COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A rivalry was born.
The Battle of Black Friday -- OK, apparently the world is stuck with Battle Line Rivalry without being asked -- was more heavily contested than a $100 60-inch flat-screen TV at Best Buy on Friday.
Missouri started the rivalry by not shaking hands during the coin toss.
Neither team looked great, but a sellout crowd watched as the Arkansas Razorbacks took a 14-3 lead and seemed in control until the second half, when a history that had seemed to be forgotten raised its ugly head. Lost opportunities, penalties and the disappointment of losing to Texas A&M and Alabama had seemed like distant memories after beating LSU and Ole Miss.
However, it was fans of the Missouri Tigers who swarmed the field when the game ended as most of Razorbacks Nation was left with "wait until next year."
Missouri seized the momentum with a drive that started in the third quarter and ended in the fourth, leaving the Tigers headed to Atlanta for their second consecutive appearance in the SEC Championship Game.
That 98-yard drive saw the Tigers complete passes for 82 total yards, including the 4-yard touchdown, as well as a razzle-dazzle two-point conversation that started with a direct snap to a tailback, then a pitch to a receiver and finally a pass to make it 14-14 with 12:41 to play.
Arkansas' answer was one first down and a punt, and then the Tigers just ran the ball down the Hogs' throats in an 85-yard, 12-play drive that took 6:04 and gave them the lead for the first time, 21-14, and the victory.
Momentum had already swung, even though the Razorbacks had one final shot and showed more sense of urgency than they had at any time in the second half.
After a decent first half, they had played the second half without converting a third down, although they did pick up a four-down conversion on a pass to Hunter Henry on their final drive. Throughout the second half, it appeared quarterback Brandon Allen was having trouble planting on his right leg with the injury to his side, and his passes sailed long during the final two quarters.
Then, on a fourth-and-3 play with 3:11 left, a fiasco that can only happen in a rivalry game occurred. It started with two false starts by Arkansas and ended with a personal foul against Missouri that gave the Hogs first and 10 at their 49.
Allen was fighting gamely on every down, but Missouri had started using a run blitz defense in the second quarter that kept the Razorbacks from establishing their running game. That seemed to knock them out of sorts offensively in the second half.
The Hogs drove to the Tigers' 34, but Alex Collins -- who went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season (Jonathan Williams had already achieved that) -- fumbled and after a very, very long review the ball and the game went to the Tigers.
The team with more depth, more speed and more offensive balance won.
As the final two minutes ticked off the clock, the crowd chanted "SEC, SEC, SEC" and there was no doubting the pride the Tigers have when it comes to being part of the country's best football conference. All over campus, banners with "SEC" flapped in the wind.
Friday, a three-year member of the SEC won its second Eastern Division championship. Along the way, two teams fought each other hard for 60 minutes, tempers flared on the field and yellow flags flew as the teams were called for a combined 19 penalties for 165 yards -- although it was the Hogs who were hit with 12 for 93 yards, another reminder of those rough days earlier in the season.
In the end, a rivalry was born, one the Razorbacks and the Tigers were destined for when this game was moved to the day after Thanksgiving.
Just call it the Battle of Black Friday.
Sports on 11/29/2014