It amazes the amount of energy we put into a impossible situation.

[The Hawg Marshal]

I believe it was Bill Parcells who said "You are what your record says you are".I can't really argue with that.

[HiggiePiggy]

Plenty of others here more than willing to try and swim upstream in that fashion. 

Thank God for Razorback baseball where the leadership and competitive nature of the program is never seriously in question. 

Nope never in doubt just hope we stop hosting regionals since we seem to choke at home in baseball.

[The Kig]

It is not impossible for Arkansas to win a NC in football.


It's impossible to expect arkansas to compete every year for one.

100% agree.  Do we have built in challenges?  Sure.  Is there an elite pantheon of schools that are going to be competitive most years?  Absolutely.  If/when we do finally get there is it going to take some crazy lucky bounces, catching a team on an off day, key injuries, magical "miracles", and herculean efforts by individuals?  Undoubtedly.  Most champions don't stroll through the season swatting opponents around with ease.

You know what people who don't dream big are called?  Failures. People talk about Bama as though it were some cosmic center of the football world with talent just falling into their laps...and it is, to some degree.  My daughter is going into her Senior year there this fall and I can tell you, Tuscaloosa has nothing on Fayetteville.  That dynasty was built by a man from Arkansas brick-by-brick who had the vision to dream big.  The same can be done here, but it's gonna be slow. 

Hogville is a mix of optimists, realists, pessimists, and pragmatists...all of those groups are fans, just viewing the Hogs through different lenses.  There is also a small group of subversives, who aren't fans and relish in stirring the pot who need to be culled.  However, it's sometimes hard to tell them apart from our resident pessimists,  who are actually fans and should have a voice here.  There is also an equally disruptive annoying group of sunshine pumpers, who also do damage (albeit without intent) by insisting that everything is perfectly fine. 

Sometimes we are going to play like a team that recruits outside the Top 25, which is reality.  Other times we are going to beat teams with far superior talent, which is also reality.  With that sub top 25 talent, Enos has our offense playing like a top 5 team.  CBB made a risky, but absolutely necessary, change in DC and scheme...does that mean our D steps up this year?  Maybe...historically that's a tall task.  But I still contend that it's possible...

[The Hawg Marshal]

I believe it was Bill Parcells who said "You are what your record says you are".I can't really argue with that.

Doesn't mean that you can't improve the record though.

[The Kig]

I mean c'mon... we're talking about an impossible situation here.  Like Washington but different.

The only thing that changed at Washington was getting a coach that proved he could win at a place like Boise, even winning on the big stage with inferior talent.

[HiggiePiggy]

We lost in the regionals after overcoming the pre-season loss of our projected #1 and #2 on the mound (and the lowered expectations surrounding that fact).

Then after we lost in the regionals to a really good MO State, we went and quickly plucked the best piece of that overachieving coaching staff to spite them. 

That isn't even remotely comparable to the football performances we witnessed vs Mizzou and Va Tech.


- and in the meantime, two major baseball publications have already projected the 2018 Razorback baseball team to make it to Omaha.

Not saying that it is anything like the football or basketball teams.  The baseball team is our best team among the 3 major sports. All I am saying is we seem to choke at home when we host regionals. 

[The Kig]

I think CBB is a better head coach than Bobby Petrino on and off the field.

While you're gonna get roasted for this view, you're actually right. 

CBB plays the long game, which frustrates the hell out of the instant gratification crowd.  Did Pigtrino win quickly here?  Absolutely, but in the wake of Harley-gate we saw how bare the cupboards were.  Even his biggest fanboys can't argue with that.  There was no foundation on which to build a sustainable program.  The same people who continually spout CBB's SEC record don't acknowledge that the 0-8 start should all be laid squarely on the asshat in Loserville.  As has been discussed in this thread, there are challenges to building at Arkansas that other schools don't face. 

I believe that CBB is making strategic moves that aren't apparent and don't always yield immediate results.  He may not get enough time to get there, but he's not cutting many corners.  Bringing in Rhoads a year before moving him to DC is one example...and then changing the entire defensive scheme in year 5 (when he acknowledges the natives are getting restless) to one better suited to our personnel.  Seeing the potential of Enos when most of us were scrambling to The Google to find out who he even was.  Laying a foundation takes time and if you build too early it crumbles. 

