← The College Football Belt
Reign #261 · Game 1,388 of 1,634
January 1, 2008 Postseason Neutral site Belt changed hands

Missouri takes the belt, 38–7, at a neutral site over Arkansas.

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Arkansas 7
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Missouri 38
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Recap

Missouri dominated Arkansas from start to finish in this Cotton Bowl matchup to claim the College Football Belt. Tony Temple was the star of the show, rushing for three touchdowns including a 22-yard score in the first quarter that got Missouri rolling early. Arkansas struggled to move the ball consistently, missing two field goal attempts in the first half, while Missouri's defense forced multiple turnovers including a Pick-Six by William Moore in the third quarter that essentially put the game out of reach at 31-7. Though Darren McFadden scored late for Arkansas in the third quarter, Missouri's suffocating defensive performance and Temple's powerful rushing attack proved too much to overcome in the 38-7 victory.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 ArkansasMissouri
Total yards361459
Rushing yards164323
Passing yards223149
First downs1923
3rd down conv.4/186/13
Turnovers53
Penalties–yards6–506–53
Time of possession22:1214:28

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 9:26Arkansas+35 ydAlex Tejada 35 yard field goal MISSED.
Q1 3:04Missouri+22 ydChase Daniel pass complete to William Franklin for 22 yards to the Ark 34 for a 1ST down out-of-bounds.
Q1 2:29Missouri+22 ydTony Temple rush for 22 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 2:19Missouri+46 ydJeff Wolfert kickoff for 57 yards returned by Felix Jones for 46 yards to the Misso 41.
Q1 2:29Missouri+0 ydJeff Wolfert extra point GOOD.
Q1 0:46Missouri+22 ydTony Temple rush for 22 yards to the Ark 34 for a 1ST down.
Q2 9:28Missouri+41 ydTony Temple rush for 41 yards to the Misso 49 out-of-bounds for a 1ST down.
Q2 4:34Missouri+4 ydTony Temple rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 6:02Missouri+22 ydTony Temple rush for 22 yards to the Misso 42 for a 1ST down.
Q2 4:38Missouri+38 ydTony Temple rush for 38 yards to the Ark 4 out-of-bounds for a 1ST down.
Q2 4:34Missouri+0 ydJeff Wolfert extra point GOOD.
Q2 4:25Missouri+33 ydJeff Wolfert kickoff for 45 yards returned by Darren McFadden for 33 yards to the Misso 42.
Q2 3:27Arkansas+37 ydAlex Tejada 37 yard field goal MISSED.
Q2 4:18Arkansas+23 ydFelix Jones rush for 23 yards to the Misso 19 out-of-bounds for a 1ST down.
Q3 13:38Missouri+4 ydTony Temple rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 13:38Missouri+0 ydJeff Wolfert extra point GOOD.
Q3 10:57Arkansas+40 ydCasey Dick pass complete to Felix Jones for 40 yards, fumbled at the Misso 38, recovered by Lorenzo Williams at the Misso 38.
Q3 7:37Arkansas+26 ydCasey Dick pass intercepted by William Moore at the Ark 26, returned for 26 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 7:37Missouri+0 ydJeff Wolfert extra point GOOD.
Q3 3:08Arkansas+3 ydDarren McFadden rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 3:08Arkansas+0 ydAlex Tejada extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:27Missouri+12 ydChase Daniel pass intercepted by Adrian Davis at the Ark 36, returned for 12 yards, fumbled at the Ark 48, forced by Chase Daniel, recovered by Colin Brown at the Ark 48, tackled by Chase Daniel.
Q4 12:05Arkansas+20 ydCasey Dick pass complete to Peyton Hillis for 20 yards, fumbled at the Misso 40, recovered by Marcus Woods at the Misso 40.
Q4 10:17Missouri+26 ydAdam Crossett kickoff for 67 yards returned by Michael Smith for 26 yards to the Ark 29.
Q4 10:25Missouri+32 ydJeff Wolfert 32 yard field goal GOOD.
Q4 8:33Missouri+40 ydTony Temple rush for 40 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 8:27Missouri+21 ydAdam Crossett kickoff for 68 yards returned by Michael Smith for 21 yards to the Ark 23.
Q4 8:33Missouri+0 ydJeff Wolfert extra point GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Casey DickArkansas19/321976.20135.3
Peyton HillisArkansas0/100.0001.8
Chase DanielMissouri12/291364.70123.6

Rushing

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Darren McFaddenArkansas211055.0119
Felix JonesArkansas10454.5023
Peyton HillisArkansas5204.0013
Michael SmithArkansas7121.705
Farod JacksonArkansas482.005
Casey DickArkansas3-26-8.700
Tony TempleMissouri2428111.7441
Jimmy JacksonMissouri5397.8010
Jeremy MaclinMissouri5265.2011
Marcus WoodsMissouri2115.506
Derrick WashingtonMissouri1-1-1.000
Chase DanielMissouri5-31-6.207

Receiving

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Felix JonesArkansas36521.7040
Peyton HillisArkansas55210.4020
Marcus MonkArkansas4287.009
Lucas MillerArkansas2199.5017
Andrew DavieArkansas3186.008
Reggie FishArkansas188.008
Farod JacksonArkansas177.007
Will FranklinMissouri57715.4022
Jeremy MaclinMissouri33210.7015
Martin RuckerMissouri3196.3011
Chase CoffmanMissouri188.008
Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

PlayerINTYDSTD
Adrian DavisArkansas1120
William MooreMissouri1261

Kicking

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Alex TejadaArkansas0/20.001/11
Jeff WolfertMissouri1/1100.0325/58

Punt Returns

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Reggie FishArkansas420.540
Jerell NortonArkansas100.000
Jeremy MaclinMissouri252.560

Punting

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Jeremy DavisArkansas519438.80052
Adam CrossettMissouri622036.70043

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.