It’s official.
Arkansas, for the second year in a row, will take a backwards step in football.
Mathematically, they could equal last year’s 7-6 record, but that’s a step backwards in a coach’s fifth year at a school.
LSU sealed that fate Saturday in Baton Rouge. On a day when the Tigers were ripe to be upset at home, the Razorbacks simply didn’t have the players — or the plan — to do it.
Almost everything that can define this team was on full display in a 33-10 loss that really never felt that close.
There was a fifth-year senior quarterback Austin Allen, who has the heart and desire but not the arm strength he had previously, trying to rally a team from a season that has gone down the tubes.
Then there was the redshirt freshman quarterback Cole Kelley, who was brought into the game after the wagon had sailed off the road, and he didn’t fare any better.
If it hadn’t been for graduate transfer David Williams’ 81 yards rushing and Will Gragg’s 47 yards receiving, the Hogs’ offense could have stayed on the team plane and nobody would have noticed much.
Yes, it was that bad.
The only reason it looked anything as close as it did was, well, LSU was suffering one of those hangovers from the Alabama game like you get staying out until 6 a.m.
The Hogs got what they were hoping for from LSU, but simply couldn’t do anything about it.
Still think beating Ole Miss and Coastal Carolina by a single point were signs of progress?
Bret Bielema likes to talk about how close this team has been all season, which was simply coachspeak used to try and save his job.
It’s a good bet it hasn’t.
And only a precious few want him back.
Saturday showed every problem this team has. The only aspect that has been a problem at times that didn’t show up was in the kicking game.
The worst thing there was a kickoff that sailed out of bounds, but it’s not like there was a ton of kicking off for the Hogs in this game.
The Hogs wanted to try and be physical with LSU. That’s what we’ve heard from Bielema for five years now. We know his whole spiel about imposing will and all.
That is a sound theory when you are equal or close to the same talent level as your opponent. In the past, it’s worked against the Tigers because under Les Miles when they lost to Alabama they collapsed.
Ed Orgeron cut practices short this week by 15-30 minutes a day. Miles would have done Oklahoma Drill practices as long as possible.
That was the difference in the second half that was tied at 7-7.
And few Arkansas fans were expecting much at that point. Oh, some had a glimmer of hope, but nobody was really expecting anything.
They’ve seen this act play out before.
In the second half, Derrius Guice (21 carries, 147 yards, three touchdowns) got rolling and Danny Etling looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback, completing 11-of-16 for 237 yards and two touchdowns with a 223.9 quarterback rating.
As we said, it’s the same song, different verse.
When the axe falls on Bielema is anybody’s guess.
The question is if the powers that be want two straight weeks of an empty Razorback Stadium for games against Mississippi State and Missouri or maybe get some sort of enthusiasm that a new direction is coming.
If you have any doubts a change is coming, consider these numbers:
• Bielema’s overall record is 29-32, which means it is mathematically impossible for him to do anything better than .500, but the Hogs would have to win out and win a bowl game for that to happen.
• Bielema’s SEC record is 11-27, which already worse in his five seasons than Danny Ford’s was in five years (16-24-1).
• There are rumors swirling of issues in the locker room and on the coaching staff. From the outside looking in, there’s absolutely nothing to dispute that.
• In the SEC West, Bielema is 8-21 now. The only school he holds the edge on is Ole Miss and there are zero wins over Alabama and Texas A&M.
There is absolutely zero benefit to Bielema staying for another year. In fact it’s getting hard to see any benefit of him staying for another game.
The end isn’t here yet.
But you can see if from where we are.
