Arkansas needs to sustain improvements against Missouri

The past week, Arkansas basketball took the spotlight with exhibition games against Gonzaga and Memphis. The two Hog hoop games were perfectly timed during the week off for Arkansas football. Razorback fans were able to turn their attention to a sport which makes them happy and excited. Now the focus, briefly, comes back to the gridiron and the regular worries surrounding a football program in trouble.

Arkansas football fans would love to see a win over the Missouri Tigers, but let's be real: Missouri is favored by 10 points on the road this Saturday night. Arkansas defeated the worst SEC football team in 2026, the Vanderbilt Commodores. That doesn't mean the Razorbacks are likely to beat Mizzou. Could this game be close? Absolutely. It wouldn't be shocking if it turns out to be that way. Missouri has struggled on the road under head coach Eli Drinkwitz. Mizzou got roasted by Ole Miss in Oxford. It lost in Starkville against Mississippi State. Missouri is good at home but becomes a noticeably worse team away from Columbia. Arkansas certainly has a chance to win, but no one should go into this game expecting a victory for the home team.

What do we really need to see from UA in this game against Missouri? It starts with taking the improvements seen against Tennessee and Vanderbilt and making sure they still exist versus Mizzou. Improved run blocking has to be part of the picture for Arkansas. A passing game in which KJ Jackson looks the part and is able to distribute the ball to a lot of different receivers, which we saw against Vanderbilt, needs to carry over to this game.

After a week off and a lot of time to spend on the practice field, Arkansas needs to show it can limit the mistakes and undisciplined moments which have been far too prevalent this season. Ryan Silverfield has spent so much time talking about the need to cut down on basic errors. After a week off and heading into November, we simply have to see Arkansas become a lot more disciplined and maintain a much more airtight identity going into the offseason and 2027.

Maybe Missouri will win, but if the Tigers do, they need to work really hard for their win. They can't walk into Fayetteville and have a victory gift-wrapped for them. If Arkansas plays well and Missouri plays better, that's acceptable. Tip the cap to the Tigers and move on. However, if Missouri plays a mediocre game and Arkansas can't take advantage because it trips over itself with more mistakes, that would be an entirely unacceptable outcome. Let's see if Arkansas really is rounding into a better team under Ryan Silverfield, or if the Vanderbilt game was merely an indication of how bad the Commodores are. That's the central tension point going into Halloween against Missouri.