SNOW GAME? Arkansas travels to No. 23 Missouri to face SEC teams looking to improve bowl goals

Arkansas (6-5, 3-4 SEC) at No. 23 Missouri (8-3, 4-3, No. 21 CFP), Saturday, 2:30 p.m. (SEC)

Series record: Missouri leads 11-4.

WHAT IS AT STAKE?

Arkansas and Missouri know they’re headed to bowl games, they just don’t know which one, given the number of SEC teams already eligible. But it’s safe to say the finish will improve for whoever wins the latest edition of their border rivalry. Arkansas was primarily associated with the Birmingham and Liberty bowls, while Missouri was associated with the Las Vegas and Gator bowls.

KEY MATCHUP

Missouri QB Brady Cook against the Arkansas defense. Cook will be playing the final home game of his career, and the St. Louis native would like nothing more than to come away with a win. He was banged up most of the season but is starting to get healthy and had a good performance against Mississippi State, where he threw for 268 yards and a touchdown without an interception.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Arkansas: QB Taylen Green has totaled more than 3,000 yards of offense this season, and his dual-threat ability was on full display in last week’s win over Louisiana Tech to qualify for the Hogs Bowl. He threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns while running for 61 yards and two more scores.

Missouri: WR Luther Burden III will also likely play his final home game — and perhaps his final game with the Tigers if he withdraws from their bowl game. The junior wide receiver is expected to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft if he declares early. Burden has also struggled with injuries this season, but has caught 60 passes for 655 yards and nine scores.

FACTS & FIGURES

Missouri has won seven of the last eight games in the series, including a 48-14 victory in Fayetteville last season. The Razorbacks have never won in Columbia in six tries, although they defeated Missouri 7-6 in St. Louis on September 23, 1944. … Arkansas is bowl bound for the fourth time in five seasons under Sam Pittman. … WR Andrew Armstrong had 1,012 receiving yards, just the fifth 1,000-yard season in Razorbacks history. He caught a pass in 38 consecutive games. … Green has scored multiple touchdowns three times this season, the most by an Arkansas quarterback since at least 1978. … Missouri will play in a bowl game of eligibility for the seventh straight year. It won at least eight games in consecutive seasons for the sixth time in program history and the first time since the 2013-14 season. … Cook won 24 games as a Missouri quarterback, tied for second in school history with Phil Bradley and Brad Smith. … Cook has 8,558 passing yards and needs 241 to pass Smith and finish at No. 3 on the school’s career list.

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