NFL Tickets
Two years in a row, the Arkansas Razorbacks and Bret Bielema headed into fall with high expectations and minimal results thanks to low fourth-quarter productivity and a shaky defense. However, the have Razorbacks made stunning comebacks in the last two Novembers to save the season and let Bielema keep his job.
Last year started out rough for the Razorbacks, who opened the 2014 campaign with a game at Auburn. It would have been silly in any other year, but it was plain dumb in 2014 since the Tigers were just coming off a season that ended with them losing the championship game to Florida State. The Tigers were hungry and the Razorbacks were hopeless. Despite managing to keep the game close, a rain delay gave Auburn time to rest and swung the momentum to the Tigers, who came out on top 45-21.
The Razorbacks managed to bounce back with easy wins over Nicholls State, Texas Tech and Northern Illinois, but when conference play started, they quickly reverted back to the underdog position and forgot how to play in the fourth quarter. An OT loss to Texas A&M (35-28), a one-point loss to Alabama (14-13) and a second-half surge that fell short against Georgia (45-32) had the Razorbacks down but not completely hopeless.
Yet, a matchup with top-ranked Mississippi State was still on the calendar. Remarkably, it wasn’t a bloodbath, and the Razorbacks walked away with confidence after a 17-10 loss to the Bulldogs ahead of two home games against LSU and Ole Miss.
Then something remarkable happened: A home crowd and a calendar date (November 15) proved enough for the Razorbacks to stun LSU in a shutout (17-0). It marked the first conference win for the Razorbacks since October of 2012, and the Hogs’ first win against LSU since 2010.
Lots of faithful Tiger fans called it a fluke — until the Razorbacks shut out Ole Miss the very next week (30-0) and became the first unranked team ever to shutout ranked opponents in consecutive games. Although the Razorbacks couldn’t keep the magic alive against Missouri (21-14), the Hogs managed to beat Texas in the Texas Bowl and enter the 2015 season with a ranking in the polls.
After a year in which the Hogs didn’t face an SEC opponent that wasn’t ranked, Arkansas was ready to prove its place in the heralded SEC West and use its experience to beat up opponents. Or so it seemed.
An easy Week 1 win against UTEP had Hog fans reassured of a competitive 2015, but then Razorbacks were stunned the next week by Toledo, then the week after that by Texas Tech. Another OT loss to Texas A&M (28-21) and a not-so-close loss to Alabama (27-14) had the Razorbacks singing the blues, but two close wins (24-20 vs. Tennessee and a four-OT thriller against Auburn) proved the Razorbacks were not quite done.
Then another calendar switch and a vendetta to exact (the Hogs hadn’t won in Oxford since 2011) bolstered the Hogs to an OT win at Oxford in crazy fashion. A lateral and a prayer helped tie the game and send it to OT before a facemask penalty and a two-point conversion helped stun the Rebels at home 53-52.
Maybe it’s a fluke in a heated rivalry, but the beatdowns just kept coming. Arkansas visited the stadium where dreams go to die, at night, against a top Heisman prospect. However, Alex Collins refused to be stopped and Leonard Fournette refused to run, likely dashing his Heisman chances. The Hogs left Death Valley with a win and the coveted Golden Boot for the second year in a row.
Call it what you want, but the way the Razorbacks have shone in the last two Novembers has been truly remarkable, and fans should now know not to count Bielema’s team out before then.
Hannah Fields is a Tennessee Titans and SEC Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @hanfran7, “Like” her on Facebook or add her to your network on Google.
Share 