[TomasPistola]

Not sure about we are due analogy, I had an fire insurance company after covering my company for over thirty years and no claims, suddenly cancel our policy, and when I asked why, the rep said your due.

I work in the insurance industry and find this story to be highly unlikely.

[Al Boarland]

How appropriate to celebrate Independence Day with more typical Hogville fireworks, same shots, same shooters (well, haven't seen Guv in this one yet today), same results, wheeee!      Maybe today will be different, maybe today one side will actually win, hah



Go Hogs!

We'll know who won in October.

[wildhogman]

We'll know who won in October.

We may not know who won for several years.  We thought we were getting a proven winner in Hatfeild over Johnson. One has chamionships, the other doesn't, Both are good men though.
I want to see what BP does in year 6 and 7 and 8 at loserville. I'd like to see what CB does here, but I figure the natives will get to restless. 

[HiggiePiggy]

We may not know who won for several years.  We thought we were getting a proven winner in Hatfeild over Johnson. One has chamionships, the other doesn't, Both are good men though.
I want to see what BP does in year 6 and 7 and 8 at loserville. I'd like to see what CB does here, but I figure the natives will get to restless. 

It won't matter what the natives feel.  As long as the program is making good money and beliema doesn't have a worse record than 6-6 he will be here for at least another 3 years. That would be 7 years.  How many more does he need?

[GuvHog]

Unless it was CBP, then you accept his losses with a smile and defend him. The EXACT same thing you try to shame fans of CBB for doing

I don't like losses and you won't see me smile after the Hogs lose. However, Hog losses to Bama and LSU don't bother me near as much as watching the Hogs lose to teams they shouldn't lose to. I didn't complain about CBP going 0-4 against Bama and I didn't complain about Bret doing it either so yes, even though the Hogs lost to Bama and Auburn in 2010, I smiled at the end of the regular season that year because Arkansas finished ahead of Bama in that years regular season SEC West standings and that very rarely happens. I can promise you if the Hogs win 9 regular season games this year, I'll be grinning like a Cheshire Cat even though that will still mean losses to LSU and Bama. I would greatly enjoy seeing Bret finally have some success at Arkansas.

[luke hawg]

Did the kick 6 bounce Alabama's  way?  Or the end of the Clemson game?

What about Ohio State getting destroyed by Clemson? I'm sure there are others


I'm not saying we are close to them. I'm saying everyone has swing moments that bounce their way and that don't bounce their way.

Some how we are just missing each other. I'm not saying that swing moments don't exist for all teams. My point is that when an elite school has a good bounce it yields a championship. In your examples above, those elite schools lost a chance to win a championship. They weren't playing for a chance to win the cotton bowl which is on average our prize for coming out ahead in a couple close games.

[wildhogman]

It won't matter what the natives feel.  As long as the program is making good money and beliema doesn't have a worse record than 6-6 he will be here for at least another 3 years. That would be 7 years.  How many more does he need?

and if we win 8 this year and follow that would back to back 10 wins? How quiet I wonder will this board be then?
Either way it wont matter, we win he stays, we lose and he goes. this board will probably grow quiet for a while.
Makes ya wonder if the power that be figure we just can't get over the hump, to win the SEC. However we can stir things up and keep the natives restless and hog football in the forefront of people minds for better or worse lol

[GuvHog]

and if we win 8 this year and follow that would back to back 10 wins? How quiet I wonder will this board be then?
Either way it wont matter, we win he stays, we lose and he goes. this board will probably grow quiet for a while.
Makes ya wonder if the power that be figure we just can't get over the hump, to win the SEC. However we can stir things up and keep the natives restless and hog football in the forefront of people minds for better or worse lol

Hey, if the Hog win 8 regular season games and then win their bowl game, I assure you that I won't complain at all. That would be Bret's best finish at Arkansas.

[wildhogman]

Hey, if the Hog win 8 regular season games and then win their bowl game, I assure you that I won't complain at all. That would be Bret's best finish at Arkansas.

and if he fails to do this, it wont matter what we do in 18. the writing will be clear.  Barring a surprise visit to the playoffs I figure he will be done. 
The biggest difference between now and 2006 is the HC now has a plan. If we start seeing success this year it is imaginable for most fans that we can sustain it, and as such most fans are pulling for CBB to finally get over the hump because it means the hogs are doing good. In 2006 there were several that, while not rooting against the hogs' were not really pulling for wins either. The number of those fans went up in 2007 the thought being, lose enough and we can finally get rid of the acorn who had no plan and was like a wild out of control roller coaster ride. 

