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12.5.2020 BEST OF THE WEB solid route runner and has great hands. The Hogs failed to cover him on one entire drive last season and best not repeat that mistake. The former walk-on has 43 catches over the last two seasons. He is the grandson of Harold Horton, a legendary former UA player and coach. He made six catches against Arkansas last year. Utsey (6-4, 295 pounds) is listed as a co-starter. He's been in the lineup six times this season. Byers (6-4, 305) has started three of the last four games. Both are seniors and solid. THE RUNNING BACKS This is a position the Tigers hold the edge, as much because of attrition as ability. Rountree is one of the best backs in the SEC. At 5-10, 210 pounds, he is a physical runner. He breaks tackles and has a feel for setting up blockers. Badie is speedier, but can pack a punch, too. Few teams in the SEC have a better one-two punch than the Tigers. Arkansas has little depth at running back after team captain Rakeem Boyd opted out — the popular word for quitting — after retuning from his Houston home Sunday. He missed the LSU game because of contact tracing. He's been bothered by injuries in a lackluster season. Smith will get the bulk of the carries, but there may be a reason to expect more chances for TJ Hammonds after he turned in two big plays to set up a field goal against LSU. Hammonds caught a pass for 51 yards and added a 29-yard run. Until then, most of the times his number has been called this season resulted in bad plays. "I told (Hammonds) to hang in there and be ready," Smith said. "His confidence should be high now." The task for the Arkansas backs will be to beat Nick Bolton, Mizzou's terrific weakside linebacker. Bolton has 76 tackles, 53 unassisted. He's quick and plays downhill. He beats his blocker and is waiting in the hole on most running plays. Smith has the speed to give Bolton trouble, but it's not as good of a match-up as the Hogs have gotten against a few other linebackers in their counters and RPO game. PROTECTION While trench play has already been mentioned, what happens in regards to pass protection is critical. Arkansas would like to rely on Franks more in the passing game, if the protection holds up. There has been a concerted effort to improve the running game over the last month, but that backfired two weeks ago when LSU stuffed Smith's attempts between the tackles. That left a lot of third-down situations. It may be that the Hogs have to pass more on early downs, to help protection. Conversely, the Tigers have a healthier offensive line. They had the preferred five starters together for the first time since opening week in last week's blowout victory over Vanderbilt. Can the Hogs get some pressure against Bazelak? The Hogs probably enter the game with the thought that stopping the run (and Rountree) is the first priority, but they have left their pass defense vulnerable of late because there has been little pressure, and the pass interceptions the Hogs lived on early have been tougher to produce. HELP IS ON THE WAY The Hogs will have to hold on for two quarters while safety Catalon serves a suspension for the controversial targeting penalty in the fourth quarter of the LSU game. Catalon is second on the team with 86 tackles, including a team-best 45 solo stops. He also has three interceptions. As much as the Hogs will miss Catalon's physical play and tackling ability, it's his ability to make adjustments and correct alignment mistakes that will be tough to replicate. Pittman said there are older players on the field with leadership capability, but it's Catalon that is the unquestioned leader of the defense. Pittman said there is an "aura" to Catalon's play and no one argues. His play rivals the recent great Arkansas safeties, Kenoy Kennedy and Ken Hamlin. Neither played as well as Catalon has as a redshirt freshman. Catalon was already at a season-best 16 tackles when he was ejected in the LSU game. No SEC freshman has totaled more tackles in a season since at least 2000. The Hogs will likely rotate Myles Mason and Myles Slusher in Catalon's absence. A big part of their challenge will be to get Rountree on the ground — and to hold on until Catalon's return in the second half. THIRD DOWN It was the focus of the "keys" before the LSU game. Never before has one lead key turned out to be such a big part of a defeat. The Hogs went 0 for 10 on third down against a defense that had struggled all season. The Hogs have slipped to 32.7% on third downs after that woeful performance, 13th in the SEC and No. 114 in the nation. Mizzou's defense — basically the same scheme from last year — allows only 33.7%. It won't be easy. The Hogs have to sustain their offense better to take some pressure off of