Should arkansas just try to move to the big 12? More opportunity

[Wooderson]

.500 is mediocre.

Yes, but is that reason to tuck tail and haul butt to the big 12?

[JD Hogg]

So 95, 02, and 06 didn't mean anything.  Ole Miss should be getting out to.

Don't forget 2010 and 2011. Those two years proved we could play with the big boys even more than the ones you mentioned.

[OldArmy94]

Even IF Arkansas were to become a permanent cellar dwellar, and I don't think that will happen, the University would lose a lot if they were to up-and-run because of football failings.  This is an academic discussion, but for the sake of argument alone, it would be a pyrrhic victory to take off for another conference.

[HardCore]

You are right that we don't have the same amount of in state d1 talent, but are wrong on every other assumption. 

A big reason for this is b/c Arkansas does not have the expectations for HS Football that many of our bordering states do.  HS Football is BIG in TX, OK, and LA - i would even venture that HS Football has more expectation, demand, and support in MO than AR now.  That never used to be the case years ago.

[Lysol]

We finished 5th in the nation less than 2 years ago

[rbb72802]

dpetty - Did you say Texas, as in Longhorns??? Need to hit your pipe, again. They should be in contention for National Champ. every year, with all the money they pay players, sorry i mean to athletic fund.

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

4 HC in 7 years = embarrassment.  Keep this coach and we will prove we belong.  We've belonged from day one. Missteps along the way has kept us in the lower half of the SEC.  I'm 100% on board with this coach and wish people would give him time to get his program and players on board.  But this is hogville and we have way too many sky is falling people on this site.

Truth

[SouthSide Johnny]

Don't forget 2010 and 2011. Those two years proved we could play with the big boys even more than the ones you mentioned.

Let me see 5 good years out of 21 in the SEC, pretty much what Broyles talked about, like or not that's the reality of the situation.

[Hogarusa]

How many times can you guys engage in this argument?  Arkansas makes straight cash, homie in the SEC.   They are never tucking their tail and moving to a weaker conference.  It's like the "If Boise State were in the SeC" argument.

[hawgbawb]

There is no quick fix. Stay the course. 

We had a competent coach (Nutt) who would not/could not do what it takes to rise above SEC mediocrity. The fanbase ran him off.

Petrino was an offensive genius but a defensive disaster. While a definite improvement over Nutt, it was not a recipe for winning the SEC.  His reputation did help recruit some excellent QB's and receivers, but the guy had off-the-field issues destined to make his tenure short. His sudden departure was a huge blow.

John L the interim was a disaster.  An interim staff is pretty much a disaster waiting to happen, but the untimely Petrino meltdown left us in a huge bind. Recruiting under those circumstances is almost impossible.

BB stepped into a program that had sunk to a very low level.  It will take 3 years to climb from the hole. 3 years to get back to a solid SEC team. 4-5 years to compete for SEC championships.

[hobhog]

You really ARE a band nerd!

[hehawg]

Sorry guys Arkansas is in the wrong conference, the U of A wants to run with the big dogs but will never have the horsepower to really compete. I have always said they will never recruit the talent the other SEC teams do simply due to location,size and money I think its high time to move to conference where we are better matched....staying in the SEC will just bring embarrassment...

  So (12) post and you come on here to spew your idiocy. You guys crack me up!

[Torqued pork]

The PTB are more interested in money than winning.

[Choctaw Hog]

Sorry guys Arkansas is in the wrong conference, the U of A wants to run with the big dogs but will never have the horsepower to really compete. I have always said they will never recruit the talent the other SEC teams do simply due to location,size and money I think its high time to move to conference where we are better matched....staying in the SEC will just bring embarrassment...

IA

[Choctaw Hog]

The PTB are more interested in money than winning.

Please list all the top winning programs that do so without money.

[hogninja]

Concerning the comment "give the man a chance" I think continual losing and losing big will greatly shorten that as it will cause people to not put butts in the seats...and the age old saying "money talks and BS walks"....and people today with the economy being what it is will not pay big ticket prices to see losing!

The coaching staff had a shortened recruiting period preceded by a non recruiting year and managed a decent result.  We haven't finished this years  class and are on many good prospects.
People are griping about talent in this system and the coaches only had a short time to get the last class.  Geeezze  give him a class or two before the knives come out.. I just am amazed at the ignorance of some people on this board.  Look at the people working now.  24 freshman and sophs in the 2 deep. That is half of the squad! Not this year. I just hang my head at some of these posts. :razorback:

[LZH]

What is it with these guys and their obsession with the Big12 and their disdain for the SEC?  I have never understood this.  I reckon they've only dated homely women and anytime a dude as big or bigger than them ever got in their face, they filled their drawers.

[Torqued pork]

Please list all the top winning programs that do so without money.

We aren't even close to being on level recruiting ground with most SEC programs and money isn't going to change that.

[Pig in the Pokey]

Sorry guys Arkansas is in the wrong conference, the U of A wants to run with the big dogs but will never have the horsepower to really compete. I have always said they will never recruit the talent the other SEC teams do simply due to location,size and money I think its high time to move to conference where we are better matched....staying in the SEC will just bring embarrassment...

poorlilolearkiesaw...

