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5 college football programs on the verge of becoming powerhouses

By Connor Muldowney

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Dave Aranda of the Baylor Bears celebrates after defeating the Mississippi Rebels 21-7 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome on January 01, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Dave Aranda of the Baylor Bears celebrates after defeating the Mississippi Rebels 21-7 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome on January 01, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Jan 1, 2022; Tampa, FL, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks players hold the trophies after the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the 2022 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2022; Tampa, FL, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks players hold the trophies after the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the 2022 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Arkansas Razorbacks

Sam Pittman has been a godsend for Arkansas.

From 2017-19, the Razorbacks went just 8-28 with one total win in SEC play. In just his first season with the Razorbacks, Pittman went 3-7 with triple the number of conference wins from the previous three years.

How did he follow up that solid first season in Fayetteville? He led Arkansas to a 9-4 record with an Outback Bowl win, finishing ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time in a decade.

Not only has Pittman changed the culture in a short period of time, but he has Arkansas competitive in just about every SEC game. A lot of this has to do with the talent he’s bringing in. Although his recruiting classes aren’t tops in the conference, he’s still consistently landing top-30 groups while also hitting the transfer portal hard.

Arkansas has landed five high-impact transfers for 2022 along with the No. 28 recruiting class in the country and the Razorbacks currently have the nation’s No. 3 class for 2023.

The Razorbacks are heading in the right direction and if they keep improving drastically every year under Pittman, it’s only a matter of time before they’re contending for SEC titles annually.

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