Gary Pinkel to Focus on Golf After Coaching at Mizzou

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema spoke with Pinkel for several minutes during pregame warm-ups.

A few hours before kickoff we heard that AD Mack Rhoades was rumored to be interviewing the current head coach of Toledo, Matt Campbell. Campbell has also been linked to the vacancy at Iowa State.

Not bad for someone who only took over the lead running role following teammate Jonathan Williams’ preseason foot injury, and who is now very possibly headed to the National Football League following his third straight 1,000-yard rushing season. Even though it was a loss, the feeling of being in the presence of one of the all-time greatest coaches in college football, and watching his career at Mizzou come to a close was worth the three and a half hours of watching a historically horrendous offense in the painfully cold weather.

The Tigers beat Arkansas in the last year’s inaugural game 21-14 in Columbia. Odom figures to be in the mix for Missouri’s job as well.

The game scares me because of the emotional meaning it could have for the Missouri coaches and players, and the possibility of a hangover from last week’s tough loss. After the 2012 season, he was promoted to associate head coach and took over the quarterback coaching duties. So good luck, coach. Pinkel announced his retirement earlier in the month. Pinkel was diagnosed with a form on non-Hodgkin lymphoma in May.

Last Saturday, I spent the night in the cold… to watch Gary Pinkel’s final home game at Missouri. “I didn’t particularly like it to end this way”.

In victory, Arkansas secured its first winning record in the SEC since 2011, its second consecutive bowl appearance, and a giant silver statue in the outline of the states of Arkansas and Missouri to complement its giant gold statue in the outline of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana. Between two and five 5-7 teams will be needed to fill out the 40 bowl pairings, which will be finalized next Sunday. Things won’t be easy against a solid Arkansas football team. Other 5-7 teams that could be available include Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota and Nebraska. Quarterback Drew Lock and the Tigers now look to win today just to earn a bowl berth and salvage their campaign. The Independence Bowl, slated for December 26 in Shreveport, La., has the final selection of SEC teams.

The 5-6 Tigers will have a tall task on their hands as they attempt to claw back to. The Tigers basketball squad lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament to SC last March. An SEC spokesman declined to comment Saturday on the possible scenarios until there’s more clarity on the situation. Lower tier bowl games generally don’t generate revenue for an athletics department once travel and lodging expenses are covered.

Why You Need To Care No one has played in more fun games this year than Arkansas.