Arkansas State @ Missouri preview
Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium
High-powered Missouri looks to remain in overdrive when it hosts Arkansas State on Saturday in the Tigers' last tuneup before the SEC season. Missouri is coming off a 45-28 victory over Indiana, the Tigers' third straight game scoring 38 points or more. The Red Wolves are hoping to bounce back from an ugly 31-7 loss to Memphis last week, the team's third straight contest of allowing at least 31 points.
Missouri's offense has been an air show behind senior quarterback James Franklin, who set a career high with 343 yards passing against the Hoosiers. Franklin ranks second in the SEC in total offense with 351.7 yards per game and the Tigers are eighth nationally in scoring offense with an average of 47 points. Those numbers could be even higher after facing Arkansas State, which allows 252 passing yards per game.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSS, ESPN3. LINE: Missouri -20.5
ABOUT ARKANSAS STATE (2-2): After a season-opening 62-11 victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Red Wolves have given up more than 1,500 yards of total offense in going 1-2 the last three weeks. First-year coach Bryan Harsin is still trying to figure out the best way to get his team prepared each week. “Sometimes you think your players are flat, they come out on fire,” Harsin told the Arkansas State University Herald. “Sometimes you think they're on fire, then they come out flat. It all comes down to how you start the game.”
ABOUT MISSOURI (3-0): Despite an undefeated record and an offense that ranks seventh in the country with 567 yards per game, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel knows not to be satisfied. Not with the SEC portion of the schedule just around the corner. “The good news is we're getting better,” Pinkel told the Columbia Daily Tribune. “The best news is we're not even close to as good as we can be. I really believe that.”
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Tigers have nine interceptions through three games this season after recording seven in all of 2012.
2. Missouri had two players reach 100 yards receiving in a game for the first time in their career last week: Marcus Lucas (10 catches, 101 yards) and Dorial Green-Beckham (eight, 105).
3. The Tigers are 2-0 against Arkansas State, winning in 2004 and 2005 by a combined score of 96-37.
PREDICTION: Missouri 49, Arkansas State 20