Realistically, how long until we are in the SECCG?

[Wright43]

How many years? I think BB is the man to do it and I think it will be his year 5 or 6 (whichever one we play most of the big boys at home).

[WardamnHOGGLE]

I don't think this year is realistic, but I see us having as much of a chance as anybody next year.  I feel we will continue to improve, and I also know the SEC beats each other up so we have a legitimate chance next year.  JMO

[lahawg1]

If this team stays around 2016. We will have a Jr-Sr O line, AC will be Sr, LB will be better, secondary will be a bunch of Jr-Sr. Yeah things are looking up.

[1highhog]

I don't know if well have Collins his Senior year or not and I wouldn't blame him if he left, or any of our Seniors to be.  What I look at in 2016 is depth at all positions, by this staffs 4th year, they will have something we haven't had in far more than a decade, and that's depth at every position, quality depth that's not a huge drop off.  So I picked 2016, JMO.

[12247]

It is difficult to say so I didn't vote.  There are at least 6 teams in the SEC that easily out recruit us annually and those teams usually end up ahead of us annually.  We need 2 or 3 of those teams to not be on our schedule and the ones who are to be having off years for us to swell up and win it all.  Something we haven't been able to do since being in the SEC.

Making it to the SECCG is always a run through a few top 10 teams, homer luck and hoping you are the conference fav who will be protected in any given year.  Winning the SEC is never totally in the hands of the final winner as they will play 2 or 3 teams throughout the year that could beat them. 

The SEC is a bit like NASCAR in that you hope the top 2 teams get all tangled up worrying about eachother and you can slip by on the inside and win it all.

[Michael D Huff AIA]

Making it to the SECCG is always a run through a few top 10 teams, homer luck and hoping you are the conference fav who will be protected in any given year.  Winning the SEC is never totally in the hands of the final winner as they will play 2 or 3 teams throughout the year that could beat them. 

Great point.  The SEC is so deep.  We have to worry about half our schedule versus schools from other conferences having to worry about one or two games. 

[TheGreatHogsby]

2018. Duh.

[OldArmy94]

Luck plays such an important role in that equation; you gotta stay injury-free and have a few breaks along the way (see Auburn '13).

[ldfergu]

I'm not ready to concede this year

[GolfnHog]

I think if we get to the mystical 6-7 wins this year then we've won a couple of conference games. This continues the renewed found success and we build on it each year. Injuries at key positions, early entries into NFL all play a part of the equation. I feel the Hogs will have every other teams attention,after this year, as a team they can't overlook or they could pay the cost with a loss.

[The_Iceman]

We could assemble the best roster we have seen in 20 years, and still might not make the SEC Championship GAME.

We have to go through Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Texas a&m.... along with Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

[Uncommon]

2015 could be a really good year for us since we'll have an upperclassmen laden backfield.

However, I'm hoping for 2017.  Here is what that team looks like so far (current verbal commits in italics):
2017 Arkansas Razorbacks
Offense
3 QB
8 Austin Allen
9 Rafe Peavey
Ty Storey

3/4 RB
25 Denzell Evans
39 Juan Day
7 Damon Mitchell???          Is he a running back now?
Rawleigh Williams III

1 FB
45 Tyler Colquitt

6/7 WR
1 Jared Cornelius
7 Damon Mitchell???          Is he still a wide receiver?
87 Kendrick Edwards
17 Jojo Robinson
Deon Stewart
KJ Hill
Jordan Jones             2016

3 TE
36 Jack Kraus
Austin Cantrell
CJ O'Grady

5 OL
54 Reeve Koehler
72 Frank Ragnow
60 Brian Wallace
Zach Rogers
Colton Jackson

Defense
9 DL
97 Tevin Beanum
90 Ke'Tyrus Marks
78 Bijhon Jackson
53 Anthony Brown
49 Armon Watts
95 Jake Hall
JaMario Bell
Hjalte Froholdt
Daytrieon Dean

3 LB
11 Randy Ramsey
35 Dwayne Eugene
44 Khalia Hackett

5 DB
20 De'Andre Coley
15 Henre' Toliver
28 Josh Liddell
16 Cornelius Floyd
18 Santos Ramirez

Special Teams
1 K
Cole Hedlund

1 P
Blake Johnson

[razorsharp94]

I think at the rate of improvement it depends on what kind of QB play we get going forward.  We can laud his efforts for improvement but Brandon Allen is never going to be a good enough to take a team to an SEC Championship.  Hopefully we get good enough play from Peavey or Storey to make that happen.

[AppleHog]

Less than 3 months?!

[shotgun7]

Less than 3 months?!

That would be something special!

[The Kig]

5 teams from our division, 5... 5 are in this week's top 10. Sure, that won't last once they start pickingceach other off, but still conceivable that 3 of them are in the final top 10 poll. 

In any other conference, I would say this or next year.  Here in the NFL...err SEC West, I picked 2016.  Even then some lucky bounces will have to go our way to get there.  We are MUCH improved and getting better, but the league is too. 

What I do think changes in the equation over the next few years is the pecking order.  I don't think Ole Miss or A&M will sustain their current levels of success.  Texas will rise again and Sumlin is going to head to the NFL.  Ole Miss will lose their defense and the rise of spread offenses will send talent elsewhere.  We are going to continue to rise and get OL prospects that want to play at the next level. 

[code red]

I don't think this year is realistic, but I see us having as much of a chance as anybody next year.  I feel we will continue to improve, and I also know the SEC beats each other up so we have a legitimate chance next year.  JMO

It will be next to impossible going to Ole Miss to Bama and to Death Valley South.

[DeltaBoy]

2016 :razorback:

[code red]

When we have 2 years in a row in the top 15 of recruiting then 2 years after that we will have a chance to make the SEC Champ.  Making the SEC Champ game out of the west is quite frankly maybe the hardest thing to do in sports.  The chips will always be stacked against Arkansas.  Depth and a passing game are what is holding us back at the moment.

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

Not until Saben leaves. 

[code red]

Not until Saben leaves. 

Well stated

[Tyro3]

63 in October.

[KennyForAD]

3 months

[LZH]

Our defense is two years away, apparently.

[go hogues]

We'll move up a bit next year because Ole Miss and State will both be breaking in new QB's. That still puts us at 5th place in the division though.

We'll be starting a new qb in 2016 and could possibly be without AC and some of our OL (Skipper/Kirkland) as well, due to early NFL entry.

I think some of the above posters are correct in the fact that we're the type of program that will only get there by luck, rather than skill.

Two out of our three former appearances were due to weird circumstances (Bama on probation) if I remember correctly.

[Wright43]

We could assemble the best roster we have seen in 20 years, and still might not make the SEC Championship GAME.

We have to go through Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Texas a&m.... along with Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Unfortunately I agree. That's why I think it'll be a year when we play most of them at home, but we'll definitely need some big breaks too. With what Bielema is doing though I have faith we can get there.

[Hoggish1]

Year 3 will be the first real chance.  Lots of players that won't be here for four years will be ready to make the move and BA will be a senior.

[PonderinHog]

Probably an even numbered year, when we have Bama and LSU at home.

[Cure]

Year 4.