Like It Is

Hogs took roundabout path to predictable finish

Arkansas' defense collectively takes down Missouri's Russell Hansbrough (32) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Samantha Baker)
Arkansas' defense collectively takes down Missouri's Russell Hansbrough (32) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Samantha Baker)

Four months ago hope and hype were running neck and neck with the pedal to the metal.

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The Arkansas Razorbacks were ranked No. 18 in most national polls. Sports Illustrated had them No. 2, and ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit was even considering predicting the Hogs in his College Football Playoffs.

The long wait to get to football season helped fuel the expectations, and not just in Arkansas. The Hogs were receiving positive press from all over the country, especially in the South, where football is Saturday's religion.

The Razorbacks finished the season in great form. In November they were 3-1 and a blocked field goal away from being undefeated in the final month of the regular season. Progress was obvious. A winning record in SEC play is always something to hang a hat on.

The body of work turned out about what should have been expected, not the possible national championship predictions declared by some in the national media.

Arkansas opened with a 48-13 victory over UTEP, and there was joy just before the shock.

Toledo rolled in to Little Rock and the Razorbacks put a whipping on them -- everywhere but on the scoreboard. Arkansas had 30 first downs, 515 yards of offense (surprisingly 412 were through the air) but was only 1 of 5 in the red zone and and was defeated 16-12.

Toledo turned out to be a solid football team, but SEC champions don't lose to Mid-American Conference teams. While the wheels never came off, the Hogs would lose to highly motivated Texas Tech and would fall again to a Texas A&M team they should have beaten.

The Red Raiders were playing for their coach, Kliff Kingsbury, who became offended when Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema talked up his style of football several months earlier at a coaching clinic in Texas.

The Aggies trailed 21-14 with less than three minutes to play but put together an 85-yard drive in five plays to tie and send it to overtime, where they scored and the Razorbacks didn't.

At 1-3 the Hogs headed to Tennessee, and that's when the season began to change. The Arkansas defense came together and held the Vols to 32 fourth-quarter yards and no points.

Even after the road victory quarterback Brandon Allen was becoming a favorite target of fans calling into talk shows and frequenting message boards, although in the end he would silence critics with road victories over Ole Miss and LSU.

The Hogs lost to Alabama in Tuscaloosa, took a much needed week off and then won four consecutive, with two of them coming in overtime. The Razorbacks were bowl eligible with two games remaining.

They let one get away against a Mississippi State team that had no reason to be as good as it is after losing 15 starters, but the Bulldogs were, and they broke the hearts of Hogs fans with a 51-50 victory.

Now all the focus is on the bowl and the extra 15 practices that should get some underclassmen some serious work. Bielema and the Razorbacks need that if they are going to continue to improve.

Arkansas loses a lot on offense after this bowl game. Not just seniors either. There are at least three starting juniors who could go in the draft next spring.

Today was open season on recruiting, and Bielema and his staff took off to all parts of the country and will work their way home. Some committed players may open their recruiting after the next round of head coach firings, but mostly the coaches know their needs.

For now, it has been a good season and one that could never have matched the preseason hype.

Then Friday, on senior day in the rain and cold, the Hogs put their ground game together, scored 28 points toting the note 52 times, and finished the season 7-5 and 5-3.

Bowl bids go out next Sunday.

Sports on 11/29/2015

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