It’s been such a bad year for Arkansas football that head coach Bret Bielema might not be returning. He missed his last chance for a big win against LSU.
Arkansas football has gotten off to slow starts under Bret Bielema. That’s consistently put them out of the SEC race rather early, but that hasn’t kept them from playing spoiler down the stretch. If there’s one thing that has gone right for the Razorbacks under Bielema it’s how they finish seasons.
In 2014 Arkansas beat No. 17 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss in the month of November. They followed that up the next season with wins over No. 9 LSU and No. 18 Ole Miss. Last season the Razorbacks upset the No. 10 Florida Gators in the final month of the season.
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The Razorbacks have had a competitive game in the month of November, but that came against Coastal Carolina in a 1-point win. Arkansas fell 33-10 to LSU in Week 11. With Mississippi State and Missouri remaining there are no more giants for the Razorbacks to knock off in the final weeks of the season.
Arkansas would need to win out for them to reach bowl eligibility. It’s not out of the question, but sneaking into a bowl is significantly beneath the expectations of a program with the history and tradition of Arkansas. Bielema has run out of chances to prove he has what it takes going forward. It was those late season wins that propped him up in the past. Without those, Bielema is proving to be a rather mediocre coach of a rather mediocre team.
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The talk of buyouts and replacements have been swirling around over the past several weeks. With each loss the whispers get a little louder. There’s not telling if Bielema will get another shot with the Hogs in 2017, but if he does it won’t be because of anything he did in the month of November.