What do you as a Razorback fan consider a successful season for this years Football Team?
Looking at the schedule and depending on how this team comes together in short order a case could be made from anything between a 6-6 or a 10-2 regular season.
Obviously, a 6-6 campaign would mean that we Lose at home to TCU, in Dallas to Texas A&M again, road loses at Alabama, LSU, at home versus Auburn and a sixth loss in one of 3 games against SC on the road or MISS ST or MIZZU at home.
Best case scenario would mean that we suffer only road defeats at Alabama and LSU.
If we were to get beaten by Ole Miss or South Carolina on the road with both considered to be down this year then the wheels have completely gone off the rails and would lead to an absolutely horrible seasons of historic proportions, I certainly hope that is not the case.
My personal thought on what I would consider a successful season would be nothing less than 8-4 regular season followed up with a bowl victory.
Looking forward to hear what fellow Hog fans consider a successful season for this years Football Team.
right there with you, i think 8-4 with a bowl win would show improvement. id even say a 7-5 season with one of those 7 being LSU or Bama would suffice. as always it seems the pivotal game should be A&M, if that game goes our way i think 8-4 is very attainable. if we bust out to 4-0 with wins over TCU and A&M we should have ample momentum going to SC. in that game we should find out how good or bad we really are. SC is no world beater but they have good QB and loads of athletes and talent. i can see a path to 8-4 but its a bumpy path at best. who knows, maybe they will surprise us and be better than expected if the defense improves and some receivers emerge.
If we are talking about a measure of a successful season, I can’t see 8-4 regular season as successful. 8-4 is where we should have been last year. I like CBB, but this is year 5. I see a successful regular season as 9-3. I don’t care about schedule, combination of athletes, whether they gel, etc. It’s year 5, and all coaches have to deal with those issues. He has his players, and he has his system. No excuses. As much as I like him, either he can get it done, or he can’t. If it’s the latter and we can’t make a change because of an insane buyout, two seats need to be hot. I have no desire to see our program become the next Pitt. Just my opinion.
We are a very mediocre program… breaking in a new defense with many of the same defensive players that were on the horrible defense from last year. I hope we can go 6-6.
In my opinion there is no way possible the change in defense will cost our hogs any more than it did last year! Special teams stunk also! Glad the passive bend don’t break junk is gone. Blitz and tackle.
A suceesful season is not just a number but how our hogs play. I would like to see the hogs finish games. 9-3 would be nice.
No blow out losses and stop waiting on the opponents offense to stop itself. Passion and heart is what I look forward to seeing.
One more thing to consider. Coach B has made decision on the hill to send assistants down the road. Chaney a few years ago and Smith last year! Those 2 assistants needed to hit the road. As for Coach B I hope we can keep him on the hill long enough for us to read the articles and see the pictures of his baby girl graduating from high school on the hill!
He is good for our hogs!
Well, considering the Razorbacks all time record in football currently sits at .590 which is a little under 6 wins a season prepare to be dissapointed/embarrassed. I am a realist and while I celebrate every win I understand the realities of Arkansas Football. For me being bowl eligable year in and year out is success. If we can cycle to where we win the West every 3-4 years and are in the NC conversation every 5 that would be amazing but will not happen as long as Saban is at Bama. Bottomline I am a Razorback fan and if the program is clean and the players graduate and we go to a bowl I am happy.
we win 3 of 4 vs Non Conf.
I can’t guarantee or predict a conference win. We MAY beat the MS teams, but other than that, ain’t real optimistic. With that in mind, I’m thinking 5-7 and if we can squeak out a home win vs the Horny Toads, maybe 6-6.
The overall .590 win percentage is a little misleading. Since the advent of the 12 game season, we have averaged closer to 7 wins per year which is much more comparable than considering seasons where we played less than 5 games. So I think that 6 wins would be a disappointment.
I can think of a 100 reasons why we should finish 6-6 at best this season. I can only think of 4 reasons why we could be 8-4, new D coach,new Oline coach, and a hungry team and a determined team.If there is no hunger or determination by the players and coaches you can throw out all the variables because it won’t matter. WPS
Well…over the course of the last 26 yrs From Jack Crow to Bret Bielema we are 170-143. Take it for what it’s worth. My previous response was in regard to expect 10 wins every year which I believe is unrealistic. 6 wins? 7? You are splitting hairs.
