Arkansas Football: It’s time to finally acknowledge the Razorbacks

It is safe to say that Arkansas football is officially back and there is no looking rearview mirror for the Razorbacks. Let’s acknowledge this team.

Arkansas has not had a double-digit winning season since it had back-to-back winning seasons during the 2010 and 2011 campaigns. They had not won a bowl game since they were victorious in the 2016 Belk Bowl. The Razorbacks have not claimed a division title since 2006 and a conference championship since they did so in 1989.

No one is claiming that Arkansas is going to upend Alabama and claim the SEC West this season but the Razorbacks are making progress and they will only continue to improve.

Not much was expected when Arkansas started the 2020 season with first-year head coach Sam Pittman. However, even though the Razorbacks lost their season opener to Georgia, they showed promise when they led the Bulldogs at halftime 7-5 with strong defensive play.

In their second game on the road, Arkansas upset at the time, No. 16 Mississippi State. College football fans were starting to take notice of this year’s Razorbacks team.

In Arkansas’ third game of the season, it traveled to No. 13 Auburn and held a fourth-quarter lead. However, a controversial call allowed the Tigers to score late and stopped a Razorbacks upset. Arkansas would build off of a hard-fought game and defeat Ole Miss at home with an impressive defensive effort lead by a former walk-on to get their second win of the season.

To put it in perspective, Arkansas had won only two games each season in 2018 and 2019 with no wins in SEC play as the Razorbacks’ most recent conference win was October 28, 2017.

Even though the Razorbacks would lose in a high-scoring game against Texas A&M, Arkansas would host Tennessee and have an opportunity to win their third game of the season. Against the Volunteers, the Razorbacks were trailing at halftime 13-0. Then Arkansas stepped up and had a huge third quarter, out-scoring Tennessee 24-0.

Neither team would score in the fourth quarter and the Razorbacks defense had an amazing second half of play not allowing the Volunteers to score any points. The victory is another step in the right direction and it should silence any doubt about this Arkansas team and more importantly, the Razorback program.

On paper, sitting at 3-3 with wins over Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Tennessee may not scream that Arkansas football is back but there is no denying the positive momentum of the Razorback program this season.

Coach Pittman has Arkansas nation believing in the present and future of their football program. The Razorbacks have four regular-season games remaining and college football fans not just in the SEC but around the nation will be watching to see what Arkansas will do next.

The Razorbacks can defeat the defending national champions LSU and Missouri. Arkansas has two very difficult games traveling to Florida and hosting Alabama for their last regular-season schedule game but the Razorbacks defense leads the league in interceptions and can make those games very competitive.

One thing is for sure, though, Arkansas football is back and the Razorbacks will continue to build on their early-season success moving forward.