A 1-2 start to the football season is not what Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long had in mind, but he isn't giving up hope as the Razorbacks open SEC play Saturday night against Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
"We're not certainly where I thought we would be," Long said after speaking to the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock. "I thought I would be coming here to Little Rock to speak on being 3-0, but we're not.
"Success is not a straight line. There are steps and those hurdles, and side tracks and back steps, and then you go forward. The team has not given up. They've got a never-yield attitude. They're going to approach every game one game at a time. That's what you do. The only way you get better is to keep working and keep coaching."
Arkansas has lost two consecutive games, both at home, to Toledo and Texas Tech. The Razorbacks, who were ranked 18th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll earlier this season, lost 16-12 to Toledo on Sept. 11 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock and fell 35-24 this past Saturday to Texas Tech at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Long referenced last year's Razorbacks team that won two of its final three regular-season games -- against LSU and Mississippi -- to become bowl eligible and believes there's time to rebound.
"The team could have turned," Long said. "It could have shrunk from that responsibility, that challenge. But it didn't. That was the coaching staff that kept them together and kept them working towards the goal.
"I don't have any doubt that we'll continue to work and work and we'll break through again."
When asked about Coach Bret Bielema's comments Monday about Texas Tech Coach Kliff Kingsbury, Long said he had not heard them, but defended Bielema.
"Bret speaks from his heart. That's one thing media folks and our fanbase enjoy," Long said. "He has opinions. He shares those opinions. He's truthful. He's honest and he is who he is.
"Bret, to my knowledge, hasn't done anything embarrassing to me or the university."
Long said he strongly supports Bielema, who is 11-17 in his third season, including a victory in the Texas Bowl last season against Texas.
"I think we're ahead of schedule," Long said. "We still have nine games of the season to go and we're going to keep working hard to win those nine games."
One of the main issues surrounding the future of the Razorbacks program is whether they will continue to play at War Memorial Stadium, where they've played at least one game since the 1948 season. The university's contract with the stadium will end after the 2018 season.
Long said he and War Memorial Stadium commission chairman Kevin Crass have not had recent discussions regarding the university's contract with the 67-year-old stadium.
"I just know we're going to be playing through 2018 and we'll have to see what happens beyond there," Long said. "A lot is going to happen between now and 2018."
Attendance at War Memorial Stadium is a concern for Long. The Toledo game did not sell out, drawing 49,591, 4,529 short of stadium's capacity of 54,120.
"We need that home-field advantage," Long said. "We need every seat filled in that stadium. That's what gives us a chance to win, that home-field advantage. People want to focus on revenue. Yeah, it's important. It is when you're running a business like we are.
"What concerns me more is people not being in the seats to cheer on their team."
The Razorbacks' slow start has caused some fans to express displeasure, but Long said he appreciates the passion of the fans.
"I'd be concerned if they weren't talking about those things because it means they didn't care," Long said.
Sports on 09/22/2015