FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is set to host No. 23 Missouri at home for another meeting in the Battle Line Rivalry Game manufactured by the SEC.

This will be the 13th meeting between the two teams since the Tigers were invited to join the SEC in 2012, with the team up north winning this game under coaches Gary Pinkel, Barry Odom and Natural State native Eli Drinkwitz.

Missouri is 10-2 in this game and holds a 12-4 all-time series lead with Arkansas last winning in dominant fashion with a 34-17 in Fayetteville during the 2021 season.

One unique statistic for this game is that only one first-year coach has led Arkansas to a victory over its border rival, and that was Glen Rose in 1944 (7-6 victory in St. Louis).

Exactly eight of the 16 games in the series have been decided by one possession, and six of Missouri's wins have come by 10 points or more.

Game Information

Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Missouri Tigers
Kickoff Time: 6:45 p.m. CT
Venue: Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Ark.
TV Channel: SEC Network
Radio: Arkansas Razorbacks Sports Network
Series Record: Missouri leads 12-4
Betting: Missouri (-9.5), O/u: 48.5 total points (FanDuel)

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What ESPN Thinks

Much like other SEC games this season, ESPN's Football Power Index doesn't have any confidence in Arkansas pulling off an upset victory on Saturday. Missouri has a 73.4% chance to walk into Razorback Stadium and coming away with a fifth straight win in the series, which matches the streak from 2016-2020.

At 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the SEC, the Razorbacks have just a 4.2% chance of reaching six victories with five games to go in the season. Arkansas hasn't missed out on a bowl invite in back-to-back seasons since 2018-19 under Chad Morris.

First-year coach Ryan Silverfield's team might have a chance to pull off an upset at some point with a projected 3.9-8.1 overall record. That means there's a chance the Razorbacks will either be favored on the road at Auburn or against South Carolina when they return home on Nov. 14.

ESPN FPI (SEC) Rankings

1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. LSU
4. Texas
5. Ole Miss
6. Tennessee
7. Florida
8. Oklahoma
9. Texas A&M
10. Kentucky
11. South Carolina
12. Missouri
13. Auburn
14. Mississippi State
15. Arkansas
16. Vanderbilt

By The Numbers

What Drinkwitz Is Saying

Drinkwitz ended his opening monologue of his Tuesday press conference giving a rundown on his thoughts about what Arkansas brings to the game.

"They've got good players, obviously. Besides Chris Marshall and KJ Jackson, the running back Braylen Russell has been a talented big back that has given us problems in the past," Drinkwitz said. "If you think about (Mississippi State running back) Fluff [Bothwell] and some of those guys, so that that's going to be a real challenge for us (defensively)."

The Razorbacks' engine on defense is pass rushing end Quincy Rhodes, Jr., who is starting to find his groove as the final leg of the season begins. Over the previous three games, he has recorded eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and 58-yard fumble recovery.

"And then, obviously, I think defensively, you know, Quincy Rhodes Jr. is a game wrecker," Drinkwitz said. "He's a guy who can single-handedly take over a game and does a great job not only against the run, but in in pass downs, play actions. He destroys pulling guards and still gets to the quarterback.

"Whether it's the Utah game forcing an interception, whether it's against Tennessee in that fumble recovery, the guy is an elite player and well deserving of all the accolades that he's received. So, going to be a tremendous game, tremendous environment, and a tremendous challenge for our team."

Star running back Ahmad Hardy has been cleared to return to practice for Missouri, but his status for Arkansas or any game this season is still to be determined.

"We're really just going based off he practiced yesterday, everything went good, but it's really going to be about how does he feel today because we don't know if he can do a back-to-back practice, and then how does that translate till tomorrow," Drinkwitz said. "There's no timeline on if this, then this, then this. It's, hey, we'll see how today goes, and then we'll figure out what tomorrow looks like and go from there.

"I don't know if he'll be back for Arkansas. I don't know if he'll be back for Texas. I don't know if he'll be back for the bowl game. Nobody knows."

What Silverfield Is Saying

Silverfield made sure not to overcomplicate things with his team this week. Each of his players probably understand how important this game is without the rivalry tagline.

With another 1,000 pound gorilla sitting on its chest, that is the losing streak against Missouri, the Hogs' coach doesn't want his players dwelling on the past. Since taking the job last November, Silverfield has constantly talked about keeping a forward focus and all things will come together in time.

However, it's hard to ignore what's happened in the series. His biggest task now is to keep his players focused on improving and competing each week.

"I always appreciate former players. I always appreciate the entire history of Arkansas football. I think everybody realizes how important that is to me and this program," Silverfield said on Monday. "But we have not talked about the recent failures between us and our opponent, right, versus Missouri. So that is zero reflection or zero effect on what we're going to do moving forward."

"...I think more than anything, right, we appreciate the trophy. A lot of respect for that, but ultimately, it's the next game. It's very, very important for us to go out there, in a rivalry game, and put our best foot forward, just like it would be any game."

Prediction: Missouri 38, Arkansas 23