Is Arkansas in over their head in the SEC? NYTimes thinks so

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There may not be any college football players in 2018 who were alive when Arkansas was not in the Southeastern Conference. Most probably do not know there even was such a time.

Since joining the SEC in 1991, the Razorbacks have had just one top-10 finish, in 2011, when their two losses came to the two teams that played for the national championship: Alabama and Louisiana State. Those are two extraordinarily formidable programs that, as a member of the SEC West, Arkansas now plays — and often loses to — every year.

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In other words: Competition isn’t everything. Or is it? Nutt led the Razorbacks to four divisional titles during his tenure from 1998 to 2007, but they resulted in three conference title-game losses. The Bobby Petrino era, featuring that No. 5 finish in 2011, flamed out in scandal. Bret Bielema’s attempt to install a kind of Big Ten South — stout defense, plodding offense — led to a 29-34 record over the last five seasons, including an 11-29 record in SEC play. This year, the Razorbacks are staring down a particularly bleak stretch. Under a new coach, they are 1-2, with the losses coming to unheralded Colorado State and North Texas.

Their next three games are Saturday at No. 9 Auburn; then versus No. 22 Texas A&M in Arlington, Tex.; and then hosting, yes, No. 1 Alabama. A loss in that game would be the 12th in a row to the Crimson Tide.

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