Most football teams sign up for same thing

Unless you are Alabama or Ohio State — and LSU, Georgia and Florida in most years — football programs sign up for hope in December.

Hope that no one gets hurt.

Hope that everyone makes the grades.

Hope they all can make the transition from high school to big-time college football.

There’s also hope two or three will show the heart and character of Grant Morgan, who walked on, paid every due demanded of him and became the certified leader of the University of Arkansas.

This year, there is hope Morgan will use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to have one more year of fun playing football before he goes to medical school to become an orthopaedic surgeon.

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The plan, if it was a plan, didn’t work.

When the SEC put together its 10-game conference-only schedule, the whole nation was shocked the East Division add-ons for Arkansas — which was riding a 19-game conference losing streak — were Florida and Georgia.

It looked like a case of the rich and sometimes famous in the SEC receiving preferential treatment.

It appeared the SEC wanted either Georgia or Florida to have as few of losses as possible when they played Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, which is Saturday.

That would have given the SEC a real shot at getting two teams in the College Football Playoff.

While the Gators and Bulldogs did beat Arkansas, they both lost twice. Georgia fell to Florida and Alabama — fairly handily, too — while the Gators lost to Texas A&M and LSU.

If you think about it, isn’t A&M in just about the same position as Clemson, which lost to Notre Dame?

Granted, the Tigers can avenge that loss in the ACC Championship Game, which would leave the Irish and the Tigers with one loss, same as the Aggies.

If Clemson wins the championship game and the committee takes the Tigers and Notre Dame over Texas A&M, the system is flawed.

It probably is flawed anyway.

If yours truly was voting, the final four would be — provided they win their conference championship game — Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame/Clemson and Coastal Carolina, the pride of the Sun Belt at 11-0.

The College Football Playoff lacks the one thing the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has that fans love: Cinderella.

On Dec. 9, 2019, the day Sam Pittman was hired as the Razorbacks’ head coach, maybe four people were truly confident he would make a difference and stop an SEC losing streak that stretched across three seasons.

Pittman was the first believer, followed by Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek, associate athletic director Jon Fagg and Steve Cox, a former Razorback and NFL player who was part of the search committee.

Not sure any of them believed the Razorbacks would win three games, but they did. It all started the first day Pittman met with his team and told his players to forget the past and focus on the future.

They did both, and now there is a chance the Razorbacks will get a bowl bid this weekend.

If Alabama is in the playoff and A&M gets the Sugar Bowl bid it deserves, the SEC will have nine more bowl tie-ins for the remaining 12 teams.

LSU has self- imposed a bowl ban, reducing that number to 11. South Carolina and Vanderbilt have about as much of a chance of playing in a bowl game as UALR, which doesn’t have a football program. That leaves nine teams for nine games.

Arkansas most likely would end up in the Birmingham Bowl or Gasparilla Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The destination doesn’t matter. A bowl bid is progress, which is what Pittman preaches daily.