The Battle Line Trophy has had an extended stay in Columbia.
Missouri football won its third straight game in its series over Arkansas in a rare snow game on Faurot Field last season, as Brady Cook provided the game-winner to cap his final home game as a Tiger with a 30-yard rushing touchdown with 1:53 left on the clock.
The Tigers have won eight of their last nine games against Arkansas, and MU head coach Eli Drinkwitz is 4-1 since taking over in Columbia.
Both teams will look significantly different from the 2024 matchup — and so, presumably, will the playing conditions. But who has handled their turnover better?
The Tribune is analyzing the offseason of each of Mizzou’s 2025 opponents to get you up to speed with the new rosters and coaching staff changes after a busy offseason.
Here’s what to know about Arkansas in 2025, including key additions, coaching changes and playmakers to keep an eye on when the Tigers visit the Razorbacks to close the regular season:
Who are opposing names to know when Missouri football visits Arkansas?
Quarterback: Taylen Green is back for a second season under offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. The 6-foot-6 QB passed for 3,154 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and he rushed for 602 yards and eight scores. But, he was one of the most sacked and most fumble-prone quarterbacks in college football last season, taking 32 hits in the backfield over 13 games and coughing up the ball eight times — both bottom-15 marks in the FBS.
Offensive playmaker: O’Mega Blake isn’t likely to be a name you’re too familiar with, but the Charlotte transfer at wide receiver is a solid, somewhat under-the-radar pickup for the Razorbacks. He caught 795 yards and nine touchdowns worth of passes for a woebegone Charlotte squad last season, and at 24.8 yards per catch, he gives Green a true deep ball threat.
Defensive playmaker: The Southwest Times Record reported that Arkansas likely will run a 3-3-5 base defense, and that’s because of the anticipated quality it has at linebacker. That group is led by Xavian Sorey, who led the Razorbacks with 99 total tackles, including two sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. He ought to be considered for some preseason All-SEC recognition.
What did the offseason look like for the Razorbacks?
Notable additions: Corey Robinson II (LT, Georgia Tech); Blake (WR, Charlotte); Shaq McRoy (RT; Oregon); Caden Kitler (C; UCF); Phillip Lee (DE, Troy); Jordan Young (CB, Cincinnati); Courtney Crutchfield (WR, Missouri)
Notable losses: Landon Jackson (DE, NFL); Isaac TeSlaa (WR, NFL); Andrew Armstrong (WR, UDFA); Ja’Quinden Jackson (RB, UDFA); Doneiko Slaughter (DE, UDFA); Hudson Clark (DB, UDFA); Brad Spence (LB, Texas); TJ Metcalf (S, Michigan)
Notable coaching changes: N/A
The biggest difference on Arkansas’ 2025 team will be its offensive line. Green was constantly in a battle to stay upright last season.
With Robinson in from Georgia Tech at left tackle and last season’s LT, Fernando Carmona, moving inside, the Razorbacks look improved on that side of the line. McRoy and Kitler are transfers who appear to be on track for starting roles, too.
That’s where the Razorbacks could use the most year-over-year improvement. Green’s a good athlete at QB, and the offseason focus appears to have been directed toward giving him more time to show that.
Beyond the O-line, there aren’t many SEC teams that lost as much as Arkansas did this offseason. The Razorbacks had 39 outgoing players via the transfer portal, with a not-insignificant number of those players among their two-deep in the 2024 campaign.
Spence and Metcalf stand out from the outgoing group, and combined with some graduated NFL talent, the Razorbacks have 54% of their defensive production from last season returning. That ranks outside the top half in the FBS, per ESPN.
The Razorbacks also got caught in the crossfire of the Tennessee-Nico Iamaleavea saga, as the quarterback’s younger brother — four-star QB Madden Iamaleavea — followed his sibling to UCLA after spring camp in Fayetteville. That shouldn’t impact the 2025 roster, but it is worth mentioning.
One of the more surprising notes here is the lack of coaching turnover. There wasn’t overflowing optimism for Sam Pittman to retain his job at this time last year, but he is back for his sixth season in charge of the program. There likely needs to be tangible signs of improvement for Pittman to reach Year 7.
Early forecast for Mizzou at Arkansas
Missouri has been dominant in this series, and the early indications suggest the Tigers, even on the road, will be favored heading into the regular-season finale in 2025.
Arkansas standouts like Landon Jackson, TeSlaa and Armstrong were impactful players and will be missed. Losing as many players as the Razorbacks did in the transfer portal is not necessarily a great sign for depth, either. Arkansas has attacked the portal well, but there are a number of questions for them to answer this year.
To get to where it wants to go, this is one of those must-wins for Mizzou.
There’s always the possibility that Arkansas is better than the preseason prognostications suggest, and the regular-season finale proves to be a tricky road trip, but pound for pound, the Tigers look deeper and like the more rounded roster.
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