Eli Drinkwitz Believes Mizzou's Rivalry with Arkansas is Growing

Boiling tension during the Week 14 game led to a post-game skirmish at midfield.

Nov 30, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz on the sidelines against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, Mo. — There might not be as much tension as there is in 'The Game' but the 'Battle Line Rivalry' between Missouri and Arkansas is starting to become more intense, head coach Eli Drinkwitz believes.

“It’s growing, I’d say," Drinkwitz said following Missouri's 28-21 win over Arkansas. "For not thinking they were too much of a rival, it sure is growing a lot."

The Missouri Tigers have now won nine of their 11 matchups with the Arkansas Razorbacks since joining the SEC in 2014. Drinkwitz has one three of the four games since becoming Missouri's head coach in 2020.

After the Tigers' win over the Razorbacks to close out the 2024 regular season, the two teams collided at midfield for a skirmish.

#Mizzou and #Arkansas takes a page out of OSU and Michigan's book with a post-game skirmish.

Trying to spot the Mizzou flag now pic.twitter.com/q15LK15WhH

— Joey Van Zummeren (@JoeyVZ_) December 1, 2024

There was no shortage of physical altercations during the game, either. Missouri linebacker Chuck Hicks started a dust up with Arkansas wide receiver Luke Hasz early in the second quarter, causing Hicks to be penalized for a personal foul.

Less than a minute of play after Hicks' skirmish, wide receiver Luther Burden III was penalized for unesecarry roughnes after whipping his hand in the face of an Arkansas defender after some shoving.

"It builds the rivalry, which is good," Drinkwitz said. "We need this and it was chippy out there tonight. But I hope they all understand there's a lot of mutual respect."

Drinkwitz stoked the flames of the rivalry in the week leading up to the game, mispronouncing Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green's name in a press conference previewing the team. The clip gained traction on social media throughout the week.

Drinkwitz did find Green following the game to tell the quarterback it was an honest mistake, and not meant as disrespect.

"There's a better part of two hours on sports radio getting after me because I mispronounced the quarterback's name. That was me being genuine. I literally didn't mean anything. He's a heck of a player. ... There's a lot of people that don't like me down in that state for whatever reason."

Missouri scored a go-ahead touchdown with just 1:53 remaining, thanks to a 30-yard score from quarterback Brady Cook. Its defense held up to secure a 9-3 record to end the regular season. Drinkwitz attributed the win to the Tigers having a "will to win."