‘Start fast and finish strong’
Hogs to put motto into motion tonight after 2016 collapse.
Acouple of collapses between Black Friday and New Year’s Day painted the holidays gray for the Arkansas Razorbacks and their fans last season.
The hangover from second-half meltdowns against Missouri and Virginia Tech spurred urgency in the offseason for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, which hopes to begin expunging those nightmarish memories tonight. The Razorbacks open their season at 7 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock against Florida A&M (10), which debuted last Saturday with a 29-7 victory over Texas Southern.
The Rattlers, led by former Arkansas assistant coach Alex Wood, are not expected to give Arkansas an upset scare. Florida A&M, of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in the FCS, is outmanned by the Razorbacks of the SEC, and the Rattlers endured a 10-plus hour bus ride from Tallahassee, Fla., on Wednesday.
Rain is a possibility as the remnants of Hurricane Harvey meander through the South, and the oddsmakers have not put a betting line on the game due to the difference in classifications.
The Razorbacks are aiming for a bounce-back season after increasing their victory total in Coach Bret Bielema’s first three years. The Hogs saw the potential for a 9-4 season dissolve to 7-6 with a 28-24 loss at struggling Missouri on the day after Thanksgiving and a 35-24 Belk Bowl loss to Virginia Tech. Arkansas led 24-7 and 240, respectively, at halftime in those games before being shut out 56-0 in the second halves.
The Razorbacks have had “start fast and finish strong” drilled into their heads from
the moment they reconvened in January for winter conditioning. They have changed defensive coordinators, promoting Paul Rhoads to oversee a change to a 3-4 front, which they believe will lead to better results from last year’s porous run defense.
Most importantly, they believe they have the pieces in place to contend in the SEC West.
“I expect us to do big things this year,” said junior safety Santos Ramirez, a defensive captain.
“It goes back to Jan. 1,” senior quarterback Austin Allen said. “This year we’ve been working, and we’re not doing all that stuff to go 6-6. We’re going out to win every Saturday. That’s our goal as a team, and anything short of contending for the West is a letdown.”
ESPN.com last week featured a “happiness” ranking of every fan base in the FBS, and the data — based on a variety of factors — put Arkansas at 93rd nationally, last in the SEC and ahead of only 10 schools among the Power 5 conferences.
Defensive captain Kevin Richardson said the Razorbacks don’t pay attention to items like that and the team has “known from the start” it is time to contend.
“We want to improve on the game field,” Richardson said. “That’s going to show. We go out and compete with the best every Saturday almost. We’re going to do that.”
Bielema, with a 25-26 record at Arkansas, enters his fifth season understanding fans are frustrated and restless and ready to contend.
Bielema pointed out the angst in the Hogs’ fan base would not be so sharp had the Razorbacks closed out 2016 in good order.
“One of the things I’ve said all along is no one likes to relive the end of last season, but if you own it and you breathe it and live it every day, it’s going to create that edge to you,” Bielema said. “And if we had been a nine- or 10-win team, everybody would’ve just kept patting us on the back and saying we’re doing good.
“I know that’s caused a lot of banter. People are going to talk, right? If we had won those other two games everybody would be like, ‘Ah, they’re making their push.’ It’d be such a different outlook. But I think because of that happening, that edge that was created through that, we’ve been able to capitalize on it and be able to run with it.”
Former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, speaking Wednesday at the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club in Fayetteville, said lessons can be found in abundance after a bowl loss like the Hokies put on Arkansas in December.
“You start looking at different things and you learn from it, and be better because of it,” Beamer said. “I’m sure that’s what coach has done.”
Arkansas center Frank Ragnow shared a moment from his recruitment by Bielema in 2013-2014.
“He pulled out this yellow notepad, and he drew a line of my career,” Ragnow said. “He said, ‘I want you by your senior year to lead me to an SEC championship.’ ”
Ragnow is one of 11 Arkansas seniors with vast playing experience.
The Razorbacks have gone 10-22 in SEC play under Bielema, 10-14 since his debut team in 2013 went 0-8.
Brad Nessler, the new playby-play voice for the SEC on CBS, worked the Hogs’ loss to Missouri with Gary Danielson. He pointed out how that loss and the Razorbacks’ blown lead in the Belk Bowl have gotten in Bielema’s craw.
“I know that’s a bad taste in the whole team’s mouth, and Bret’s crazy about it,” Nessler said. “You take those away, they win nine games.
“The end of last year was a huge disappointment. I know he feels that way, and I’ve talked to him about it. They’ve got to get out of the blocks this year. You know this is about the time where he started going to Rose Bowls at Wisconsin. Does that mean he’s going to make it to Atlanta? I don’t know. But he’s got his team behind him now.”
Bielema led his last three teams at Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl from 2010-2012.
“I think you’ve got to trust that Bret has built the team the way he wants to build the team,” said Danielson, who will call next week’s TCU at Arkansas game with Nessler. “He’s had four recruiting classes now.
“I do think two early games are going to be really pivotal for this football team. The one we do, TCU, and the one they haven’t been able to win, Texas A&M. I think if they could win those two games they could be a real contender.”
The Razorbacks have had
two major obstacles in pursuit of the SEC West crown in recent years. They are 0-5 against Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC.
Then there’s the elephant in the room — Alabama. All the SEC has had its struggles against the Crimson Tide, but Arkansas hasn’t defeated the Tide since Coach Nick Saban’s arrival in 2007. The Razorbacks will take a 10-game losing streak to the preseason No. 1 Tide into their game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Oct. 14.
Bielema said bowl victories after the 2014 and 2015 seasons helped set a proper tone around the offseason. Arkansas players think a combination of factors, including a greater resolve to strain through offseason conditioning and drills, will lead to a better conclusion this fall with pressure rising from the fan base.
“There’s always pressure,” senior cornerback Henre Toliver said. “We’re in the SEC West. The teams are amazing. I’m talking about week to week, back to back. But we can be there.
“A lot of people don’t think that this defense can be that good that fast, but it can be that good that fast. We’ve been striving to be the best defense
possible, and I think we’ll be up for the challenge.”
Ragnow, one of four team captains along with Allen, Ramirez and Richardson, insisted it’s realistic to think Arkansas can top the West.
“I think it would be dumb for anyone to ever think going into the season that they can’t contend,” he said. “We’re a team that’s focused, and we’ve got a lot of talent and we’ve got leadership and the right mindset, I think, that in my three years being here I haven’t seen before.”
Bielema said the team’s demeanor speaks of focus.
“They’ve got a little more edge to them,” he said. “I think they’re very coachable. If I say something, it literally happens. There’s no hesitation. It shows the maturity of the group.
“These four captains have been absolutely phenomenal about guiding this football team.
“I like the fact that the defense has really, probably played as well in the last two to three weeks and responded very well to Coach Rhoads in their teaching. I like the comfort and the value of having that entire offensive staff back with all these kids that have played.”
The Razorbacks’ 2017 journey begins tonight.