A Battle Line Rivalry Presented by Shelter Insurance®Crash Course
Let's see if this rivalry has any history at all.
Good evening, folks! I’m sure many of you are settling down, eating dinner, and preparing for the basketball game against UT Arlington (which is actually on television for once instead of an app). Before the game though, I’d like to share some thoughts about football, as I tend to do! If you aren’t already subscribed, please consider doing so now:
I’d like to take this introduction to plug some podcast appearances I’ve made recently as well. To preview the Battle Line Rivalry, I joined Nate Edwards of Mizzou’s SB Nation site Rock M Nation with Saul Malone of Hoggin the Mic. We had a blast talking about the game, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Our part begins at 44 minutes, if you want to skip ahead. Listen to that here, or on your app of choice.
I’d also like to plug my own podcast, Hoggin the Mic, and our basketball preview with Hawg Hoops’ Ben Brandon. It’s a great interview, and we have a lot of fun. You can listen to that here, or on your app of choice.
With that out of the way, let’s talk Hogs!
Arkansas and Missouri isn’t the first rivalry that comes to mind when you ask any college football fan about storied rivalries. To tell you the truth, I’ve always found it a bit corporate and forced, which is why I often jokingly include the “presented by Shelter Insurance®” when I talk about it. I don’t think I’m alone in that evaluation either, as I rarely meet an Arkansas OR Missouri fan who is fired up for this game.
I think that this year may be different though, and I think that’s a good thing. Both programs are rising right now, and could see the winning coach claim SEC Coach of the Year. This and other storylines that I’ll discuss soon will make the game interesting this year, but I would argue, there’s plenty of reason for this series to be exciting for fans of both teams.
Battle Line Crash Course
The Battle Line Rivalry presented by Shelter Insurance® began in 2015, but Arkansas and Missouri actually played each other before the gaudy trophy came into rotation. Let’s take a look at the history between Arkansas and Missouri.
1906
The Cardinals (who weren’t even Hogs at this point) didn’t get off to the best start in this storied rivalry, as they faced Missouri on November 10th, 1906. Coach Frank Longman was overseeing the Cardinals just one year removed from playing fullback at Michigan in 1905. The game was played at Rollins Field, where Mizzou played until 1926, and resulted in a miserable 11-0 loss to Missouri. I can’t find a box score from the game, if they even had box scores, so my assumption is that Mizzou kicked 3 field goals and forced a safety. I assume someone named Jerry “Pipewrench” Wilson was quarterbacking the Hogs.
1944
The teams didn’t meet again for nearly forty years, but would finally reunite on September 23rd to begin the 1944 season. The game interestingly wasn’t played in Columbia or Fayetteville, and was instead played at Walsh Stadium (which to my knowledge no longer exists) in St. Louis. This stadium was typically used by the St. Louis Billikens, but would host Tigers and Razorbacks today. Coach Glen Rose was serving interim duty during World War II, as he left the Arkansas basketball team in favor of two years as football coach from 1944-1945. He would only post a record of 8-12-1 over those two years, but will most likely be remembered for delivering SIX Southwest Conference championships in basketball and for posting a 64% winning percentage in two different stints with the team.
On the football field, the Hogs won, beating Missouri 7-6. Football was… different back then.
1963
Razorback fans cherish the 1964 team and Coach Frank Broyles for their undefeated season and national championship, but the championship team was not built overnight. The 1963 Razorbacks only managed a 5-5 record, going 3-4 in the Southwest Conference. The season saw them face Missouri at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock (hello, haters) on September 28th. The game was another squeaker, as the Hogs lost 7-6.
2003
My first memory of playing Missouri comes from the 2003 Independence Bowl, which saw the Gary Pinkel coached Tigers (8-4) facing Houston Nutt’s Razorbacks (also 8-4). The conferences had realigned, with the Tigers now in the Big 12 and the Hogs in the SEC. The game saw the Tigers take a 7-3 lead, but Arkansas would score 18 straight points to take a 21-7 lead. The Tigers attempted a comeback, pulling within a touchdown at 21-14, but two field goals saw them off, as the game ended a 27-14 Arkansas win. Cedric Cobbs won MVP with 141 yards and a touchdown. It was Arkansas’ first bowl win since the 2000 Cotton Bowl, and the last bowl win until the 2009 Liberty Bowl. Woof.
2008
My most concrete memory of playing Missouri actually came in the form of a legendary butt whooping in the 2008 Cotton Bowl Classic. Houston Nutt had made his mad dash to Oxford, leaving Reggie Herring serving as the interim coach. Despite boasting Darren freaking McFadden, Felix freaking Jones, and Peyton freaking Hillis, and despite doing THIS to the eventual national champions LSU, the Hogs fell 38-7, as Gary Pinkel’s 11-2 Tigers wrote a punishing end to Darren McFadden’s storybook career.
2014
Despite the fact that Mizzou moved to the SEC in 2012, the teams avoided each other until 2014. That game saw Gary Pinkel’s #17 Tigers (9-2 at the time) taking on Bret Bielema’s Razorbacks (6-5 at the time). A Tigers win would see them clinch the SEC East title, as Brandon Allen was literally decimated by Barry Odom’s defense, led by Michael Sam. The final score was 21-14, but saw Arkansas blow a 14-3 lead at the half, in the first of all too many second half collapses in the era. It was a heartbreaking way to lose the game, and a perfect start to the actual Battle Line Rivalry.
The Battle Line Rivalry presented by Shelter Insurance®
And so we’ve reached the modern era. The Battle Line Rivalry became a trophy game when the worst trophy ever was unveiled in Fayetteville during the 2015 season finale. Arkansas would draw first blood with a 28-3 win, but would go on to lose the next four games, with a 28-24 loss in 2016, a 48-45 loss in 2017, a 38-0 loss in 2018 (thanks Chad), and a 24-14 loss in Little Rock in 2019. As it stands, the teams will play in Columbia this Saturday, coached by Sam Pittman and Eliah Drinkwitz. There’s sure to be plenty of intrigue, as Drinkwitz is from Arkansas and was rumored to be a candidate for the job Sam Pittman won. Familiar faces can be found on both sidelines though, as Arkansas’ defense is coached by Missouri alumnus and former head coach Barry Odom.
I doubt the Tigers want to see a coach they shooed away get a win, and I know I don’t want to lose to someone from the Gus Malzahn coaching tree. With both teams having unexpectedly successful seasons, I wouldn’t be surprised if the game was a decider of SEC Coach of the Year (despite the fact that Sam Pittman winning one SEC game at Arkansas should be statue-worthy).
I know it’s not the coolest or sexiest rivalry, but there’s something here worth watching, and hopefully, it will kick off a couple of years of Arkansas evening the series. With Coach Sam Pittman, I know we’ve at least got a shot.
Thank you so much for reading! What do you think about the rivalry? Is it too forced? Is there something worth watching? Let me know in a comment below, and as always, please share this with friends, enemies, lovers, and haters.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and go Hogs!