Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Handing out letter grades for football
I spent time last week on a college campus, which prompted me to assign letter grades to the four largest football programs in our state.
The season is not complete, so there’s opportunity to improve like I did with a math class in college when I went from a D-plus at midterm to a C-minus for a final grade.
So proud.
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
Arkansas’ losing streak reached six consecutive after a resounding “F” performance in last week’s 7-3 defeat to Mississippi State.
The loss was three-fold. Not only did the Razorbacks lose before an announced crowd of 71,505 on homecoming, they lost to a mediocre team with a backup quarterback and lost heading into an open week, which sucked out any momentum they may have gained.
“Ugly, ugly, ugly” as our headline accurately described the debacle in the Sunday paper.
Dan Enos has been tossed overboard on this sinking vessel and former receivers coach Kenny Guiton will try to breathe some life into the Porkers as Enos’ replacement at offensive coordinator. Speed is a terrible thing to waste and Guiton’s first move should be to get Isaiah Sategna more involved in the passing game instead of just trotting him out as a return man on special teams.
Arkansas can rearrange the coaching deck anyway it wants. But the players have to perform better, including K.J. Jefferson, who missed a sure touchdown when he threw at the feet of an open receiver at the goal line against Mississippi State.
Hang on for a 10-7 win and conversations about the Razorbacks heading to Florida are a whole lot different.
Letter grade: D
ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES
I was flattered to be invited as a guest speaker within the School of Communications and Journalism at Arkansas State, where I graduated nearly four decades ago.
As part of my trip, I was able to tour the athletic facilities and visit briefly with ASU Athletic Director Jeff Purinton, who was hired last year from the University of Alabama. Arkansas State has the facilities as a Division I program for football and basketball and the Red Wolves have found stability as a member of the Sun Belt Conference.
But Arkansas State has to win many more games than the current pace to earn the respect it received while making nine consecutive bowl appearances under four different head coaches from 2011 to 2019.
I’ve never considered myself important enough to call for a coach to be fired — and I certainly won’t start now. But it will be interesting to see who the head coaches are when Arkansas and Arkansas State meet for the first time in football in 2025. Can’t say for certain right now who they will be.
Letter grade: D
CENTRAL ARKANSAS BEARS
If you enjoy high school football in Arkansas then you’ve got to love the UCA Bears, who were 5-2 with four consecutive wins heading into Saturday’s home game with Tarleton State.
UCA has 51 Arkansans on its roster, including receivers Malachi Henry of Van Buren, Manny Smith of Conway and Jarrod Barnes, a former Razorback who played high school football at Cabot. The Bears are led by Nathan Brown, a former standout quarterback at Russellville and UCA who is in his sixth season as the Bears’ head coach.
UCA’s two losses are to North Dakota State and Oklahoma State, a game where the Bears only trailed 13-7 late in the third quarter before falling 27-13 to the Cowboys.
Letter grade: B+
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF GOLDEN LIONS
I worked for three years in Pine Bluff and enjoyed my association with the folks at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, especially when Lee Hardman was head coach of the Lions. Hardman, who turned Pine Bluff Dollarway into a small-school powerhouse, had a 9-win season and two 8-win seasons in 11 years at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. There were some down years, too, but nowhere near as in the past several years.
There’s been six head coaches at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, including one interim coach, since Hardman resigned in 2003 with a career record of 64-57 at the school. UAPB went 10-2 under former NFL linebacker Monte Coleman as coach in 2012. But the downward spiral soon returned and the Lions are 1-6 with a one-point victory over Miles College (who?) this season under first-year head coach Alonzo Hampton.
Letter grade: F