This article originally appeared in the October 9, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.
Midway through the season, the Arkansas football team has had its fair share of ups and downs, including a three-game winning streak followed by a three-game losing streak.
The Bret Bielema era started with a bang, as the Razorbacks started 3-0 with victories over Louisiana, Samford and Southern Miss.
During those three games, Arkansas established itself as a physical team, pounding out 294.3 rushing yards per game, which led the Southeastern Conference and was 11th in the NCAA after three weeks.
True freshman Alex Collins burst onto the national scene, becoming first true freshman in SEC history to rush for 100 yards in each of his first three career games. He was the first to do so in the NCAA since Adrian Peterson did it for Oklahoma in 2004.
Through three weeks, Collins led the SEC with 418 rushing yards and sophomore Jonathan Williams was second, with 393 yards.
However, in the next three games, Arkansas struggled to an 0-3 record with losses to Rutgers, No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 18 Florida.
Against the Scarlet Knights and Gators, the Razorbacks managed only 212 total rushing yards, but both Rutgers and Florida rank among the best run defenses in the country.
Before the season, many fans saw the four game stretch in which Arkansas plays No. 10 Texas A&M at home, No. 18 Florida on the road, No. 14 South Carolina at home and No. 1 Alabama on the road as one of the toughest stretches in college football.
That kind of stretch is a completely new experience for Bielema, as he has only coached against top 20 opponents in back-to-back games, never in four consecutive weeks. In 2010, he led Wisconsin to victories over No. 1 Ohio State and No. 13 Iowa in consecutive weeks.
“That took everything we had,” Bielema said. “The third week, we had a bye week and we had seven players (with injuries) that would not have played that week.”
Halfway through this brutal stretch, the Razorbacks have lost both games by a combined score of 75-43, but that score doesn’t paint an accurate picture of how the games went.
In front of a sellout crowd at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium against the Aggies, Arkansas played nearly perfect, but failed to capitalize on three possessions they could have taken the lead on in the second half.
Playing at night in “the Swamp” at Florida, the Razorbacks got off to a quick start, going up 7-0 on a first quarter touchdown. Arkansas only managed a field goal the rest of the way, as its wide receivers dropped several passes and Florida won 30-10.
“We played really well early on, but didn’t close out the games the way we wanted to,” Bielema said. “Winning is a process and we’re getting there each week.”
Next up is the Gamecocks, who are No. 14 in the AP poll and No. 12 in the Coaches’ poll. Arkansas will again need to play well in order to have a shot at the upset, which means the offense will need to establish the run early and wide receivers must play better.
Defensively, the Razorbacks lead the SEC and are tied for eighth in the NCAA with 17 sacks. Senior defensive end Chris Smith has lived up to the preseason hype and collected six sacks, which is tied for first in the SEC and tied for fourth in the country.
Arkansas’ defense will give them a chance to win several games, but sophomore quarterback Brandon Allen must stay healthy and avoid costly mistakes. In his last two games, against Texas A&M and Florida, Allen has thrown a pick-six in crucial moments.
Allen suffered a shoulder injury against Southern Miss and missed the Rutgers game, but returned for the Texas A&M game. During the Florida game, he suffered an apparent hand injury that caused him to miss a few plays, but he finished the game at quarterback.
“(Allen) is as good as he’s been since the (shoulder) injury,” Bielema said. “We have to protect him and do things better up front to make sure he doesn’t take any hits.”
While other Razorbacks have missed some game time with injuries this season, most are back in the lineup. Sophomore cornerback Will Hines, however, broke his right arm against Florida and will be out at least six weeks. Bielema said he could be back for Arkansas’ final two regular season games.
Senior center Travis Swanson might miss practice time this week, but he should be able to play against South Carolina Saturday, as well as Allen and freshman tight end Hunter Henry, Bielema said.
If South Carolina star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney misses Saturday’s game with a muscle strain, the Gamecocks are beatable, as they proved with a close 35-28 victory against Kentucky last week.
But if the Razorbacks don’t beat South Carolina, they will most likely face the daunting task of winning three of their final four games in order to make a bowl game, assuming they will lose to No. 1 Alabama on the road.
Bielema’s experience should help Arkansas, as he has been in this situation before. In 2008, his Wisconsin Badgers team started 3-0, lost four straight, and then won four of the final five games of the season to clinch a bowl berth.
This task will also be made a little easier by the fact that Arkansas has two bye weeks during the final six weeks of the season. After playing in eight consecutive weeks, the Razorbacks will get their first bye before the Auburn game Nov. 2 and their second before the Mississippi State game Nov. 23.
To get to six wins, the Razorbacks must use these two bye weeks to prepare for those games, as well as the Ole Miss game the week after Auburn. If they lose any of those three games, the last Thanksgiving weekend “Battle for the Golden Boot” against No. 10 LSU will decide Arkansas’ bowl fate.
Before Arkansas can worry about that, though, they first have to play South Carolina Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:21 a.m. and the game will air nationally on SEC TV.
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