Hogs face Bama during long SEC slump
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Arkansas is a rare 31-point underdog for today’s 6 p.m. game at No. 1 Alabama.
That’s understandable.
The Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4 Southeastern Conference) have lost their last four games overall and their last 12 in a row against the Crimson Tide (7-0, 4-0) by an average score of 41-16.
Second-year Arkansas coach Chad Morris is making his first visit to 101,812-seat Bryant-Denny Stadium. “We’ve got a great opportunity this week and a great challenge ahead of us as we build this program,” Morris said on Wednesday.
It is homecoming for the Crimson Tide, the defending SEC champion, who have won five national championships in the last 10 years and finished as runners-up twice.
“It’s obviously a big game for us,” 13th year Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “It’s an SEC game; it’s a home game; it’s homecoming.
“We have a lot of respect for Arkansas. They’ve got some really good players. They’ve moved the ball effectively against everybody and playing better on defense this year.”
Saban has not lost to an Arkansas team in 14 games, since the original Miracle on Markham on Nov. 29, 2002, when coach Houston Nutt was in the fifth year of his 10-year tenure at Arkansas.
The Razorbacks have had five head coaches since Saban took the Crimson Tide’s reins and began a reign that might be on reflection some day deemed the greatest dynasty in college football history.
Arkansas is playing a No. 1-ranked Alabama team for the fourth consecutive year and the seventh time in the last 10 years.
If the Razorbacks lose tonight, they will have dropped their 15th consecutive SEC game, the 11th longest such streak in SEC history and two shy of Arkansas’ worst run, a 17-game skid from 2012-14 shared during the tenures of interim coach John L. Smith and Bret Bielema.
Bielema lost his first 13 SEC games at Arkansas, and Morris can equal that tonight.
There was great joy in Fayetteville when that streak was snapped with a 17-0 victory over No. 17 LSU on Nov. 15, 2014. Fans had reason to hope when the Razorbacks followed that with a 30-0 stomping of No. 8 Ole Miss the following week.
The apex of the Bielema years was an 8-5 mark in 2015 that featured dagger home losses to Toledo and Mississippi State.
It’s been a downward spiral for the Razorbacks since then, and it begs the question: Can the Razorbacks return to prominence?
Morris believes it can and will happen.
“Absolutely it can be done,” Morris said. “It can be done, or I promise you I wouldn’t be here. I can promise you that. This is, as I’ve shared when I got the job here, this is a sleeping giant.”
Morris also said the fix will not happen overnight.
Senior linebacker De’Jon Harris played on a 7-6 team as a freshman in 2016 but no winning teams since. He thinks the program will see brighter days.
“Trusting the process,” he said. “I mean, obviously, we’ve got a lot of young guys who are playing. They’re building experience on the run. Like I said, in the past I’ve been in their shoes, and I know how it feels. You’re not going to turn it around overnight. It takes some time, it’s a process.”
Junior center Ty Clary, who grew up in Fayetteville, has seen strong Razorback teams in his lifetime.
“I believe in this team through and through,” he said. “I love it here. Born and raised a Fayetteville kid, I have belief in this team all the way.”
Junior linebacker Grant Morgan does as well.
“It’s got to start with us,” he said. “It’s got to start with the players. It’s got to start with people believing. It’s got to start with just the little things.
“Like he says and everyone thinks it’s so redundant, but like you’ve got to be able to want to win, you’ve got to be able to want to be here, you’ve got to be able to want to be an Arkansas Razorback.”
The ingredients required for a turnaround include relentless recruiting, adding depth at key positions, instilling the belief the Razorbacks can beat SEC opponents on a week-to-week basis, and giving them the schemes and confidence to do it.
Quality quarterback play is also a must to run the Morris Spread offense, and that has been an up-and-down proposition in his 19-game tenure, with five different quarterbacks making starts.
Morris and his staff brought in a bumper crop of recruits last season, and many of them have been big contributors this year.
