Beat writer Q&A: With recent Battle Line push, is Missouri football Arkansas' biggest rival?

It's been five straight years that Missouri has been victorious in the Battle Line Rivalry against Arkansas.

While the Razorbacks have plenty of longer-standing opponents, geography and the numerous connections between the schools have escalated the annual Southeastern Conference matchup against the Tigers.

"I love the fact that Missouri is close to us," Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said in July at SEC Media Days. "(Missouri head coach) Eli (Drinkwitz) and I are good friends, but at the same time, we're very competitive as well.

"I'm glad we look, at Arkansas, at Missouri as our No. 1 rival."

But how does that translate to the Razorbacks' fan base?

That and many more topics were discussed with Christina Long, the USA Today Network's Arkansas athletics beat reporter, on this week's edition of the Mizzou Sports Podcast.

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Long also discussed why Fayetteville is the ideal location for both teams to play each other, instead of Little Rock, and how Fayetteville High School graduates Barrett Banister and Akial Byers ended up at Missouri instead of their hometown university.

The following conversation has been slightly edited for length and clarity:

Tribune's Eric Blum: How are things going in Fayetteville?

Christina Long: "The Mizzou-Arkansas game is always kind of a fun crossover episode, especially with having some guys I went to high school with on both teams. I graduated from Fayetteville High School. I lived here for most of my life and then graduated from Mizzou, actually just back in May, with a degree in magazine writing."

EB: What has Sam Pittman brought to Arkansas in terms of raising the level of the program?

CL: "I think the biggest thing about Sam Pittman is that, when Ed Orgeron started at LSU, everybody was talking about what a great fit he was. LSU guy, he's from here, such a great fit culture-wise. He just is LSU as a person. Sam Pittman isn't from here and didn't go to Arkansas, but he is just such a great fit. He was an assistant here during the 2010s. He's still pretty new. There are still some of those rose-colored glasses from fans. This is the best year they've had since probably 2015 or earlier. The last time they beat Mizzou was 2015. Everybody is feeling really good about Pittman and the culture that he's building. He feels like a really good culture fit. And just very much an Arkansas guy."

EB: There are a ton of crossover connections in this game. From the Arkansas side of things, do you think that helps or hurts the Razorbacks?

CL: "I think that in years past, it was former Missouri linebacker Eric Beisel, he was really trying to stoke the flames of the rivalry. This is when Mizzou was a three-win team. But Mizzou beat Arkansas. And that was how the rivalry was early on. And then honestly, over the last few years, it's really kind of built itself up just in terms of the people that have been involved. Barry Odom moving over. Eli Drinkwitz having coached at Springdale High School, which is 20 minutes from Fayetteville. And then of course, with Akial Byers and Barrett Bannister being from here — in addition to (former Missouri quarterback) Taylor Powell, now the quarterback at Troy — those were all big guys that were really good at Fayetteville High School. They were all my year. We were all classmates. And it was kind of a big thing when they didn't get offers from Arkansas and when Barrett didn't walk on at Arkansas and all that. Then Arkansas also has a running back, Dominique Johnson, who I believe is from Texas, who was initially committed to Missouri, and there was some kind of tweet from his mom about Drinkwitz being deceitful. That was a whole drama. And now Johnson is here at Arkansas. There's all this personnel crossover that has really made the rivalry something interesting without people like Eric Beisel having to crack jokes in the media."

EB: In your opinion, is Missouri really Arkansas' No. 1 rival?

CL: "I don't know. It was so strong with LSU for so long. But honestly, I think Texas A&M has really grown into something just because of that being a trophy game, being played at AT&T Stadium, wanting to kind of own Texas and all of that. I think that's become a really big one. And so I don't know, I wouldn't say Missouri is their No. 1, I really wouldn't. I think they really want to beat Missouri. Pittman said on Sunday that he feels like it's sort of a bigger rivalry for Arkansas. They have a little bit more skin in the game just because it's been so long since they beat Missouri and they've lost some really close ones and lost in the years that they should have won. So I wouldn't say it's their No. 1 from a culture and a fan perspective. But I think as far as games they really want to win, they are tired of Missouri being on their back, for sure."

EB: Missouri hasn't played in Fayetteville since 2017, with the most recent matchup in Arkansas taking place in Little Rock. What's the difference when this game is at Razorback Stadium?

CL: "This is the age-old question in this fan base. And I could go on about this forever. I believe Pittman has said maybe in the offseason, or years past, that Little Rock is a detriment to recruiting because it counts as a home game. But it's an extra road game. The stadium, they've done some renovations on it, but it's pretty old. The thing about Razorback Stadium is it's massive. It holds close to 70,000 people. I don't know what War Memorial holds, but it's not near that. And (fans have) been filling (Razorback Stadium) all year. So especially in a year like this, when they are going to be getting 65,000 to 70,000 fans at their games here in Fayetteville, it's a huge difference. It's way louder, it's just such a better atmosphere. War Memorial, people show up because there's a huge alumni base in Little Rock, it's the capital, the medical school's there. Little Rock is not a small place, it's just the stadium. ... Little Rock doesn't really compare that well. So I think especially on a short week, having this game in Fayetteville is going to be really good for Arkansas and especially for its fans. ... If you want a rivalry, you've got to have the game in Fayetteville."

EB: How do you see the game finishing?

CL: "This is such a weird game because there have been so many years when Arkansas should win this game and they don't. And I think they should win this game. The spread feels like too much to me. I don't think it'll go to overtime. I don't think it'll need to be hitting a game-winning field goal. I think maybe Arkansas will win by 10. I don't think it's going to be a 14-point game. I think that there's something about Missouri that kind of gets to Arkansas every year. But I do ultimately think that with Missouri being what they are, and Arkansas having the tools that they have right now, Missouri is surging currently and Arkansas was until they lost to Alabama. I really think that Arkansas is more motivated than they've ever been in recent years. And I do think Arkansas will get its eighth win. But I do think 14 feels like too big a difference."

Contact Eric Blum at eblum@columbiatribune.com. Follow @ByEricBlum on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou, Arkansas meet as Battle Line Rivalry continues to heat up