What a difference is made by one scandal! The Arkansas Razorbacks are still reeling from the aftermath of the Bobby Petrino scandal during the 2012 off-season. Part of the reason is because they are still working to achieve continuity at after three different coaching changes. 2012 saw the Razorbacks put John L. Smith in as their head coach, who had to go through a bankruptcy trial in the middle of the season. That team went a very disappointing 4-8. Then they made the big coaching splash in the 2013 off-season, when they lured the Head Coach from Wisconsin, Bret Bielema, to come to Fayetteville. This was a major coup for the Hogs, since Wisconsin had just won three straight Big Ten titles. But it was not an easy first season in transition from the spread offense of Bobby Petrino and John L. Smith, to the more traditional, pro-style offense of Bret Bielema and his new coaching staff. Also, their starting quarterback, Brandon Allen, was injured in the third game of the year and played through the injury during the rest of the season. Here are the game by game results.

2013 Arkansas Razorbacks Season

Arkansas was definitely a streaky team last season. They won their first 3 games and then lost their last 9. Losing all of the conference games is definitely a bad sign, but it was clear that things were starting to turn around toward the end of the season. LSU is a tough opponent on the road and they played them close. In addition, they took the Mississippi State Bulldogs to overtime. They kept trying hard to win with nothing to chase after, which is a sign of a mentally tough team.

Offense

The offense of the Arkansas Razorbacks was pretty pathetic in 2013. They averaged 20.7 points per game, which was good for 107th in the FBS, and 13th of 14 in the Southeastern Conference. They will be looking for more improvement under offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, who came over from the University of Tennessee. At Tennessee, Chaney helped groom Tyler Bray to become a better quarterback. He also has some NFL experience with the St. Louis Rams. Chaney is only in his second year at Arkansas, but everyone knows that there must be a large amount of improvement to keep the coaching staff intact.

Brandon Allen, a Fayetteville native, will return as the starting quarterback for his Junior season this year. He will have to do better than last year, since the Hogs only averaged 148.5 passing yards per game last season. That passing average put them 117th in the FBS last year. He threw for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns, and even though passing isn't the main focus of this offense, it is a skill they should be able to maintain as opposing defenses should be loading the box for the run game.

Their running backs return the two men that did the heavy lifting of the group in 2013. The running game of the Razorbacks was quite strong despite the offense being weak as a whole. They ranked 21st in FBS with 208.7 rushing yards per game. Sophomore running back Alex Collins has a lot to be excited about because he already has over 1,000 career rushing yards in college. His teammate in the backfield, Jonathan Williams, reached exactly 900 rushing yards this past season and he will be back as well, which should be exciting for those who like the ground game.

Their top returning ball catcher was tight end Hunter Henry, who is 6'6" and 251 pounds. Last year he had 28 catches for 409 yards and 4 touchdowns. For the passing game to get the improvement it needs, Henry needs to be seen as a major target for this offense in the 2014 season.

Defense

The defense of the Arkansas Razorbacks is led by Defensive Coordinator Robb Smith. Smith came over from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a linebackers coach. He followed Greg Schiano down to Tampa from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Smith seems like a good quality coach, but the team struggled on defense in 2013 as well, his first at the helm. Arkansas gave up 410 yards per game, which led to a total of 4,919 yards on the season, ranking them 73rd on defense. Chris Smith led the team with 8.5 sacks this past season, but he is now in the NFL after being drafted in the fifth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, safety Alan Turner is returning on defense to lead them team again. Last year he led the team with 97 total tackles, and led the team in interceptions with 2. But the Razorbacks need to turn it around in order for any improvements on offense to make in difference in their season record in 2014.

Special Teams

The Arkansas Razorbacks have a new coach for their specialists, Rory Segrest. He has been at Arkansas before and has previously been a coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Hogs will miss Zach Hocker, who went 13-15 for field goals and 28-28 on extra points last season. It would appear that John Henson would be the front runner for field goal duties, as he made a few appearances in games last year, where he was 0-1 on field goal tries, and 1-1 on extra points. The Razorbacks will keep on punting with Sam Irwin-Hill, an Aussie, as he returns for his Senior year. He had 20 punts inside the opponents 20 yard line, and only 1 touchback. His longest punt of the year was 79 yards. He was a candidate for the Ray Guy award last year, and will definitely be considered again this season. Probably the most interesting thing about Irwin-Hill though, is that he is ambidextrous, so he can punt with either leg, which is a very interesting thing to note.

2014 Season Outlook

The Razorbacks have to be looking to do better than last year, but it's unclear where the improvements are going to be made and how well the players will continue to transition into Bielema's system of a traditional offense. Plus, they lost Chris Smith, arguably their best defensive player, to the NFL. Here is a look at their 2014 schedule:

Worst case scenario looking at this season is that they should win at least two games against Nicholls State and the UAB Blazers. But, as any team in the SEC West, the top of that conference is just really strong. Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, and LSU are not the teams that anyone wants on their schedule, and Arkansas is set to play them every year. Then they play Missouri, who won the East last year, and Georgia is always a stronger team in the SEC East. Texas Tech and Northern Illinois are no slouches on the schedule either. The projection that feels the most accurate is around 4-8, probably with a win over Mississippi State and another non-conference victory. While Arkansas has a strong history of winning tradition, it is very likely that they could be in the middle of falling from grace among the college football powerhouses.

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About the author
Caleb Wahlgren
I will not deny that I am a big fan of the Green Bay Packers. But I love the NFL and want to see the very best for it.