[HiggiePiggy]

Beliema never has to make a playoff here. What Arkansas would like to be is a good team averaging 8 wins a year with the occasional 10 maybe 11 win season. He never has to win more than 11 games in his time here ever. This isn't Alabama, or any of the other elite programs. 

[luke hawg]

My overall point was sometimes I think people forget that college football is not a level playing field. There is no draft or salary cap. We are asking a coach to overcome obstacles that some of our competitors don't face. This requires some level of patience. There are some variables that are out of the head coach's control. Bad bounces, players declaring early, SOS, injuries are going to happen and might separate a 7 win season from a 9 win season.

This as always has regressed from a good discussion to Petrino vs Bielema. Petrino was building a large redshirt program as well. We were probably going to regress slightly in 2012 but the continued stability gave us a chance to build a better team in years 7-10 of his tenure. It's not realistic to suspect a straight upward trajectory in anything competitive unless there is a fix. Unfortunately, he didn't make it Long enough to see the end result.

Bielema has weaknesses like all coaches but he isn't failing at this point outside the margin of error given our resources and competition. Petrino excelled in years 3 and 4 but was it statically significant to yield that his masterful coaching was the only reason for success? Was the success a new level for us never before achieved? The unbiased answer to both questions is NO? This doesn't mean he wouldn't achieved greatness but his weakness prevented it. I am sad that it did.

[rhames]

Some how we are just missing each other. I'm not saying that swing moments don't exist for all teams. My point is that when an elite school has a good bounce it yields a championship. In your examples above, those elite schools lost a chance to win a championship. They weren't playing for a chance to win the cotton bowl which is on average our prize for coming out ahead in a couple close games.

2010 is a season that comes to mind where if we don't get screwed at Auburn things could have been interesting.

No. We aren't playing for championships as much as those schools. We most likely never will.


Also if we are playing for the cotton bowl this year I bet it would be a pretty great season.



Actually I lied. I was implying the cotton bowl was a playoff game. It isn't. Sugar and Rose. The hogs, no matter what, won't play in the cotton bowl this year.

[HiggiePiggy]

The thing that upsets me the most is the amount of games that we have lost in the second half.  We have had many games where we were tied or leading in the second half and lost.

[GuvHog]

and if he fails to do this, it wont matter what we do in 18. the writing will be clear.  Barring a surprise visit to the playoffs I figure he will be done. 
The biggest difference between now and 2006 is the HC now has a plan. If we start seeing success this year it is imaginable for most fans that we can sustain it, and as such most fans are pulling for CBB to finally get over the hump because it means the hogs are doing good. In 2006 there were several that, while not rooting against the hogs' were not really pulling for wins either. The number of those fans went up in 2007 the thought being, lose enough and we can finally get rid of the acorn who had no plan and was like a wild out of control roller coaster ride. 

7 wins would probably get Bret another year but he would most definitely be on the HOT seat next year.

[ChitownHawg]

Do you think Bielema is a better coach than Petrino?

Yes.

[HiggiePiggy]

Yes.

At what?  What is he better at because as far as wins and losses he isn't.  He is a better person than him though. 

[Wildhog]

Yes.

Hope you're right.  I can't wait to see evidence of it.

[Cinco de Hogo]

Yes.

No.

There are several things that make Petrino a better coach and very few outside Arkansas would argue the point. 

1. Knowing what it takes to win at Arkansas.

2. Having a offensive plan that you are the best at.

3. Knowing that defense needs to be good but is not what will win you the most games at Arkansas.

4. Player development in your scheme.

5. Getting the absolute best a player has to offer.

6. Game planning

7.  In game coaching

8.  Any and all adjustments to said game plan

9.  After game handling of whatever occurred in the game(Petrino was very good at describing and detailing what went right or wrong CBB not do much).

10. This is the big one,  Fans didn't ask if he knew what he was doing thus proving ALL the previous 9.

Now go ahead with your spin and revised histories.

