are huge in terms of where this program is headed next.
What we've seen so far is a gradual improvement under Petrino. He came in and finished off a good recruiting class in his first few months as Head Coach, then, as bad as last year's team was, he came within one game of going bowling and still somehow managed to bring in a top 15 recruiting class this past February. In both instances, basically he made something out of what "should have been" nothing.
Now, with two regular season games and likely a bowl game still to play, what happens from this weekend going forward will be a place you can look back on in three or four years and possibly point to as a key point in time for the Arkansas program.
While a 6-7 or 7-6 record (after the bowl game) would still, technically, be an improvement from Year One, it leaves a lot to be desired around these parts, and would be tougher to sell in the living rooms of recruits. The same recruits who might have Mack Brown, Les Miles and Nick Saban after them.
8-5 would be a three-win jump in his second season, and is a solid record to build upon. Just because I personally predicted a nine-win season doesn't make it an under-acheiving year if they only win eight games, and I think a lot of us need to realize that. While it may not be what you expected, it doesn't necessarily make it a disappointing year if they don't hit that mark in wins. If 8-5 is the final record, you can still say Arkansas is one of the up-and-coming programs in college ball, and be 100% accurate in saying so.
The best-case scenario, obviously, is to win all three remaining games, finishing with those nine wins I thought they'd find. Going from 5-7 to 9-4 in just one year is very, very tough to do in this conference. It would make the staff's job a lot easier when they're hitting the recruiting trails in January. To say to a highly ranked defensive prospect "we're capable of winning nine with a very average SEC defense, just think what we'd win with guys like you", is a very big advantage.
And, oh, how important this next signing class is. So far, they've attacked it very systematically. These coaches ain't dummies. They know that averaging 37 PPG on offense this year is no coincidence or just a flash in the pan. It just took a year to get it right (and a particular QB eligible), and while they may not uphold that stat every year, they feel confident in knowing that offensive production will probably never really be a concern of their's. Defense is what's lacking. It's also no coincidence that as bad as Florida, LSU and Alabama have looked on offense at times this year, those three still lead the way in the SEC, and they can get by with low offensive production because they all play better defense than the other teams.
I predicted at the beginning of the year that Arkansas would be one TD better on defense than a year ago when they gave up 31 a game.
They've been true so far, giving up 25 a game (gimme a break, I thought 24, but techically a TD is 6 points, so I'll take it).
If they're able to cut just one more TD per game, they'll be contending for the SEC Championship next year. But until you average less than 20 per game on defense, forget about it, you're not winning this conference. I've got stats for that debate if there are any takers.
So in closing, win at the very minimum, two of the final three if you want that momentum heading into another grueling recruiting crunch, and winning all three will pay out in a big way for this staff in recruiting.
From there, finish this class with some big time defenders who are just as good and better than the DD Jones, Terrell Williams, David Gordon, Darius Winstons, Austin Moss's that UA signed last year. Also, keep bringing in the speedy playmakers and athletic offensive linemen to keep that offense atop the SEC charts.
This is a pivitol point in where UA goes next. It's a chance for Arkansas to rise to the next level, or to stay the same. Staying the same isn't popular around here. As for me, I have yet to see Petrino do anything but improve this program, so far. If I had to guess today, I'd say this is the turning point that solidifies Arkansas in the future, these final few games of 2009.
What we've seen so far is a gradual improvement under Petrino. He came in and finished off a good recruiting class in his first few months as Head Coach, then, as bad as last year's team was, he came within one game of going bowling and still somehow managed to bring in a top 15 recruiting class this past February. In both instances, basically he made something out of what "should have been" nothing.
Now, with two regular season games and likely a bowl game still to play, what happens from this weekend going forward will be a place you can look back on in three or four years and possibly point to as a key point in time for the Arkansas program.
While a 6-7 or 7-6 record (after the bowl game) would still, technically, be an improvement from Year One, it leaves a lot to be desired around these parts, and would be tougher to sell in the living rooms of recruits. The same recruits who might have Mack Brown, Les Miles and Nick Saban after them.
8-5 would be a three-win jump in his second season, and is a solid record to build upon. Just because I personally predicted a nine-win season doesn't make it an under-acheiving year if they only win eight games, and I think a lot of us need to realize that. While it may not be what you expected, it doesn't necessarily make it a disappointing year if they don't hit that mark in wins. If 8-5 is the final record, you can still say Arkansas is one of the up-and-coming programs in college ball, and be 100% accurate in saying so.
The best-case scenario, obviously, is to win all three remaining games, finishing with those nine wins I thought they'd find. Going from 5-7 to 9-4 in just one year is very, very tough to do in this conference. It would make the staff's job a lot easier when they're hitting the recruiting trails in January. To say to a highly ranked defensive prospect "we're capable of winning nine with a very average SEC defense, just think what we'd win with guys like you", is a very big advantage.
And, oh, how important this next signing class is. So far, they've attacked it very systematically. These coaches ain't dummies. They know that averaging 37 PPG on offense this year is no coincidence or just a flash in the pan. It just took a year to get it right (and a particular QB eligible), and while they may not uphold that stat every year, they feel confident in knowing that offensive production will probably never really be a concern of their's. Defense is what's lacking. It's also no coincidence that as bad as Florida, LSU and Alabama have looked on offense at times this year, those three still lead the way in the SEC, and they can get by with low offensive production because they all play better defense than the other teams.
I predicted at the beginning of the year that Arkansas would be one TD better on defense than a year ago when they gave up 31 a game.
They've been true so far, giving up 25 a game (gimme a break, I thought 24, but techically a TD is 6 points, so I'll take it).
If they're able to cut just one more TD per game, they'll be contending for the SEC Championship next year. But until you average less than 20 per game on defense, forget about it, you're not winning this conference. I've got stats for that debate if there are any takers.
So in closing, win at the very minimum, two of the final three if you want that momentum heading into another grueling recruiting crunch, and winning all three will pay out in a big way for this staff in recruiting.
From there, finish this class with some big time defenders who are just as good and better than the DD Jones, Terrell Williams, David Gordon, Darius Winstons, Austin Moss's that UA signed last year. Also, keep bringing in the speedy playmakers and athletic offensive linemen to keep that offense atop the SEC charts.
This is a pivitol point in where UA goes next. It's a chance for Arkansas to rise to the next level, or to stay the same. Staying the same isn't popular around here. As for me, I have yet to see Petrino do anything but improve this program, so far. If I had to guess today, I'd say this is the turning point that solidifies Arkansas in the future, these final few games of 2009.
