The University of Alabama Football and Crimson Tide Sports Source
April 20, 2024
July 22, 2014
Arkansas Razorbacks
Somebody in the media voted for the Razorbacks to win the conference at Media Days in Hoover. Somebody out there loves them. This is a proud team, a team on the mend, but one that is still a couple of years away from challenging for the SEC crown or a bowl game.
The woes of the Hogs are new ground for Razorback coach Bret Bielema. At Wisconsin his teams played for and won conference championships. At Arkansas his teams are fighting to stay out of the SEC cellar. Things simply have not gone well for Bielema and finishing 3-9 did not make anybody in Arkansas happy, except maybe Arkansas State fans.
At one point last season the Hogs defense gave up 111 unanswered points. To say they have issues on defense is an understatement and something not worth beating into the ground. The Hogs need help and they need it now. Bielema has stated that his charges need to be more physical and they do. They also need a good old fashion dose of confidence.
The schedule will not be the Hogs friend in that respect. They start out at Auburn. The history between these two programs is pretty well noted. Bielema views regarding hurry up no huddle offense and injures are well known. There is also a history between Gus Malzahn and Arkansas and humiliating the Hogs will most likely always be on his to do list forever.
In a prefect world the Hogs win five games this year. The more likely scenario is three wins. It’s not that they don’t have talent, they just don’t have enough. There are some good running backs on this team and a decent offensive line, but it wasn’t enough to get it done last year and it won’t be enough this year either.
This is not a make or break year for the Bielema regime, but if he has zero wins in the SEC and the team is consistently drilled by the SEC west it could be ugly for him next year. If this was a good team one could say they have a favorable schedule. Arkansas will not beat the best teams in the SEC west: Alabama, Auburn and LSU or Georgia and Missouri for that matter. Their only hope is Texas A&M, and the Mississippi schools and unless they can find some defense there isn’t much there either.
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