Missouri had a golden opportunity to earn a spot in the SEC title game.
Missouri had everything to lose when they hosted Arkansas in their home finale, as a berth in the SEC title game was at stake. With a win, the Tigers could clinch the SEC East, granting them a spot in the conference championship in Atlanta next week.
The Razorbacks didn't have much to lose in this one after winning two straight to climb to 6-5 and gain bowl eligibility. All they could gain with a win here would be a shot at a slightly better bowl game, as they'd already clinched a last-place finish in the SEC West.
Unsurprisingly, Arkansas looked like a team playing loose and without fear of defeat for much of this game, while Missouri looked tight and out of sync for most of the first three quarters. The Hogs jumped out to a 14-3 lead, and took a 14-6 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers would rally though with a pair of fourth-quarter scores to take a 21-14 lead after Marcus Murphy scored the go-ahead touchdown:
Arkansas would make one final push that got them into Mizzou territory, but alex Collins fumbled the ball away and the tigers recovered and ran out the clock to seal the 21-14 win.
Three things we learned
1. Georgia Missouri is going to the SEC Championship.
The Tigers needed a win here to clinch the SEC East and as spot in Atlanta next week. If they failed to to do so, that meant Georgie would win the division and a spot in the SEC Championship. The Bulldogs went into Columbia and manhandled Missouri earlier this year, 34-0 but had a couple of slip ups against South Carolina and Florida.
Those are two teams the Tigers were able to beat and put themselves in position to win the East. Mizzou got the job done by rallying past Arkansas to improve to 10-2 and 6-2 in SEC play, a shade ahead of Georgia's 9-2 record and 5-3 SEC conference mark.
2. Arkansas may have nation's best defense.
Entering the fourth quarter of this one, Arkansas had held Missouri to just two field goals, meaning they had gone 11 straight quarters without surrendering a touchdown. The last TD they'd given up was the game-winning score Mississippi State got in the fourth quarter of their Week 10 matchup.
That game saw the hogs lose 17-10 at then-No. 1 MSU, and they then proceeded to go eight quarters without allowing a single point in wins over LSU and Ole Miss, Missouri did manage to get a first-quarter field goal in this one, but didn't reach the end zone until the fourth quarter.
This unit held Alabama to 14 points, as well as holding MSU to 17 points in Starkville. In an era where great defenses are hard to find, Arkansas may have had the best in college football this season, at least down the stretch.
3. Arkansas' offense is why this isn't an elite team.
Though the Hogs defense gave up two scores, that shouldn't damper the tremendous game they played to that point, not to mention how much their offense let them down. Prior to Missouri's go-ahead score, the Razorbacks has gained just 253 yards converted 5 of 12 third downs.
Brandon Allen was a woeful 9-of-21 passing for 100 yards to that point, and the offense's inability to at least move the ball more kept Arkansas' defense on the field far too long, as they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. This is easily one of the nation's best defenses, and had the offense been slightly better, they could have won anywhere between 8-to-10 games this year.
In four of their six losses, Arkansas' offense failed to score in the fourth quarter of games they were either tied or led in. This was the fourth game in which that happened, and it's just one more game the Hogs will wonder "what it" when looking back at this season.
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1FDiBnA
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