FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. 一 If anyone still doesn't think Missouri-Arkansas is a rivalry, then Friday's matchup probably put that theory to rest when a fight broke out in the second quarter that was preceded by a skirmish on Arkansas' sideline the play before.

However, none of that was enough to deter No. 9 Missouri from putting out arguably its best performance of the season with a dominating 48-14 win over Arkansas on Friday at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

"We were here to play football and they were here to fight," Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said in his postgame presser. "I'll have to watch the tape. I'm disappointed that we had somebody ejected from the football game because that's not what this team is. But we ran to the fight tonight. We showed up ready to win."

It seemed to begin midway through the second quarter with the Tigers up 10-0, inside Arkansas' 20-yard line. It was third and 12, Missouri quarterback Brady Cook the snap from shotgun and rolled to the right sideline, which happened to be Arkansas' and threw a pass away towards the back right pylon when defensive tackle Taurean Carter was called for a roughing the passer call.

Cook lay on the ground amidst a sea of red Arkansas jerseys until offensive linemen Cam'Ron Johnson and Armand Membou and a host of Tigers players made a beeline for the sideline to help their fallen quarterback.

On the next play, Cody Schrader took the first and eight carry five yards when a real fight occurred after the play.

Johnson seemed to put a little extra into his block of Amaury Williams. Then the pair got their feet tangled up which gave defensive tackle John Morgan III enough time to run over and shove Johnson to the ground.

This was then followed up by Membou retaliating with a takedown and some punches at Morgan before defensive lineman Eric Gregory got behind Membou and threw a punch at him before eventually removing his helmet, as a host of Arkansas players surrounded him.

For their actions, Membou, Gregory and Williams were all ejected.

However, since the ejection took place in the first half, Membou won't have to miss any time in the team's upcoming bowl game.

Drinkwitz's comments weren't too surprising with him being a head coach and all, but even the typically humble and reserved star running back Cody Schrader was energized to see Membou stand up for his teammates.

"We're a brotherhood. You know, fights happen. You want to keep that out of this game. You want to keep the game pure but those things happen. I couldn't be more proud of Armand for sticking up for his guys, sticking up for his team," Schrader said proudly. "He got ejected but he was sticking up for the brotherhood and that's what a family is all about."

That moment had the Razorback fans in an uproar. However, that was as loud as they got the entire game.

On the next play from scrimmage, quarterback Brady Cook punched it in for a one-yard touchdown and Harrison Mevis' PAT made it a 17-0 Mizzou lead.

Had you tuned into the game after that point, you'd think it was a Missouri home game.

"We wanted to restore the roar of Missouri football," Drinkwitz said. "To be able to hear that on the road at Kentucky, on the road at Arkansas. Hopefully, it continues to swell the pride of our state, and people continue to get behind us. Why stop now?"

The Tigers came out as big winners on Friday night because they not only retained the Battle Line Trophy, but they reached the 10-win plateau for the first time since 2014 and clinched a New Year's Six bowl berth.

"It's what we're meant to do, and I think this team is meant to play on big stages. I think we proved that all year and nothing's going to change no matter what bowl game we go to," Missouri running back Cody Schrader said after he rushed for 217 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. "It's not only great for us but great for the university, great for the city of Columbia because it gets them fired up. When's the last time they got to look forward to Mizzou playing past December into a New Year's Six bowl and stuff like that? So, I'm just really excited for our fans, and I know they're going to travel well."

If you follow college football and you don't know about Schrader and his story, apparently you've been living under a rock.

The former Division II star has been making national headlines after he recorded over 300 yards from scrimmage versus Tennessee a couple of weeks back, but Drinkwitz is done with the feel-good story. He thinks the conversation needs to transition to Schrader's Heisman chances.

"Let's start talking about putting him up for the Heisman or the best player in the country," Drinkwitz said in his postgame interview with CBS. "He just rushed for 200 yards tonight he's been doing it consistently in the SEC. We're a top-10 team. He's the best back in the country. Quit making it about a feel-good story, he's a hell of a player."

From the get-go, Schrader was dominant. After he didn't get a touch on the first drive, which resulted in a punt, he saw the ball five times for 47 yards and a touchdown on Mizzou's next drive.

It was the foundation for what would be a heavy workload for Schrader, who finished the game with 27 carries for 217 yards and a touchdown.

He had 22 carries for 192 yards and a touchdown in the first half, which marked the third straight game Schrader had 100 yards or more before halftime, and the fifth straight game he finished the game with 110 or more yards.

But as usual, Schrader downplayed his accomplishments in his postgame presser deciding to reflect on the team accomplishments of the night.

"Yeah, I don't worry about that," Schrader said gracefully. "We got 10 wins. That was our goal, and now we're just looking forward to playing in the bowl game and I just am excited to enjoy this with the team through the next couple of weeks because we worked for this for a very, very long time. So, I'm just proud of the guys. I don't care about individual accolades."

