The Arkansas Razorbacks beat the Missouri Tigers 34-17 in the 'Battle Line' rivalry game on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ar.. Out of the thirteen anual match-ups, this was only the fourth defeat for the Tigers.
Throughout its 100-plus-year history, Missouri football has had great running backs suit up in the black and gold. This year, the torch was passed to senior running back Tyler Badie, who etched his name into Tiger history. The 5-foot-8 inch 194 pound back from New Orleans isn’t the biggest running back — but that didn’t prevent him from producing one of the greatest seasons in Missouri history.
“Like I said before the beginning of the year, it’s not about all the glitz and glamour and all the titles,” Badie said. “It’s more about just doing whatever I can do for this team and helping them, just being that spark plug for this offense.”
Badie entered the Tigers’ Battle Line Rivalry game against the No. 25 Arkansas Razorbacks with 280 offensive touches for 1,728 yards and 17 touchdowns in 11 games. His 1,393 rushing yards fell just 185 yards short of Devin West’s single-season record of 1,578 yards set during the 1998 season.
From a team perspective, there wasn’t much good to take away from Missouri’s 34-17 loss to the Razorbacks. The Tigers were outscored 24-11 in the second half and only netted 65 passing yards. But Badie’s effort on the ground made history as he rewrote the record books.
“[Badie is] a special player, he’s a great competitor, he gives us everything he’s got — and for him to get that record, that’s a special thing,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “I’ll know he’ll be disappointed in the result today, but you know he gave us everything he had.”
Against former Missouri head coach and current Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom, who played on the 1998 squad, Badie not only reached the 185 needed yards, but exceeded it. On a bruising 41 carries, Badie rushed for a total of 219 yards. The output moved him to 1,612 rushing yards on the year, reaching heights no other player in Tigers history has achieved. It also was his fifth 200-plus yard game of the 2021 season, which is the most in the nation.
The amount of carries Badie ran for on the ground was just four shy of Zain Gilmore’s 45 against Texas Tech during the 1999 season.
Still, it took all four quarters for Badie to break the record, as it wasn’t achieved until the final offensive drive of the game. Needing 17 yards, the Tigers handed the ball off to Badie 9 of the drive’s 11 plays, breaking the record.
“[It’s] definitely just a blessing,” Badie said. “I thank my coaches, my teammates, they always believed in me everyday. It’s not just what I did, it’s my [offensive]-line blocking for me, the quarterback believing in me, coach Drink believing in me … and I feel like that’s the biggest part about it, just believing in each other.”
Badie capped the drive off with a five-yard touchdown run with 1:25 remaining.
“Seeing a guy that puts in that much work and be rewarded — that’s the type of success, that’s the type of things you love about the game of football,” graduate wide receiver Keke Chism said. “It takes 11 guys to help someone reach a level like that, so just seeing all our hard work contribute to his success is big, and I’m proud of him.”
It’s easy to compare Missouri’s top two all-time single-season rushers. Both Badie and West waited until their senior seasons to take over as the No. 1 back.
From 1995-1997, West shared a crowded backfield with running back Brock Olivo, as well as fullbacks Ernest Blackwell and Ron Janes. But with all three gone the following year, all the carries went to West and quarterback Corby Jones. West went on to set Missouri records and had memorable performances like a 319-yard outing against Kansas and 252 yards against Iowa State.
Badie, meanwhile, entered as a freshman in a backfield with talented running backs Damarea Crockett and Larry Rountree III. Crockett left for the NFL after the 2018 season, and two years later Rountree went to the NFL, leaving Badie to take over lead ball carrier duties.
Now the Tigers hope to end their 2021 season with a bowl victory. Badie, who coaches believe will be playing on Sundays next year, plans to play the Tigers’ bowl game.
“Definitely, I’m trying to play in it,” Badie said. “I’m just trying to figure out what coach Drink and [running back coach Curtis Luper] want me to do. But I definitely want to play in it and be there for my teammates, and at the end of the day, we just want a great bond with each other. I just want to be there with the guys.”
Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com