West, but the game still opened as a pick 'em in Las Vegas. It has since been taken off the board at most locations because of questions surround the availability of Arkansas starting quarterback Brandon Allen.

Whatever the odds, the Tigers have defied them along the way to positioning themselves for a repeat trip to Atlanta. Missouri has won 10 consecutive road games, dating to the start of the 2013 season, and it was point-spread underdogs heading into road victories at South Carolina, Florida, Texas A&M and Tennessee this year.

"This obviously is a very big game, but it's still about how we play," Pinkel said. "If you start thinking about the ramification of the game, that's not what we do."

Pinkel, in his 14th season at Missouri, has led the Tigers to 74 victories since the start of the 2007 season, tied for fifth-most among Power 5 conference teams. Southern Cal is the other team with 74 victories.

The reason Missouri isn't considered a stronger contender in the first College Football Playoff chatter has been a couple of head-scratching home losses. The Tigers lost to unheralded Indiana 31-27 on Sept. 20. The Hoosiers (3-8) are 0-7 in the East Division of the Big Ten, the conference SEC fans like to disregard.

Missouri rebounded from that shocker with a 21-20 victory at South Carolina to reclaim a place in the national polls. But then the Tigers were handled 34-0 by Georgia, again at home, two days after Georgia star running back Todd Gurley was declared ineligible.

Pinkel said he sent his team a stern message after that Oct. 11 loss:

"If we want to have a good year, there's got to be a sense of urgency," he said.

The Tigers have gone unbeaten since then and appear to be gathering in strength as the weather turns colder. They are averaging 223.7 rushing yards per game in November victories over Kentucky, Texas A&M and Tennessee.

Sophomore quarterback Maty Mauk, who struggled in some early games, including six interceptions and a lost fumble in the losses to Indiana and Georgia, has completed 64 of 121 passes for 787 yards with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception in his past four outings.

"He [Mauk] is just fun to watch," Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said. "He's a winner that makes a lot of plays with his legs and extends plays."

The Tigers have two productive runners -- Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy -- who have been gaining momentum behind their rapidly improving offensive line. Hansbrough has 858 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, and Murphy, who is also a dynamic kickoff and punt returner, has 689 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Bud Sasser is the team's top receiver with 56 receptions for 777 yards and 9 touchdowns.

"They're going to present a lot of challenges," said Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith, whose unit has become the first on an unranked team to shut out two consecutive ranked opponents. "These guys, they move the football. They score points. They win games. I'm very impressed with what I've seen so far offensively on them."

Missouri gains more headlines with its defense, which is coordinated by Dave Steckel and leads the SEC with 40 sacks, led by ends Shane Ray (13.5) and Markus Golden (8.5).

"Dave Steckel is a friend of mine, and he does a wonderful job," Arkansas offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said. "The one thing that shows up every time you watch Missouri, they understand what they're doing and they play extremely hard.

"When you're going over there with what they've got on the table and what we've got on the table, it's going to be a fun ballgame. ... I'm a Missouri boy. I grew up watching Missouri football, so I'm excited about it."

Sports on 11/25/2014