[bphi11ips]

Why?  Did I say something that was untrue?

Did you say anything to support your opinion?  Other than take a roster recruited by someone else and add a QB who wanted to a Hog to begin with, what did Petrino do at Arkansas besides recruit an unbalanced roster and leave a mess for someone else to clean up?

[MuskogeeHogFan]

No.

There are several things that make Petrino a better coach and very few outside Arkansas would argue the point. 

1. Knowing what it takes to win at Arkansas.

2. Having a offensive plan that you are the best at.

3. Knowing that defense needs to be good but is not what will win you the most games at Arkansas.

4. Player development in your scheme.

5. Getting the absolute best a player has to offer.

6. Game planning

7.  In game coaching

8.  Any and all adjustments to said game plan

9.  After game handling of whatever occurred in the game(Petrino was very good at describing and detailing what went right or wrong CBB not do much).

10. This is the big one,  Fans didn't ask if he knew what he was doing thus proving ALL the previous 9.

Now go ahead with your spin and revised histories.

And despite having a Heisman Trophy winner at QB and being projected as the best around in all of these things that you suggested, he still managed to lose his last three games in 2016 to a member of the AAC (not ACC) Conference who had a 9-4 record and 2 SEC teams that had 7-6 and 8-4 records. That seems to be a little underachieving for a coach of such lofty stature as you suggest.

[Wildhog]

And despite having a Heisman Trophy winner at QB and being projected as the best around in all of these things that you suggested, he still managed to lose his last three games in 2016 to a member of the AAC (not ACC) Conference who had a 9-4 record and 2 SEC teams that had 7-6 and 8-4 records. That seems to be a little underachieving for a coach of such lofty stature as you suggest.

Sure would love a disappointing season like that.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Sure would love a disappointing season like that.

Oh, you and others would be complaining about those last three losses if he had been here. Let's not act like you wouldn't. The point is, you can't elevate him to "great coach" status when he drops 3 in a row to teams that by the evaluation of him by many, he should not have lost.

[rhames]

And despite having a Heisman Trophy winner at QB and being projected as the best around in all of these things that you suggested, he still managed to lose his last three games in 2016 to a member of the AAC (not ACC) Conference who had a 9-4 record and 2 SEC teams that had 7-6 and 8-4 records. That seems to be a little underachieving for a coach of such lofty stature as you suggest.

Let's not act like Houston is chopped liver. Also LSU destroyed us and were a pretty solid team. Kentucky was a rivalry game.

Just like people can explain away Bret's loses you could do so for Petrino


None of this really matters though does it?

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Let's not act like Houston is chopped liver. Also LSU destroyed us and was a pretty solid team. Kentucky was a rivalry game.

Just like people can explain away Bret's loses you could do so for Petrino


None of this really matters though does it?

Hey look, I know that every time you guys rear the head of BP as some kind of push back against Bielema's record so far, you also don't like factual push back with regard to BP and his errors as well.

My opinion, BP is a heckuva a coach and a brilliant offensive mind. No argument there. I think that he is pretty awesome in that regard. But he doesn't put enough emphasis on defense and that alone is good reason that over the long term, he wouldn't have maintained his 10 or 11 win seasons to which all of you cling. 

[Wildhog]

Oh, you and others would be complaining about those last three losses if he had been here. Let's not act like you wouldn't. The point is, you can't elevate him to "great coach" status when he drops 3 in a row to teams that by the evaluation of him by many, he should not have lost.

For one season?  Where he won nine games?  Bret Bielema is the only Arkansas coach to ever go winless in conference play.  I guess he's REALLY screwed.

[rhames]

Hey look, I know that every time you guys rear the head of BP as some kind of push back against Bielema's record so far, you also don't like factual push back with regard to BP and his errors as well.

My opinion, BP is a heckuva a coach and a brilliant offensive mind. No argument there. I think that he is pretty awesome in that regard. But he doesn't put enough emphasis on defense and that alone is good reason that over the long term, he wouldn't have maintained his 10 or 11 win seasons to which all of you cling. 

No. I never bring up Petrino when I talk about my concern over what is in store for us this year. He isn't our coach anymore. He took a huge dump on our program and should have  been fired.