[buldozer]

I disagree with the premise that Arkansas is not a SEC level program but would agree that right now we don't have an SEC quality QB and it is making us look like we are not an SEC program.....but we ARE, we just need a QB.

[Dirty]

I disagree with the premise that Arkansas is not a SEC level program but would agree that right now we don't have an SEC quality QB and it is making us look like we are not an SEC program.....but we ARE, we just need a QB.

DB's, LB's, and WR's are a must need.

[Chestodrawers]

        This situation has been a perfect storm of unbelievable circumstances.              1. Petrino's way is the right way. Just roll up as many points as possible. Everybody is doing it now. The main reason is you're simply not allowed to play defense anymore. This has been developing over the last several years, but the poster-boy for this has come this season with this stupid Targeting rule. In this enviroment Bama and LSU have been able to recruit MORE of the really great defensive players than anybody year in, year out. And don't just mean in the SEC. So, they still play a better quality of defense while focusing on scoring also. I don't see this changing.
2. Boom, the Petrino era blows up in our face. This is the biggest unbelievable circumstance. Us and Penn state got our legs cut out from under us by something out of left field, not football related. This kind of thing is usually, if not always, is related to NCAA violations and resulting sanctions. Nothing like this has ever happened to anybody before.           
3. Enter, aTm and Mozzu into the field, and they're both good. Things just got harder,
including recruiting.
Conclusion:  This ain't gonna be quick. This ain't gonna be easy. This guy needs 4 or 5 years.

[RebelliousHog]

Bobby Petrino's last 2 years says we can compete. But he did it different than any other coach that has come here.

You bring in extremely talented skill position players and just try to outscore the opponent. Your defense will struggle like we have seen with every other team like this, but these days, its the only way.

Keeping the game close and low scoring with defense just ain't going to cut it anymore.

Do you honestly think that BP with this QB and these receivers could/would be competitive?  Not to mention the lack of Defense that you, yourself, said would struggle.

EDIT:  BTW BP RECRUITED these receivers and QB. What does that tell you about evaluation and the ability to get players to what was admittedly supposed to be a VERY friendly QB/Receiver offense?

[Sweet Feet]

This argument is not accurate.  You are right that we don't have the same amount of in state d1 talent, but are wrong on every other assumption.  We have plenty of money.  In fact we are on of the more profitable athletic departments in the country.  I saw recently that our recruiting budget ranks 5th in the nation.

As far as performance goes, we may not be at the top when it comes to achievements but we sure as heck are not at the bottom.  We have actually made a bowl game 11 out of the past 15 years.  That's not a great achievement, but it also shows that we are not the door mat program that some here think we are.  We are middle of the pack who will compete every couple of years.

Even if we went to the Big 12 we would be second fiddle with OSU to Texas and Oklahoma.  How's that any different than were we stand now?

Arkansas wouldn be that second fiddle to ou and texas. If baylor, ok st, ttch etc can have good years in the big 12, then arkansas sure enough can. Remem too arkansas is 3-2 in the past 5 meetings vs texas

[PositronHog]

4 HC in 7 years = embarrassment.  Keep this coach and we will prove we belong.  We've belonged from day one. Missteps along the way has kept us in the lower half of the SEC.  I'm 100% on board with this coach and wish people would give him time to get his program and players on board.  But this is hogville and we have way too many sky is falling people on this site.

This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Vantage 8 dude]

Sorry guys Arkansas is in the wrong conference, the U of A wants to run with the big dogs but will never have the horsepower to really compete. I have always said they will never recruit the talent the other SEC teams do simply due to location,size and money I think its high time to move to conference where we are better matched....staying in the SEC will just bring embarrassment...

Total b.s.! Yes, right now it is an embarrassment, however, I don't buy into the "we're not SEC material" baloney. It still comes down to having the staff AND even more importantly, the players. I defy anyone to say that we don't have the staff to put it together. What has been painfully obvious is that most years we don't have the # of QUALITY players at many positions to handle most of the "big boys" in this league. In the end when push comes to shove (no pun intended) it will be the ability of your players to tackle the other guy, defend the pass, catch the pass, throw the ball, run, and have an effective kicking game to win in the SEC consistently. Guys and gals, even in those rare years, such as 2010, when we had super WRs, a pretty darn good QB and RB (Knile) we were still lacking some of the real stars and SEC level ability on the other side. I.E. the "D" was generally serviceable but certainly NOT at a point where the better teams such as 'Bama and LSU were going to lose a lot of sleep wondering how they were going to move the ball on us.

What we are looking at is a cupboard that has really been emptied over the fast several years. The fact that you have anywhere from 8-12 (or more) true or redshirt freshmen starting or playing significant time will tell you all you need to know. The past, present and future success of any program will always begin and end with both the quality/quantity of talent and the coachers smart enough to properly utilize it. I'm convinced we definitely have the latter, sadly by no means the former.