FEATURE: Arkansas shouldn’t accept mediocrity on the gridiron

I grew up in a time where Arkansas Football was in a transitional stage of being competitive each season. Head coach Houston Nutt gave fans optimism and hope, while establishing the Razorbacks as players in the SEC.

The conference was nowhere near as competitive in the 1990s and early 2000s as it is today, but it got a lot stronger by the end of Nutt’s tenure. He was still able to win an outright SEC West Division title with a 7-1 record in 2006, and his Hogs were a muffed punt away from likely winning their first SEC Championship.

That stretch of football between 2006-2011 was the ultimate experience as a Razorback fan since we had joined the conference. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that being the expectation at Arkansas today.

Larger than life players

When thinking back to those days of Razorback Football, plenty of players come to mind.

Clint Stoerner, Anthony Lucas, Tony Bua, Matt Jones, Darren McFadden, Jeb Huckeba, Shawn Andrews, Jason Peters, Ahmad “Batman” Carroll, Jamaal Anderson, Chris Houston…the list goes on and on.

As a kid, these guys were the heroes and legends in that generation of Razorbacks. They helped establish my Arkansas fandom through middle and high school.

Once I made it to college, Ryan Mallett, the “Warren Three” (Greg Childs, Jarius Wright, Chris Gragg) and Joe Adams’ time on the Hill took everything to another level. Arkansas wasn’t just contending for SEC championships, but they were in the hunt for national championships now too. The Razorbacks were on the map, but it was soon over and done as quickly as it had started.

When looking at the numbers from 1998-2011, it backs up the claim that Arkansas is a better program than what they’ve shown the past decade.

Arkansas in the SEC from 1998-2011

1998: 9-3 (6-2)
1999: 8-4 (4-4)
2000: 6-6 (3-5)
2001: 7-5 (4-4)
2002: 9-5 (5-3)
2003: 9-4 (4-4)
2004: 5-6 (3-5)
2005: 4-7 (2-6)
2006: 10-3 (7-1)
2007: 8-5 (4-4)
2008: 5-7 (2-6)
2009: 8-5 (3-5)
2010: 10-3 (6-2)
2011: 11-2 (6-2)

OVERALL: 109-65 (60-53 SEC)

Seven 9+ win seasons, only three losing seasons, three 10+ win seasons, one BCS bowl appearance and four bowl wins.

Opposing fans often ask why Hog fans expect so much from their football program in the SEC, and this shows why. Arkansas fans want to see their team be competitive and win at a higher level again because they know it can be done.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having higher expectations. So, when folks tell you to settle for mediocrity (5-to-7 wins per season) – laugh in their face.

Arkansas Football since 2012

2012: 4-8 (2-6)
2013: 3-7 (0-8)
2014: 7-6 (2-6) Texas Bowl W
2015: 8-5 (5-3) Liberty Bowl W
2016: 7-6 (3-5) Belk Bowl L
2017: 4-8 (1-7)
2018: 2-10 (0-8)
2019: 2-10 (0-8)
2020: 3-7 Texas Bowl (TCU forfeit)
2021: 9-4 (4-4) Outback Bowl W
2022: 7-6 (3-5) Liberty Bowl W
2023: ???

Throughout the final years of my college career, the good times had ended quickly. Thanks, in part, to Jeff Long overthinking his job and making very questionable decisions.

Now, his firing of Bobby Petrino is justified, but things like making John L. Smith the interim head coach caused things to spiral out of control very quickly. That kickstarted the last decade-plus we’ve had of embarrassments and struggles.

That shouldn’t be the standard or expectation at Arkansas. The athletic department and coaching staff (which we know they don’t) should never settle for this. Hog fans shouldn’t either.

There’s no reason why Arkansas should accept 6-6 as the program’s ceiling year-to-year. Sure, there will be an occasional rebuilding season with the hope of great things to come later. A .500 record should always be the floor – never the ceiling.

Many fans – including me – grew sick of the “we’re close” phrase from Bret Bielema after losses at the beginning of his tenure. Close loss after close loss showed that promise was there, but eventually it got to be, “when would they get it done?”

The moment we had all thought they “got it done” they would end up losing to Toledo and Texas Tech in back-to-back weeks. Seemingly taking a few giant steps back as a program.

Since 2012, Arkansas fans have endured quite a few what-ifs across all the major sports. The football program’s what-ifs take the cake – easily – and the 2015 season is one of those.

Under Bielema, that 2015 season was supposed to be the breakout year. It was supposed to be the moment Arkansas got back to where they were in 2010-2011. If anyone else were head coach of the Razorbacks, they probably would’ve won 10-11 games. But they didn’t and Bielema would be gone less than two seasons later.

Premium on winning

Fast forward to now. Sam Pittman is leading Razorback Football down the right path. I’m under the impression that they’ll remain at this level and higher from now. Thanks to the commitment from Hunter Yurachek and the current coaching staff, Arkansas Football looks to be in great hands.

Winning at the rate they did from 1998-2011 shouldn’t be an exception. It should be the expectation. That 14 year sample size was no fluke. The actual flukes are the hires that “the suits” thought would be good fits for Arkansas – like Chad Morris. Morris was a decent recruiter who could never win over his team and, as a result, could never win an SEC game.

Is Sam Pittman the man for the job? So far, he’s 19-17 overall with more wins in his first three seasons than the two previous coaches. The Head Hog has recruited his tail off, and knew he would need to after returning to Fayetteville from Athens.

If you talk to anyone around the athletic department right now, there is a culture based in doing things the right way and winning. Once again, Razorback Football is on the brink of being something special.

Pittman is not on the hot seat and he shouldn’t be unless he loses grasp of his program. The Oklahoma native is genuine, builds strong, intentional relationships and has the goal of making the state proud of their flagship university.

He came along at the perfect time for Arkansas and came to the perfect place to be a successful head coach. The Arkansas Razorbacks aren’t back, but they’re certainly well on their way.