Pinkel not worried about ill effects from team's long layoff

SHREVEPORT, La. -- Bowl games always follow long layoffs, so rust is no cause for worry at Missouri.

Tigers coach Gary Pinkel vows not to use the time lapse as an excuse after tonight's Independence Bowl against Arkansas, the Tigers' first action since beating Iowa State 45-7 Nov. 29 in the regular-season finale.

Plus, Arkansas is in the same boat, finishing its regular season with a 55-24 loss at LSU on Nov. 28.

"It really doesn't matter," Pinkel said. "You can sit there and say, 'Well, gosh it's been a long time, how tough this is going to be.' But that isn't going to help us win."

Ricker's run: Senior center A.J. Ricker, a model of durability, will extend his school record with his 47th consecutive start in the Independence Bowl. The previous record also was by a center, Rob Riti's 42-game run from 1996-99.

Border war: Missouri and Arkansas will be meeting for the first time since 1963, and it may be a while before the schools that share a state border play again.

Missouri is 16-7-1 against the SEC, and this will be the first meeting against a team from that conference since the Tigers beat Mississippi State 47-30 in Columbia, Mo., in 1984.

The Tigers are 5-1 against the SEC in bowl games, although the last game was a 1979 Hall of Fame win over South Carolina.

n Road woes: Missouri was a perfect 6-0 at Faurot Field, nicknamed "The Zou" by Pinkel. But the Tigers were 2-4 on the road, and that could present problems on Wednesday with Arkansas fans likely to outnumber Missouri fans, considering Shreveport is only about 30 miles south of that state's border.

"If you're going to ask me "Is this a road game or a neutral site or is this is a home game?' it's a game," Pinkel said. "I'm not going to define it for our players."