The senior back entered the game as the conference's leading rusher, and now ends the regular season with 247 carries for 1,489 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Schrader's emergence is one of the reasons why Drinkwitz shaded Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh for calling the Wolverines America's Team recently, with Drinkwitz saying that the real America's team resides in Columbia because of people like Schrader.

"Earlier in the week, I heard a coach talk about being America's team, and I don't know about all that conversation (they've) got so many different good things going for them. Some good. Some maybe they stole illegally," Drinkwitz said. "We're America's Team. We're a team built on underdogs. We're a team built on young men with something to prove. We've got a Division II transfer running back who is leading the SEC in rushing. We've got a bunch of fighters.

"Our quarterback has been fighting his whole life to earn an opportunity to play the way he does. ... I mean, we're the story that people should be really proud to be behind. And I'm just proud to coach this football team, and it ain't about me. It's really about building brotherhood. Those guys coming together. Those coaches in there coaching their butt off for each other. And that's what America is all about. People coming together."

Between the fights and the Heisman campaign, you'd forget who the real stars of Friday's show were. That was defensive coordinator Blake Baker and his defense, that absolutely smothered Arkansas.

It was easily the Tigers' best defensive performance of the season from a statistical standpoint and may have been the best defensive game in Baker's two-year stint leading the defense.

Missouri forced six fumbles and recovered five of them. The last time Mizzou had four or more takeaways in a game, it was in a 52-31 loss against Mississippi State on Dec. 19, 2020.

Arkansas mustered up 87 total yards through three-quarters and it took them until the final minute of the third quarter to cross midfield.

The Tigers were leading 41-0 heading into the fourth quarter, so the Razorbacks were able to put some makeup on a pig 一 which would quite literally be them 一, and get 14 points and 147 total yards in the final period in what became a battle of reserve players.

"What a performance tonight by the defense. I thought they played unbelievable. Coach Baker continues to be one of the best in the country," Drinkwitz said. "Forcing turnovers and limiting them to the really a lot of trash yards at the end of the fourth quarter."

Arkansas' drive chart goes as follows:

1. Punt.

2. Fumble.

3. Punt.

4. Punt.

5. Punt.

6. Punt.

7. Half.

8. Fumble

9. Punt

10. Fumble

11. Touchdown.

12. Touchdown.

13. Fumble.

One of the Tigers' forced fumbles happened on a kickoff return early in the third quarter, so it's not listed.

Also, one of those fumbles was scooped up and returned 10 yards by defensive tackle Jay Jernigan.

In the takeaway department, it has truly been a tale of two halves for Missouri this season. In the first six games, they only managed to get four takeaways. However, in their last six games, they've compiled 14, with Friday marking their third straight game forcing multiple takeaways and second straight game with a defensive touchdown.

"I think defensively, we knew we needed to get to the quarterback. We knew we needed to stop quarterback runs, and Coach Baker did it very effectively," Drinkwitz said.

Arkansas star quarterback KJ Jefferson only played six minutes and one second. He fumbled the ball and landed awkwardly after a 22-yard scramble and didn't return due to a leg injury.

That didn't change the Tigers' game plan. So, it was Jacolby Criswell, who was on the end of the Tigers' endless pressure.

"We just didn't quite know what Jacolby was going to do. Jacolby is a great player. I was actually his first offer when I was at N.C. State," Drinkwitz said. "Great kid, great young man, (who has) a bright future at quarterback. It's just a tough night tonight (for Criswell)."

Leading this dominating performance weren't team captains and starting linebackers Ty'Ron Hopper (ankle) and Chad Bailey (core), who were both out again. But Chuck Hicks and Triston Newson, who started together for the second week in a row.

Last week wasn't great for the duo, but they were able to do a complete 180° in Week 13.

"I think it was just kind of being able to get to the quarterback," Hicks said. "I know that we just wanted to be better than last week, and that's what we did."

Newson had a team-high 15 tackles, two tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries while Hicks had six tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

"You really can't say enough about his (Newson's) performance," Drinkwitz said. "He didn't have his best game last week and he didn't pout, coaches didn't panic. We just coached harder and he got in there and believed in his teammates and coaches and his teammates and coaches believed in him."

To go along with the five takeaways, the defense tallied four sacks and 12 tackles for loss while holding the Razorbacks to 234 total yards.

Eight different players had at least 0.5 tackles for loss, 14 had multiple tackles, four had forced fumbles and four had sacks.

It was a major bounceback for a unit that seemed to be caught off guard last week versus Florida with the Gators speed and presnap motion causing plenty of confusion.

Now, the Tigers will sit back and await the announcement of what New Year's Six bowl game they'll play in, and likely get Hopper back by the time that game rolls around.

PowerMizzou.com is a proud game day partner of Yuengling Traditional Lager the taste of game-time @yuenlingbeer #LagerUp.

Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription

Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair

Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage

Follow our entire staff on Twitter