Missouri Tigers kickoff ‘Battle Line Rivalry’ in game notes

COLUMBIA, MO - NOVEMBER 25: Barry Odom head coach of the Missouri Tigers and his team celebrate with the Battle Line trophy after their 28-24 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks at Memorial Stadium on November 25, 2016 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, MO - NOVEMBER 25: Barry Odom head coach of the Missouri Tigers and his team celebrate with the Battle Line trophy after their 28-24 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks at Memorial Stadium on November 25, 2016 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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As the Missouri Tigers prepare to defend their five-game win streak, a suspected typo was found in Mizzou’s game notes, which caught a little attention.

Since the SEC-imposed “rivalry” started in 2014, the Missouri Tigers hold a 5-3 edge over the Razorbacks. While many shrug-off the rivalry as untrue, it still maintains some momentum, as the programs are in neighboring states.

Last year, Tigers’ linebacker Eric Beisel made remarks which drew the ire of many a Hogs fan, but the Tigers backed Beisel in the second half, as the team rallied from a deficit and unseated the Razorbacks.

During the 2017 SEC Media Day, Beisel was again on record, referring to the Razorbacks as “soft kittens,” and emphasized “Kansas” in Arkansas. So, it would stand to reason that some would question whether this recent blunder was truly a mistake or an attempt to fan the fire.

Missouri Tigers Football
Missouri Tigers Football /

Missouri Tigers Football

Earlier on Wednesday, Andrew Hutchinson of Hawgs247, spotted the mistake, and questioned the Tigers’ intent.

I have to say, that I’ve heard the embattled coach referred to by both varieties of first name – Bret and Bert or Burt, depending on how you’d spell it, but when I thought it was Bret, I then heard some variation of Burt, and remained confused.

Perhaps some use the incorrect spelling and pronunciation of Bielema’s first name to throw a little jab at the Razorbacks’ program, but it was later clarified by Shawn Davis of mutigers.com, also via Twitter, that it was a “complete and honest typo.”

Next: Tigers with plenty of bowl options

Regardless of what you call Bielema, rivalries are fun. Whether Arkansas will grow into a true rivalry for Missouri remains to be seen; right now, the Tigers lead the series and have a win-streak to maintain, even though they’ve achieved their goal of bowling. We’ll have our game preview later this week.