a defense that has been on the field too much. Opponents are averaging 10 minutes more in time of possession. It's been much more lopsided of late. The answer? It's never as simple as one thing. And, to point back to the first two items in this list is over simplification, too. But it's a good place to start and end. Keys n Continued from Page 2 A selection of comments from Razorback fans posted to the message boards at WholeHogSports.com: LOOKING FORWARD TO SATURDAY'S GAME WITH MISSOURI. coloradohog: First off, I think we really need it. We have already done more than we had all thought with three wins. Still, this one can mean a lot to momentum going into the off-season as well as helping with a possible bowl. I don't know what to think. Missouri looked very good Saturday. Is Vandy really that bad? …The one I don't know about is Arkansas. I guess the first question is, who will play? Coach Odom has done more with this defense than any one could have wished … I suspect a close game, but who knows? youdaman: Missouri defense is very good … We may can run straight at them but they will give our offensive tackles fits on the passing downs (why I would pass on 1st down a lot!) because they are very fast off the edge. Their running back will be very hard to slow down … jimbeau77: They have a freshman quarterback, and like most we have faced if you dot get pressure on him he can be accurate. Mizzou's defense has held last three opponents to about 10 points or less. Depends on who we have back and how much practice time they got in. Mr_Smith: Mizzou is not that good to blow us out, It'll be close either way. They looked better the last two weeks, but who wouldn't against Vandy and South Carolina? The game is winnable … jjhog18: We have to be able to get off the field on third down! The past couple of weeks, we get teams in third down situations and we can't get them off the field. Hopefully we have a better plan for the freshman QB this time and show him some different looks and especially before the snap. ClayHenry: Third down is critical, but doing well on first down against the run will be the key. SWHog: Really hope I'm wrong, but I'm not feeling it for this game. Missouri has a lot of momentum, and we seem to have plateaued, with injuries and covid understandably contributing to our current state. Hopefully we can get several guys back on the defensive line, and have some renewed energy. ClayHenry: The line of scrimmage determines the outcome. You get off blocks to get to the QB. I have seen some ask for more pressure. When they have brought pressure, it does not get there. I point to the Texas A&M game. There was more pressure calls in that game than in most and they got picked up by proper checks from the QB to hold a blocker, or get the pass off to where the blitz came from almost every time. The LSU game was unique in that there were no linemen available to rush the passer. …I have seen Barry Odom teams pressure. He knows how to do it. It's not as simple as just calling a blitz or running this or that scheme. Players have to have the quickness, strength and ability to do it. FANS REACT TO RAKEEM BOYD OPTING OUT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON. suigeneris: Good luck to him. I appreciate his past contributions even though I don't appreciate his leaving us in a lurch for running backs the rest of the way. Baumbastic_Hawg: I suspect it will hurt his chances with the NFL. He has not had a productive season. RichardDavenport: This will not impress NFL teams. Maybe he can make up for some of it by showing well at the Senior Bowl. He was a mid-round guy at the start of the season. He had a sub par season and then quitting with two games left will scare off teams. nlrbuzzard: It's a business decision that probably got made when his position coach told him that Smith was still likely to get at least half the carries the rest of the year. The chances of him being on the field enough to improve his draft stock the rest of the year were not good. He probably figures he's better off trying to get completely healthy, working out and getting ready for the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine (if he gets an invitation) and Pro Day. … His absence will be felt more because we don't have anybody else besides Smith who has shown they can handle 10 carries a game. lilhawg: This is all business with him and the NFL. Good luck to him. I don't like it, but it's his life, and if anyone thinks the NFL cares when someone leaves a team they are wrong. They will evaluate him in the usual way and that won't be part of the decision-making. DudleyDawson: Just as I said with Jerry Jacobs, it seems to me the best way to prove yourself to the NFL brass is to compete against SEC teams. But there is