Three Things to Know About Arkansas Football

Missouri's regular-season finale comes against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Faurot Field, who come to town to spoil the Tigers' season.

Nov 23, 2024; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) runs for a touchdown as Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defensive lineman David Blay (90) defends at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

The No. 21 Missouri Tigers conclude its 2024 season against the Arkansas Razorbacks on rivalry weekend, looking to improve to 9-3 on the season and improve its odds at a high-level postseason bowl game.

Head coach Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks are much better than they were last season. Quarterback Taylen Green has helped improve the passing attack for Arkansas, as has its trio of receivers and tight end. They are scoring more points than last season and have options to go to when one isn't working.

Arkansas currently sits at 6-5 on the season and a win at Missouri would be viewed as a massive success. They beat a ranked Tennessee squad and narrowly were defeated by Texas A&M and Texas. If the Razorbacks squeaked out two of those close games, they would surely be in a very different position.

The Tigers would love to add one more victory to its record before the end of the regular season and it all depends on how good the Razorbacks play. Here are three things to know about Arkansas ahead of both squads regular season finale.

Running Back Room

The Razorbacks have three competent running backs that could hurt you on any given day. The main three, including its quarterback, have hurt opposing teams on multiple occassions and though it will be a challenge against Missouri, establishing a run game will be important.

It's all led by senior back Ja'Quinden Jackson. This year was his first with the Razorbacks and the former Utah backfield member has found his role as a starter in the SEC. He's ran for 703 yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns so far this season, presumably with two games to play. He leads the Razorbacks in rushing yards and has been the top option out of the backfield while healthy.

Arkansas has two other primary options at the position, junior Rashod Dubinion and freshman Braylen Russell, at its disposal. Both backs posted massive games at some point this season that helped Arkansas walk away with victories.

Against Mississippi State, which resulted in a 58-25 win, Dubinion posted 98 yards and a touchdown. That was his second-best game of the season and helped in the offensive attack that resulted in a blowout. Russell rushed for 175 yards against the Razorbacks, just adding to the massive total of offensive yards. Two games later, Dubinion had his best game of the year, rushing for 112 yards in a 21-point victory over Louisiana Tech. There are three different running backs that could punish the Tigers and they have to be ready for any of the trio to explode.

Quarterback Improvement

Last season, the Tigers beat Arkansas 48-14 on the road. Jacolby Creswell started at quarterback and threw for only 96 yards and added a touchdown. Veteran K.J. Jefferson had started most of the season but struggled to find success in its offense. Neither player is on the team anymore and Sam Pittman brought in Boise State transfer Taylen Green as the replacement. He hasn't been perfect, but with Green, there are clear improvements in the offense and its rhythm has been found.

Green's thrown for 2,584 yards and 13 touchdowns, adding nine interceptions to his stat line. He also is Arkansas' second-leading rusher, with 468 yards and seven touchdowns, this season. For the most part, Missouri has shut down the mobile quarterback's its played against on the ground. It is something to monitor and not something the Missouri defense can let get out of control.

As a passer, Green loves to target receivers Andrew Armstrong, Isaiah Sateng and Isaac TeSlaa. They account for over half of Green's passing production and Armstrong eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, sitting at 1,012 current receiving yards. Green's shown he has the arm and accuracy to find his talented receivers and his receiving threats can create explosive plays. Both of those options are dangerous for the Missouri offense, especially after allowing multiple broken-coverage touchdowns this season.

Pass Coverage

Missouri just faced off against the SEC's worst secondary in Mississippi State last week, winning 39-20. To finish its season, the Tigers are presented with the conferences second-worst passing defense. Its highest rated defensive back is senior safety Jayden Johnson. He's grabbed three breakups and an interception this season and is one of Arkansas' best in one-on-one coverage.

After Johnson, the Razorback secondary see's a decline. The Razorback defense is in the bottom area of passing yards allowed per-game nationally, letting up 263.7 aerial yards per game. Missouri's opposing top-three cornerbacks allowed 1,164 passing yards between the trio alone, along with nine touchdowns. The veteran presence in the room, senior Doneiko Slaughter, is the culprit of the most yards allowed with 487.

Playing a passing defense of this level is timely for the Missouri offense. Brady Cook and company are coming off its best passing game of the season, where receivers Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr. were both heavily involved. Utilizing both of its top-two targets will be important against Arkansas, especially with a challenging rushing defense.

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