FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas placekicker Connor Limpert is a virtual slam dunk for capping his career as the Arkansas all-time leader in field goal percentage.
Limpert and 16 other seniors will finish their careers as Razorbacks at 1:30 p.m. Friday against Missouri at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Limpert has made 14 of 18 field goals this season to take his career total to 41 makes in 51 tries. That's a conversion percentage of 80.4%, well ahead of Zach Hocker's current record of 77.2% from 2010-13. The senior has 212 career points to tie for eighth place in the Arkansas record book with Bill McClard (1969-71), eight points shy of Ish Ordonez (220 points, 1978-80).
Limpert would have to go 0 for 3 on field goal attempts in Friday's season finale to fall below Hocker's percentage. If the left footer from Allen, Texas, went 0 for 2, he would be at 77.4%.
The only kickers in Arkansas history to make 70% of their field goal tries are Limpert, Hocker, Todd Wright (75.9, 1989-92), Kendall Trainor (73.9, 1985-88), Ordonez (71.0) and Chris Balseiro (70.0, 2002-05).
Injury updates
Interim Coach Barry Lunney Jr. said he's hopeful cornerback Montaric Brown can be ready to play by Friday. Brown did not travel to last Saturday's 56-20 loss at LSU due to an unspecified illness. Sources have told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Brown was impacted by the mumps outbreak on campus that featured nine confirmed cases by the Arkansas Department of Health earlier this week.
"This is one of those weeks you wish you had a normal week," Lunney said Tuesday. "One day could make a difference here as far as his ability to help us on game day, but we still have several days left before we get to that point. We're holding out hope that he gets to the point where he's ready to go with us."
Arkansas quarterbacks KJ Jefferson and Nick Starkel are both questionable after entering the week on concussion protocol. Linebacker Deon Edwards, who did not travel to LSU, is also questionable with an unspecified illness.
For Missouri, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam (shoulder) is expected to play after missing last week's 24-20 home loss to Tennessee, while cornerback DeMarkus Acy is day to day with a hamstring injury and cornerback Jarvis Ware was expected to return from an above-the-shoulder injury last week.
Tigers wide receiver Johnathon Johnson is questionable after missing the last three games with a shoulder injury.
Turkey Day plan
The Razorbacks practiced earlier than normal Wednesday to allow the players not on the 70-man travel squad a little extra time to make it home for Thanksgiving.
"We're going to have Thanksgiving lunch here with all of our families and our players," interim Coach Barry Lunney Jr. said. "Then we're going to load up and go to Little Rock."
Deuces wild
Arkansas junior safety Kamren Curl, who wears jersey No. 2, has a packed stat sheet with twos in a lot of categories.
Curl, who led the team in tackling earlier this season, is currently third with 76 stops behind linebackers De'Jon Harris (90) and Bumper Pool (81).
Curl's rip-away forced fumble and recovery against LSU wideout Ja'Marr Chase last week was his second such play of the season, joining a 69-yard forced fumble and scoop-and-score against Ole Miss tight end Octavious Cooley in Week 2.
Curl has two each in sacks, interceptions (for 22 yards in returns, of course), pass breakups, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries.
Tucker tout
Missouri kicker Tucker McCann is nearing significant milestones in what has been mostly a banner senior season.
McCann needs 11 points to become Missouri's all-time leading scorer. He is currently in third place with 352 points, trailing fellow kickers Jeff Wolfert (362 points, 2006-08) and Andrew Baggett (355, 2012-15).
McCann became the first kicker/punter this century to post three made field goals of 40-plus yards and four punts of 50-plus yards in the same game when he did it in a 50-0 victory over Southeast Missouri State this season.
Alumnus Barrys
The Razorbacks and Tigers both have former players as current head coaches, with Barry Lunney Jr. directing Arkansas and Barry Odom coaching Missouri.
Arkansas has not played in a game with that same connection since 2007, when Houston Nutt and the Razorbacks fell 34-13 at Tennessee, which was coached by former Volunteer Phillip Fulmer.
Nearing 500
Treylon Burks had 3 catches for 80 yards at LSU and now has a team-high 469 receiving yards for the Razorbacks. It's the most receiving yards by a true freshman at Arkansas since 2004 when Marcus Monk notched 569 yards.
Second 'Rock'
Missouri leads the short-lived series with the Razorbacks by a 7-3 count. The teams will play in Little Rock for the second time Friday, with Missouri holding a 1-0 edge.
The Tigers notched a 7-6 upset of the No. 8 Razorbacks at War Memorial Stadium on Sept. 28, 1963.
Since the Battle Line Rivalry was created in 2014 with an annual meeting on Thanksgiving weekend, the Tigers hold a 4-1 advantage as an SEC member.
The Razorbacks' three victories: 7-6 in Columbia, Mo., on Sept. 23, 1944; 27-14 at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport on Dec. 31, 2003; and 28-3 on Nov. 27, 2015, in Fayetteville.
The teams have split two bowl games, with Arkansas winning in 2003 and No. 7 Missouri lashing the Hogs 38-7 at the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 2008, in Reggie Herring's lone game as the Arkansas interim coach.
White catches on
John David White, a freshman walk-on receiver from Pulaski Academy, made his first two career catches for 27 yards at LSU on Saturday.
"Man, I couldn't be prouder of John David White," Barry Lunney Jr. said. "He epitomizes what it means to have Razorback spirit and legacy, and we can't get enough of guys like that."
White's father, David, played golf at Arkansas and his great grandfather, Harold "Greasy" Rees played football for the Razorbacks, as did his grandfather, John Rees, and his uncle, John Aaron Rees.
Tackle gap
Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton leads Missouri with 98 tackles, more than twice as many as any of his teammates. Safeties Joshuah Bledsoe and Tyree Gillespie are tied for second on the team with 45 tackles each.
Linebacker Cale Garrett, who was lost for the season during the Tigers' fifth game, a 42-10 victory over Troy, is still fourth on the club with his 43 tackles. Missouri is 1-5 since Garrett suffered a torn pectoral tendon injury. Garrett had two defensive touchdowns in a three-week span during the Tigers' 4-1 start.
13 in a row
Missouri has turned its last 13 interceptions into touchdowns, including an FBS-best four pick-six returns this year.
The streak dates back to last season after a 76-yard interception return by cornerback DeMarkus Acy in a road victory at Tennessee set up an offensive touchdown.
The Tigers have a jaw-dropping 266 return yards on their 8 interceptions, an average of 33.3 yards per return.
Missouri's pick-six defensive scores came in four consecutive games early this season. Linebacker Nick Bolton had a 20-yard interception return touchdown in a 38-7 win over West Virginia; linebacker Cale Garrett had a 27-yard pick-six in a 50-0 victory over Southeast Missouri; safety Ronnell Perkins had a 100-yard interception return touchdown in a 34-14 victory over South Carolina; and Garrett had a 33-yard scoring return in a 42-10 victory over Troy.
The Tigers have not posted an interception in their last three games.
Common foes
The Razorbacks and Tigers have played two common opponents this season in Ole Miss and Kentucky.
Missouri went 1-1 against those teams, with a 38-27 victory over Ole Miss at homecoming on Oct. 12, and a 29-7 loss at Kentucky on Oct. 26.
The Razorbacks are 0-2 against those teams. Arkansas fell 31-17 at Ole Miss in its conference opener and dropped a 24-20 decision at Kentucky on Oct. 12.
2 of 18
LSU has gone three and out on just 18 of its 137 offensive possessions, but Arkansas can take credit for two of those. The Razorbacks held for three and outs on the Tigers' second series and their last series among 12 possessions Saturday.
Sports on 11/28/2019