I speak up when people try to discredit what he did here in order to prep up Bret in some bizare way

"OH HE WASN'T THST GREAT " 

"He lucked into a roster!"


Y'all weren't saying that when he was winning games.


The guy gave us our best season in 25 years. I just don't get why people have to crap on what he did here in order to feel good or act like they are validating their positive view on Bret. It's just as annoying and non relevant as people who go on and on about how long shouldn't have fired Petrino.


As for defense, outside of 2014 Bret's defenses haven't been lighting the world on fire by any means.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

He took a huge dump on our program and should have  been fired.

The guy gave us our best season in 25 years. I just don't get why people have to crap on what he did here in order to feel good or act like they are validating their positive view on Bret. It's just as annoying and non relevant as people who go on and on about how long shouldn't have fired Petrino.

I agree with these points.

[Hawghiggs]

We would probably be 3rd or 4th most years in that line up.

Yes we would, and that was the reason behind me posting the fictional conference. In that particular conference. We should win 7-9 games each season in conference and we would most likely go 2-3 out of conference depending on who we played.  We would have a recruiting advantage over half the conference. Something that we do not currently have. As a matter of interest. We really only have an advantage over Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Vandy in football.

[LZH]

My last post got deleted... Which it was pretty sharp....fair enough.

Point is why does BB get such a long leash? Money? Good ol' boy factor? What? And whatever it is you guys constantantly lap it up as fast as possible. Please, tell me why that is.

[HiggiePiggy]

My last post got deleted... Which it was pretty sharp....fair enough.

Point is why does BB get such a long leash? Money? Good ol' boy factor? What? And whatever it is you guys constantantly lap it up as fast as possible. Please, tell me why that is.

Biggest reason he has gotten a long leash is probably because of how he has handled the players as far as very little problems off the field and how well the players are doing in school. Another reason is he hasn't had a terrible season since his first year. Like I said he can win 6 to 8 games a year and be here for a very long time. He will be here until Arkansas stops making good money off of football.

[HogBreath]

But he doesn't put enough emphasis on defense and that alone is good reason that over the long term,

By any chance, have you been able to see Coach Bielema's defense the last two seasons? 

Makes Petrino look like Chuck Noll.

[bphi11ips]

Let's not act like Houston is chopped liver. Also LSU destroyed us and were a pretty solid team. Kentucky was a rivalry game.

Just like people can explain away Bret's loses you could do so for Petrino


None of this really matters though does it?

I criticized Petrino's recruiting when he was recruiting. I didn't think he gave a rat's ass about defense and said so when he was here.  I thought he telegraphed his plays with personnel groupings and formations and said so.  I didn't think he had a clue how to manage a balanced offense and said so.  Got flamed for all of it.  While he was coaching here and when he was lucking into games like the one Jerry Franklin saved his sorry butt in in Nashville. 

[Wildhog]

I criticized Petrino's recruiting when he was recruiting. I didn't think he gave a rat's ass about defense and said so when he was here.  I thought he telegraphed his plays with personnel groupings and formations and said so.  I didn't think he had a clue how to manage a balanced offense and said so.  Got flamed for all of it.  While he was coaching here and when he was lucking into games like the one Jerry Franklin saved his sorry butt in in Nashville. 

So you must really hate Bielema.

[HiggiePiggy]

So you must really hate Bielema.

This is what is hilarious. All of this stuff on petrino and yet our worse defense were the last 2 years. Seriously show up in the second half.  I would rather have close and lucky wins than melt down second half losses. It has happened way to many times in the last 4 years. I'm not sure how many times we have been tied or ahead in the second half and lost the game. I'm thinking it is double digits in 4 years.  Stop screwing it all up in the second half. 

[ATU HOG]

I criticized Petrino's recruiting when he was recruiting. I didn't think he gave a rat's ass about defense and said so when he was here.  I thought he telegraphed his plays with personnel groupings and formations and said so.  I didn't think he had a clue how to manage a balanced offense and said so.  Got flamed for all of it.  While he was coaching here and when he was lucking into games like the one Jerry Franklin saved his sorry butt in in Nashville.

In 2010 hogs averaged 333 yards passing and 148 yards on the ground
In 2011 hogs averaged 300 yards passing and 137 yards on the ground

How are those not balanced, and how did he telegraph packages? I'm not arguing with the telegraphing but I'm curious how he did it... we averaged 35.8 ppg in 2010 and 35.6 in 2011. Both were top 20 in the nation.

