FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In cigar smoke-filled space next to the visiting team locker room, prove became proven.
The transition from present tense to past participle had technically occurred a few minutes earlier when a red-and-white stadium looked much more black and gold as the clock hit triple zeroes and showed that a Battle Line blowout had gone in No. 10 Missouri’s favor — to the tune of a 48-14 road win at Arkansas to close out the regular season.
“It’s the capstone to the year,” said Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz, who just moments earlier was passing out cigars to his players as they came off the field.