a bunch of people in these guys' ears and it suddenly has become a "thing" to opt out. I remain old school. You finish what you start SCORE PREDICTIONS FOR SATURDAY'S GAME AT MISSOURI. jhawg: These teams are pretty even, I think. I will go with Missouri at home and because they have owned us the past several years. I don't like them and hate those butt ugly black and yellow uniforms. Arkansas 31, Missouri 35. neastarkie: I'm afraid to predict, but if we're full strength, or nearly so, I like our chances. I'll say we win, 35-28. Shouldn't be much of a home field advantage for MU. We badly need to win this game so the year will be well above all expectations. generalhog: 49-14, Arkansas. dfarris: 37-20, Arkansas wins! LDhog: Hogs. 38,Tigers 14. Odom is ready. Franks is on target. coloradohog: Boy, I don't know. I think their offensive and defensive lines are a little better and playing well. We really need this one, but until I see us stop their run game to get off the field and see us block somebody to open up the run game a little, I will have to go with Missouri. Arkansas 24 (can we make a FG?), Missouri 35. suigeneris: Arkansas surprises at the line of scrimmage and the crafty vet Franks makes fewer mistakes than the rising star Connor Bazelak, leading to Arkansas 31, Mizzou 27. lilhawg: If we have all our starters back we have a chance, but I just don't feel good about this one. We lose a heartbreaker, 31-28. jimbeau77: This new attitude Arkansas team doesn't like losing and know they let a couple games get away from them they should have won in spite of the refs. Coach Sam Pittman has said recently we are getting back to full health and numbers. Arkansas 30, Mizzou 21. hogbacker: 38 – 31, Hogs win. We have proven we can hang with about anyone when we're healthy. We need our defense to score for us plus we are due to get a win over Mizzou and now is as good of a time as any. This year's team has been fun to watch for a change. We had some chances for more wins but the warm breath coming through a refs whistle has set us back when the opponent could not. Proud of this team and coaching staff for a great job this season! golfinhog: I see this as a low scoring game as neither offense has been able to score a lot of points …. I will go with Arkansas 24, Missouri 17. I rarely make a prediction on the games because they usually make me look foolish. Based on that, the score will likely be something more like 45-41 in who-knows favor! white25: Arkansas 25, Mizzou 24. The Hogs squeak by another surprising SEC team. irunalot: I'm rummaging around in my mind figuring out how we get to 25. georgiahawg: Ark 31, Mizz 13.Time to put it all together with a solid win. Defensive line comes to life with everyone rested and ready to play. Coach Odom has a little extra incentive in this one. stillgreghog: When Missouri joined the SEC I thought we would beat them most of the time. They had never impressed me much in football. Boy was I wrong. Missouri 38, Hogs 24. Hope I am wrong. youdaman: Mizzou 34-21. Run game will be hard for us to stop and their defense is playing much better than ours, Hope I'm wrong. harleyhawgidson: Oh ye of little faith. Healthy Hogs handily, 28-17. Fayetteville 2558 E. Mission Blvd. Fayetteville, AR 72703 479.439.8823 3589 N. College Ave., Ste. B Fayetteville, AR 72703 479.439.8823 Fort Smith 5420 Phoenix Ave., Ste. B Fort Smith, AR 72903 479.763.0725 Rogers Downtown 214 W. Walnut St. Rogers, AR 72756 479.877.3227 809 SW 52nd St., Ste. 102B Rogers, AR 72756 479.877.3588 Gateway Mortgage, a division of Gateway First Bank. NMLS 7233. C O N T A C T O N E O F O U R L O C A L M O R T G A G E C E N T E R S T O D A Y ! 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Promotional Voucher is good toward services, retail, and tax but cannot be used toward gratuities or monthly payments under a membership/Wellness Agreement. Promotional voucher cannot be used at the time of purchase. Voucher is for promotional purposes only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. Promotional Voucher(s) may not be replaced if lost or stolen. Original voucher must be present upon check-in. Voucher does not include gratuity. Rates and services may vary by location and session. For a specific list of services, check with specific franchised location or visit MassageEnvy. com. Additional taxes and fees may apply. Other rules may apply. Each location is independently owned and operated. TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE APPLIED TO VOUCHERS. ©2020 ME SPE Franchising, LLC. ME-DNLD-1922-V2-002-04X6 Rick McFarland/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Mark Smith is "proud" of what he's seen from his Razorbacks under Sam Pittman.

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