Receivers Treylon Burks and Trey Knox, offensive lineman Ricky Stromberg, defensive end Mataio Soli and nickel back Greg Brooks Jr. have combined for 30 starts.
That group and their fellow underclassmen must serve as the bedrock for any kind of Razorback revival.
Stromberg, who has made six consecutive starts at the guard spots, said the coaches have asked the players to keep grinding and good results will eventually follow.
“That’s been the message,” Stromberg said in an appearance on On the Air With Chad Morris this week. “Just keep working, keep our head down and keep pushing.”
Knox and Burks, who have combined for 11 starts, rank second and fourth, respectively, in receptions and have a combined 42 receptions for 640 yards and two touchdowns. Brooks has 14 tackles and two pass breakups as one of 13 players to start all seven games. Soli has compiled 13 tackles and two hurries while making six starts.
Former Razorback Darren McFadden, speaking at halftime of last week’s loss to Auburn at Reynolds Razorback Stadium after he was honored for his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, said he enjoys talking to Morris.
“Coach Morris is a special guy,” McFadden said. “He’s one of those guys that definitely I think can get this program turned around. Just needs a little time. Looking forward to the future.”
Nutt and current coaches around the SEC say they believe Morris and the Razorbacks can recover and start Arkansas on a course toward contention.
“Chad took over a tough deal from that standpoint, and he’s building it and he knows how to do it,” said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, the Fort Smith native and former Razorback player and offensive coordinator. “It’s just a matter of time.”
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, who had an 0-8 SEC debut in 2013 and three consecutive losing seasons before posting a 7-6 record in 2016, commiserated with Morris’ situation on this week’s SEC teleconference.
“I can relate,” said Stoops, whose Wildcats stopped a potential go-ahead Arkansas drive in the red zone to protect a 24-20 win over the Razorbacks two weeks ago. “I’ve been there. I’ve been where Chad’s at, and it gets difficult when you step into certain jobs and people say they understand that it’s going to take some time.
“But when you’re in the midst of that in this league, and really everywhere, it gets difficult. That starts compounding, and it’s a difficult situation to overcome.”
Stoops gave Morris some uplifting remarks during their post-game handshake in Lexington, Ky.
“I did want to encourage him because he’s a great guy and a great coach,” Stoops said. “I’m sure he’ll be successful if he’s given the opportunity. … He’s in a tough spot, and people I don’t think really understand how difficult it is in this league.
“It’s difficult to get over the hump and get going in this league. That’s part of what we were talking about.”
Nutt, speaking at the Little Rock Touchdown Club Monday, said the coaching staff must leave no stone
unturned in seeking, signing and developing in-state talent, then plucking gems from Texas and the region. That has been the philosophy of Morris and his staff.
“It’s the toughest conference in America,” Nutt said, refining his remarks to mean the SEC West. “These are down times. To me though, there’s always hope, and it starts within the state. They need you. You know, they need you. You’re what makes it happens, the fans.
“To me, it can be done. But now’s the time where it’s gonna be hard because you’re gonna have some de-commitments. But that’s OK. We want the ones that want to come. So the coaches have to work harder. … It’s that attitude of recruiting and keeping everything together when it’s difficult.”
Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said after a demoralizing home loss to UNLV two weeks ago, he had to make sure social media and outside factors did not take over the narrative in his locker room. The Commodores rebounded with a 21-14 win over No. 22 Missouri.
Morris said he’s done similarly with the Razorbacks during their four-game losing streak.
“We’ve talked about this for the last several weeks with our football team,” he said. “It’s just about us locking arms, blocking out the noise and staying focused on our task and just getting better every day. Yeah, we have. We’ve been talking about this for quite some time. You got to stay within your inner circle and just keep your head down and keep working.”
Entering the season Morris, reminded of his comment of “walking backward to Fayetteville” to coach the Razorbacks, said he’s focused on returning Arkansas football to prominence.
“I’ve talked about building a program,” he said. “I’m committed to doing that. I think our culture is established, and it will continue to be defined every day. Without a doubt, I would walk backwards again to Fayetteville because this is going to be a special place.”