Vanderbilt home loss takes Hogs’ season to a new low

My wife, Sheena, awoke early Sunday morning perplexed.

“How can our Razorbacks be this bad?” she asked. “I just can’t believe they are that horrible. I don’t understand.”

Those weren’t the sweet nothings I expected when she rolled over. As a lifelong resident of this state, I shouldn’t have been too surprised that this was on her mind. I know the shock along with frustration are common among the Hogs faithful.

After 17 years of marriage, she should have been ready for what came out of my mouth. It was a breakdown of the failures of the Bret Bielema experiment including an analysis of failed recruiting classes as well as the disappointing losses and blown second-half leads.

A few minutes into it, Sheena rolled back over. I guess that was just a rhetorical question.

But her reaction after the Vanderbilt home loss last Saturday was a reminder about epically bad this season has been and how rare that is.

It’s true the Hogs have won four or less games three times since 2012. The worst season I had seen in my time in Arkansas occurred in 2012 when John L. Smith subbed in for the fired Bobby Petrino

That team had big expectations, but an early season loss to Louisiana-Monroe in Little Rock proved to be the harbinger of the bad things to come.

Bielema’s first team finished 3-9 with a nice start in the non-conference slate, but then went winless in the SEC, which it looks likely the 2018 team will do (more on that in a moment).

Bielema’s final team finished 4-8. So, losing records aren’t completely foreign on The Hill.

However, you have to go back to 1952 to find a Hogs team that finished with two wins. The Hogs only have three three-win seasons since then — 1953, 1992 (Who can forget the Citadel loss?) and the aforementioned Bielema debut in 2013.

As a whole, Arkansas fans have too high of expectations. Its historical lot in the SEC is middle of the pack at best and that reality escapes some of the Razorback faithful.

However, Arkansas isn’t a perennial basement dweller, either.

Sheena didn’t sit through winless seasons and rush the field after beating a miserable Baylor team like I did growing up as an Iowa State fan. That kind of futility that I got used to is either depressing or angering depending on the disposition when it’s rare.

All Arkansas fans can agree. it’s unacceptable to lose to two non-conference opponents and perennial SEC doormat Vanderbilt in the same season. The Vandy game was the icing on the cake as Sheena’s reaction indicated.

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This isn’t one of those resurgent Commodore teams. This team was winless in the SEC and won’t have a winning record. Derek Mason’s squad waltzed into Fayetteville and dominated them at times.

The alarming part for Hogs fans was the talent differential was obvious. Vandy had more speed and athleticism and it showed, especially in the second half. That’s a tough pill to swallow and finally triggered an emotional eruption from first-year coach Chad Morris, who has been unbelievably positive.

“We know that our goals of getting to a bowl game are not attainable,” Morris told the media following the loss. “As I shared with our players, our culture is not going to change. I’m not changing, our coaching staff is not going to change. We’re going to show up every day and coach hard. We’re going to find out who’s on board.”

I don’t know if many fans expected a bowl win, but most would not have predicted losses to Colorado State, North Texas or Vanderbilt. The common sentiment was four wins may be the low mark with six being very optimistic.

Now, with an open week Saturday that leaves a home game with No. 4 LSU and road tilts with Mississippi State and Missouri remaining. Arkansas won’t be favored in any of the three and will be heavy underdogs against the mighty Tigers.

Arkansas is staring one of its worst football seasons squarely in the face, and it isn’t a good feeling for anyone involved.

The encouraging news is as bad as Arkansas has been on the field, the coaching staff has dominated the recruiting game with the Hogs on track to sign a Top 10 recruiting class.

That may not lead to big gains next year, but in 2020 it could lead for Sheena to roll over and say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe how good the Hogs are. This has been a great season.”