Six days remain until Arkansas kicks off its 2024 campaign, which leaves time for the Razorbacks to be scrutinized via preseason rankings, tier lists and the like.
The latest example is from ESPN staff writer David Hale, whose 134-team tier list was constructed under the direction of analytics such as SP+ and Football Power Index (FPI).
Out of 24 total tiers — from the "The Fantastic Four" (tier one) to "In worse shape than Biff Poggi's sleeves" (tier 20) — Sam Pittman's club finds itself in the "Realtors are dropping business cards off at the football facility" category (tier 12c).
SEC teams like Georgia and Texas are in tier one, while Alabama (tier two), Ole Miss (tier two), LSU (tier three), Missouri (tier four), Oklahoma (tier four), Tennessee (tier four), Texas A&M (tier five), Auburn (tier eight), Florida (tier eight), Kentucky (tier eight), South Carolina (tier 11b), Mississippi State (tier 12a) and Vanderbilt (tier 16) are scattered throughout.
Joined only by Baylor in 12c, it's clear that Hale isn't a big believer in Pittman for the upcoming season. Coming off a 4-8 year in 2023, who can blame him?
"There used to be a joke in TV circles about actor Ted McGinley that, when he joined the cast of a show, the show was about to be canceled," Hale wrote. "This was true of ‘Happy Days’ and ‘The Love Boat,’ but he actually has had a long career as an actor and was a much-loved member of the cast of ‘Married with Children’ for years."
You might wonder how Ted McGinley relates to Arkansas, but it's an interesting analogy. The hire of Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator this offseason opened the door to him being head coach of the Hogs again, if, say, Pittman fell way short of expectations.
Fans and media around the country have sensed that potential reality all offseason, and Hale's proposed parallelism between the actor and play-caller makes too much sense to ignore.
"We mention this, however, to posit an alternative theory: What if Bobby Petrino is the new Ted McGinley," Hale said. "He just goes from OC job to OC job where the head coach is about to get his pink slip, always hoping that eventually, some AD will hand him the keys to the big office instead.
"And honestly, if he ends up as the head coach at Arkansas again and doesn't wear a neck brace to the announcement, he's simply not a fraction as funny as Ted McGinley."
Arkansas will kick off the 2024 season Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
