In 2011, the Arkansas Razorbacks football program was soaring to heights that it hadn’t reached since their days in the now defunct Southwest Conference. The Razorbacks were 11-2 that season and their only two losses were against the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers who would meet for the national title. But things would change that spring for the Hogs when Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino was fired by the university amid a scandal. When John L. Smith replaced Petrino in 2012, he was handed a team that began the season ranked No. 10 by the Associated Press. But things would fall apart very quickly as the Razorbacks finished the season with a record 4-8. Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long began searching nationwide to find a man that would keep the Razorbacks relevant in the brutal Southeastern Conference. Long’s search would take him to Big Ten Conference country where he would find Bret Bielema.
Bielema was finishing up his sixth year as the head football coach of the Wisconsin Badgers where he compiled a record of 68-24 while leading the school to three consecutive Rose Bowl Game appearances. Bielema is a Midwestern guy at heart from Illinois and the hire of him to go to the SEC was bit shocking.
Bielema would get off to a fast start as the Razorbacks won their first three games. But things would unravel rather quickly as the Hogs lost their final nine games of the season including all eight of their conference games to finish last in the SEC West. Only two of Arkansas’ conference losses were by single digits and Bielema knew that he would need to improve.
This season started on the wrong foot for Arkansas as they lost to the Auburn Tigers 45-21. Arkansas would win their next three games before entering the meat of their conference schedule. On September 27, the Razorbacks would fall in overtime to the Texas A&M Aggies 35-28. On October 11, the Hogs would lose to ‘Bama 14-13 and on November 1, they would lose on the road to the top-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs 17-10. Overall Arkansas had lost 17 consecutive conference games and Bielema was looking to reverse the tide for his squad. After being so close to getting over the hump, Arkansas was finally able to break through on November 15 when they welcomed LSU to Fayetteville and the rudely sent them back to Baton Rouge after dominating them 17-0. The shutout of LSU was the first conference victory for the Razorbacks since they defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 49-7 on October 13, 2012. After the victory over LSU, the fans at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium in Fayetteville erupted as if the Hogs had finally won the SEC, but Bielema and his team weren’t ready to be complacent. Last Saturday, Arkansas would welcome the Ole Miss Rebels to town who were ranked in the top ten. But from the opening kickoff Arkansas played like a ranked team as they destroyed Ole Miss 30-0. The Razorbacks have now won consecutive conference games for the first time since 2012 and in the process they became bowl-eligible for the first time since 2011.
When Petrino was running the show at Arkansas he had a team that was pass happy. Bielema is an old-school coach that loves smash mouth football which means running the ball right down an opponent’s throat. It is a process for Bielema to transition his team at Arkansas into his own image, but like Paul Bunyan, the Razorbacks have been chopping away. A&M, Alabama, and Mississippi State found out first hand the Arkansas had improved while LSU and Ole Miss had to deal with an onry bunch of Hogs who figured out how to win in the SEC.
So far this season Arkansas has the 26th best rushing attack in the nation as they are averaging 226.18 yards on the ground as they’re led by junior running back Jonathan Williams and sophomore running back Alex Collins who are reminding people in Fayetteville of the days in the mid-to-late 2000’s when running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones teamed with fullback Peyton Hillis to give the Razorbacks the “Wild Hogs” backfield. Defensively the Razorbacks are 24th in the nation in total defense as they are led by senior linebacker Martrell Spaight and their last four opponents have been held under 20 points.
Bielema’s team was finally able to breakthrough with victories in-conference and regardless of the outcome in Friday’s game against the Missouri Tigers, Arkansas will be headed to a bowl game and with it they will have 15 extra practices for this season. Bielema is building a team in his own image at Arkansas that can contend in the brutal SEC West; just like he had a contender in the Big Ten with Wisconsin. And just like Bielema’s time at Wisconsin, you better pack a lunch if you’re going to play Arkansas.
Sources: Sports-reference.com, Cfbstats.com
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