Simple matter of fact I don't care if he won by Jerry Franklin saving him at Vandy or if we win by 4th and 25 plays. A win is a win and BP won here and won convincingly. He's the reason I think we can be a contender because back then we were. Jury is still out on CBB. It's time to win, talking is over. People love CBB here because he sells the public on the stability of the program on and off the field. They (the university) sell us on everything but winning and he's had to continue to play that card because we've been average on the football field. He's fun, entertaining, and a great salesman for our program.... but winning needs to start selling.

I think Petrino is the better coach for the conversation prior. Be 1000% honest with yourself... if it came down to BP or CBB coaching in a bowl game vs one another who would you have more faith in head to head? However, I do believe CBB has the better staff and people probably enjoy working for more. Enos is a top OC and we're continuing to grow with very good assistants.

[lefty08]

A win is a win?  How is that not the case when discussing Bielema barely beating LA Tech?

[GuvHog]

I criticized Petrino's recruiting when he was recruiting. I didn't think he gave a rat's ass about defense and said so when he was here.  I thought he telegraphed his plays with personnel groupings and formations and said so.  I didn't think he had a clue how to manage a balanced offense and said so.  Got flamed for all of it.  While he was coaching here and when he was lucking into games like the one Jerry Franklin saved his sorry butt in in Nashville. 

I'm Amazed that you can actually say that about BP's defenses and keep a straight face when the Hog defense the last 2 years has been worse than any defense that BP had while at Arkansas. Heck even the 2014 Hog defense, which was CBB's best so far, had a significant number of BP's recruits starting on it. You are blinded by your hatred for the man.

[AFWarrior83]

Ehhh. The goal first and foremost is to win the SEC. Most years, bearing some unexpected crazy ass season, the sec champ will get in.


Arkansas isn't going to be in that discussion every year but it shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility every 4 or 5 years to think they can contend for the SEC.

Nutt (a few times) and Petrino (once) had us in contention, so every 5 years does seem reasonable, but we haven't sniffed that kind of success since Bielema took over.  I like Bielema the most between the 3, but it's not a popularity contest, it comes doesn't to who's winning games and Bielema hasn't been doing it so far. If Bielema can't get us into contention this year or next, we've got to move on.

[ATU HOG]

A win is a win?  How is that not the case when discussing Bielema barely beating LA Tech?

At the end of the day the LA Tech game was a win. A win that was a lot closer than it needed to be but we aren't discussing this game like Toledo and TX Tech.

Plus you're talking about us on the road in the SEC vs a double digit favorite at home... there is a difference but nonetheless a win is a win

[EastexHawg]

My opinion, BP is a heckuva a coach and a brilliant offensive mind. No argument there. I think that he is pretty awesome in that regard. But he doesn't put enough emphasis on defense and that alone is good reason that over the long term, he wouldn't have maintained his 10 or 11 win seasons to which all of you cling. 

His defenses at Arkansas were better than or at least as good as Bielema's.  How anyone can advocate for Bielema's defenses over Petrino's or anyone else's after what we saw last year is baffling to an unbiased observer.  Bielema's best defense, in 2014, was led by Petrino recruits like Trey Flowers, Darius Philon, Rohan Gaines, Tevin Mitchell, Taiwan Johnson, and Deatrich Wise along with Bielema recruit Martrell Spaight.

The argument could be made that Bielema's defenses went to heck in a hand basket when he ran out of Petrino recruits.

But let's not base our analysis on just opinions, let's look at hard numbers.  This is how many points per game Petrino's and Bielema's defenses gave up in years three and four of their respective tenures at Arkansas:

Petrino
2010...23.4 ppg
2011...22.2 ppg

Bielema
2015...27.4 ppg
2016...31.1 ppg

Where in the world does the "Petrino never cared about defense but Bielema's teams excel at it" mantra come from?  Do people just form fantastical notions in their heads and base their own reality on what they want to believe, or do they actually watch and pay attention to football games?

