KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Although a week delayed, the Battle Line Rivalry between the Missouri Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks will kickoff on Saturday.
The game was scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, but COVID-19 and other eligibility issues within the Arkansas football program postponed the game.
“There’s all kinds of different story lines in this game but the reality of it is, this is a players’ game and we’re excited for our team to get to compete against their team,” said Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz.
One of those story lines: former Missouri head coach Barry Odom’s return to Columbia.
After four years with the Tigers, Odom was let go by the university, ending his tenure with a record of 25-25 and two bowl appearances. Odom is now the defensive coordinator for the Razorbacks.
“Obviously we’re going against Coach Odom and a couple of other coaches that used to be here, but again, this is a players’ game. When the kickoff starts, it’s going to be about the men on that field and the jobs they do,” Drinkwitz said.
Drinkwitz, an Arkansas native, will face the Razorbacks for the first time in his career as a head coach.
He is familiar with the history of Arkansas’ football program. Drinkwitz grew up in Alma, a small town nearly 50 minutes south of Fayetteville, and was on the coaching staff at Auburn.
“Those guys are playing as hard as anybody in the country and you can see it starts with their head coach (Sam Pittman) and oozes all the way through their coaching staff," Drinkwitz said.
Drinkwitz said it’s still a rivalry game with a trophy on the line.
“That’s what college football is about. I know we have our rivalry with that other school, whatever direction that is from here — the jay-somethings. But they’re not in the conference and I don’t know when we’re going to get to play them again so we got to have another one. So we just picked the team with the A-R in front of it,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s relatively young but I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to make it more and more appealing each year. This year doesn’t lack any story lines, that’s for sure.”
Mizzou has dominated the series, winning four straight and five of six meetings since joining the SEC.
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