True. But to say that 6 is our average isn’t exactly apples to apples. 6 wins now is not .590, it’s .461 when you factor in a bowl game. Not quite the same to average 6 wins per season when you play 8 or 9 games as it is when you play 12 or 13 with a bowl game.
I’m not sure what I’d consider a “success.” However, I’d consider 8 wins a good season & a sign of progress & hope for more wins in the near future. My expectations for this season are not as high as they’ve been for some past seasons, so my “pleasantly surprised” factor is lower. That doesn’t mean I’d consider it a success. Perhaps I’m simply getting too caught up in semantics, but my expectations are usually based on the preceding season. I was disappointed in last year’s performance (especially against Auburn, MU, & VT in the bowl.) That means I’m just not as optimistic this year. The way we played the last two games bothers me. I believe CBB can turn it around, but I don’t expect us to win 9 or 10 games.
Dawg Town Hog, the question was what do you consider a successful season. I have to answer truthfully. I started following the Razorbacks in the 60s. In that decade, even though we had 10 game seasons plus a bowl game, we averaged over 8 wins a season. If we had played 12 games a year plus a bowl it we would have averaged 9 or 10 games a year. We had one 11 win season, two 10 win seasons and two 9 win seasons. That will always be the standard I have.
In the 70s Holtz had an 11 win, 10 win and two 9 win seasons. In the 80s Hatfield averaged over 9 wins a year with thee 10 wins and two 9 win seasons in the 6 years he coached. Even Houston Nutt had three 9 win seasons and a 10 win season. Yes, I consider at least a 10 win season a success but I will take a 9 win season every once in a while.
I understood and answered the question. For me success is going to a bowl game year in and year out while running a clean program and graduating players. I disagreed with a poster saying anything less than 10 wins was embarrassing. You speak of the “Golden Age” of Razorback football and how that has framed your expectations. My first Razorback game was in 1970…Stanford with Jim Plunkett. So I too have that frame of reference however I also have lived thru the last 26yrs of overall mediocracy and turmoil with some exciting games/seasons thrown in. I wish for stability in the program, something I can be proud of. Going to a bowl every year with cycles of winning the West and being in the NC conversation every once in a while sounds so much better than the last 26 years.
I agree with your statement, “For me success is going to a bowl game year in and year out while running a clean program and graduating players.” Having a clean program is a must. Any coach who can’t run a clean program should be fired no matter the record. (A&M, Missouri, Rutgers, etc.)
For me, 10 wins means 3 loses. Any more loses than that is disappointing to me because we would have to lose to at least one or two teams we should have beat.
I was at that Stanford game. As my memory recalls, we should have won that game but Bill Burnett got stopped on the goal line by a great tackle by the Stanford linebacker. Bill was seldom stopped by the first man to hit him.
I completely uderstand your take on things as far as number of wins. While undefeted is always the goal I will never be dissapointed with going to a bowl game, I’ve been following Razorback football long enough to realize 10 wins year in year out is unrealistic.
1970 was a good year…we lost to Stanford and then didn’t lose again until the end against Texas. Being a kid at the Wichita St. game was special, I have a hard time believing the respect shown that team could be replicated today.
Like countless others, I’m sure, - - what I’d LIKE to see - and what I EXPECT to see - are two dissimilar animals. The newly-overhauled defensive 3-4 scheme, combined with the atrocious defensive statistics of last season don’t imbue me with a large measure of expectation of immediate SEC-quality success on the defensive side of the ball. Apart from Cornelius, we have a host of newbies awaiting installation as prime time receivers. We have one proven SEC quality RB (Whaley) - along with some very promising - but as yet unproven - youngsters with impressive credentials poised to run from behind a reworked - and expectantly one-year-additionally seasoned-maturity improved offensive line. I don’t know whether or not our “kicking game” or our “special teams” contingent possess the potential to undergo an upgrade in effectiveness and efficiency.
I earnestly hope for the best. I truly don’t know what to expect. I can only state unequivocally that I shall remain a staunchly steadfast Hogs fan whether they prove to register a 9-3 season, - - - - or a 3-9 season. - - - - - (I wholeheartedly pray for the first conclusion and not the latter).