[GuvHog]

His defenses at Arkansas were better than or at least as good as Bielema's.  How anyone can advocate for Bielema's defenses over Petrino's or anyone else's after what we saw last year is baffling to an unbiased observer.  Bielema's best defense, in 2014, was led by Petrino recruits like Trey Flowers, Darius Philon, Rohan Gaines, Tevin Mitchell, Taiwan Johnson, and Deatrich Wise along with Bielema recruit Martrell Spaight.

The argument could be made that Bielema's defenses went to heck in a hand basket when he ran out of Petrino recruits.

But let's not base our analysis on just opinions, let's look at hard numbers.  This is how many points per game Petrino's and Bielema's defenses gave up in years three and four of their respective tenures at Arkansas:

Petrino
2010...23.4 ppg
2011...22.2 ppg

Bielema
2015...27.4 ppg
2016...31.1 ppg

Where in the world does the "Petrino never cared about defense but Bielema's teams excel at it" mantra come from?  Do people just form fantastical notions in their heads and base their own reality on what they want to believe, or do they actually watch and pay attention to football games?

Very well said. It's no coincidence that CBB's defenses started to tank after BP's recruits left the program.

BP's defensive recruiting wasn't the problem. The problem was his DC that he replaced at the end of the 2011 regular season. The improvement in the Defense under the new DC that BP hired was very noticeable in the Cotton Bowl against K State.

[wildhogman]

His defenses at Arkansas were better than or at least as good as Bielema's.  How anyone can advocate for Bielema's defenses over Petrino's or anyone else's after what we saw last year is baffling to an unbiased observer.  Bielema's best defense, in 2014, was led by Petrino recruits like Trey Flowers, Darius Philon, Rohan Gaines, Tevin Mitchell, Taiwan Johnson, and Deatrich Wise along with Bielema recruit Martrell Spaight.

The argument could be made that Bielema's defenses went to heck in a hand basket when he ran out of Petrino recruits.

But let's not base our analysis on just opinions, let's look at hard numbers.  This is how many points per game Petrino's and Bielema's defenses gave up in years three and four of their respective tenures at Arkansas:

Petrino
2010...23.4 ppg
2011...22.2 ppg

Bielema
2015...27.4 ppg
2016...31.1 ppg

Where in the world does the "Petrino never cared about defense but Bielema's teams excel at it" mantra come from?  Do people just form fantastical notions in their heads and base their own reality on what they want to believe, or do they actually watch and pay attention to football games?

where they both are equal is BP never fielded a Def that could get that important stop when his Offense fizzled due to Int. or incomplete or missing on 3rd and 1. If he had one we would have beaten bama atleast once. Never lost to aubby and beat OhSt in the sugar bowl.  CBB so far has been in the same boat. Since his time isn't over just yet the jury is still out. But we need stops when it matters, and 1st downs when it matters. and TDs when it matters. Just one of those and CBB has a victory over Bama, and a better SEC record.  I have my doubts on a D stopping the RPO.  When nicky satan says his defenses cant stop it. people usually sit up and take notice.
I suspect the only defenses capable of giving the RPO fits are teams in Pro ball loaded with elite athletes that can stop/start in half a second and turn on a dime. 

[HogBreath]

His defenses at Arkansas were better than or at least as good as Bielema's.  How anyone can advocate for Bielema's defenses over Petrino's or anyone else's after what we saw last year is baffling to an unbiased observer.  Bielema's best defense, in 2014, was led by Petrino recruits like Trey Flowers, Darius Philon, Rohan Gaines, Tevin Mitchell, Taiwan Johnson, and Deatrich Wise along with Bielema recruit Martrell Spaight.

The argument could be made that Bielema's defenses went to heck in a hand basket when he ran out of Petrino recruits.

But let's not base our analysis on just opinions, let's look at hard numbers.  This is how many points per game Petrino's and Bielema's defenses gave up in years three and four of their respective tenures at Arkansas:

Petrino
2010...23.4 ppg
2011...22.2 ppg

Bielema
2015...27.4 ppg
2016...31.1 ppg

Where in the world does the "Petrino never cared about defense but Bielema's teams excel at it" mantra come from?  Do people just form fantastical notions in their heads and base their own reality on what they want to believe, or do they actually watch and pay attention to football games?

Exactly..it is beyond laughable that anyone would suggest otherwise.     

They may be long on integrity, but just a 'lil short on brains.