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By any way you want to measure it, Arkansas is a successful program. In the brutal SEC, Houston Nutt and his Hogs are able to crank out winning season after winning season with 18 victories over the last two years and are a lock to get to a bowl every year. Heck, they're even able to play in the SEC Championship game a few years ago. But there's a sense that things will never progress to the next level that Razorback fans are so desperate to get to.
Part of the problem is the conference they play in with so many perennial powerhouses. Arkansas always wins its share of games and provides a lot of excitement, but it can't shake the also-ran tag, even if it's a strong middle-of-the-pack team.
This year the goal isn't to win an SEC title, it's survival with only one starter returning on offense and massive rebuilding needing to be done on defense. This will be a solid team that'll turn out to be better than many will predict, but that's not exactly what the team's fans want. The fear is that things are getting a bit stale with Nutt in his seventh year. If he and his staff can rebuild things quickly enough to get to a bowl game, that's good enough for now. And then they can hope for an SEC West run in 2005.
The Schedule: The Hogs have to reload in several key spots and could have a rough go of it with six bowl teams from 2003 and as bad a draw as it gets from the East playing Florida and Georgia. There's a brutal mid-season stretch that could be even worse if Alabama and South Carolina are strong, while Texas will be looking for early payback.
Best Offensive Player: Senior QB Matt Jones. As the lone returning offensive starter, Jones will have to be even more of a leader and even better than he was last year. He turned into a more complete quarterback last season becoming a solid passer. There isn't a more experienced overtime quarterback in the game.
Best Defensive Player: Senior DE Jeb Huckeba. The former linebacker is growing into a great end. He's not a pure pass rusher, but he's fantastic at getting into the backfield on a consistent basis. He'll be the star of a young, inexperienced defense..
Key player to a successful season: Cornerbacks Michael Coe and Chris Houston. The secondary is starting from scratch after growing into a tight unit by the end of last year. The corners are green and will have serious issues early on. The faster they become reliable, the more hope the team has against the good passing teams in the SEC they face in the middle of the schedule.
The season will be a success if ... Arkansas gets to a bowl game. The SEC eats inexperienced teams alive. With a brutal schedule, getting to six wins and the post-season would be a tremendous achievement.
Key game: Oct. 23 vs. Georgia. The Hogs will be coming off a two-game road stretch against Florida and Auburn only to be greeted by the loaded Bulldogs. Nutt and his crew will have to use their home field magic to get what could be a much needed win..
2003 Fun Stats:
- Rushing touchdowns: Arkansas 34 - Opponents 14
- Third down conversions: Arkansas 87 for 191 (46%) ... Opponents 73 for 194 (38%)
- Second quarter scoring: Arkansas 143 - Opponents 70
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