Bret Bielema said last season time and time again that the Arkansas Razorbacks will win some of these close games in the SEC when they truly deserve to do so.
They finally got it together at the end of the year and shut out both LSU and Ole Miss at home to get into a bowl game, where they beat Texas to finish above .500.
After four losses by seven points or fewer last year though, Arkansas feels like it has a legitimate chance to win the SEC this season.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: vs. UTEP
9/12: vs. Toledo
9/19: vs. Texas Tech
9/26: vs. Texas A&M (at Cowboys Stadium)
10/3: at Tennessee
10/10: at Alabama
10/24: vs. Auburn
10/31: vs. UT-Martin
11/7: at Ole Miss
11/14: at LSU
11/21: vs. Mississippi State
11/28: vs. Missouri
This is shaping up to be another tough season for the Hogs away from Fayetteville. They've got five games in seven weeks against Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, LSU and Mississippi State, and winning one of those five games would be considered a bit of a triumph.
The only godsend on the docket is that Arkansas will virtually certainly start at 3-0 before heading to Arlington for what could be a huge showdown with Texas A&M.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
Arkansas' season win total is sitting on a flat eight, and that seems to be a bit optimistic for a program which hasn't won that many games in a season in quite some time. For all intents and purposes, that forecasts a 4-4 record in the SEC. It's manageable with games against Tennessee and Missouri in the East, but that's still a challenge for sure. The talent is there for this to be a 10-win team, though.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Bielema turned this Arkansas unit into one of the best running teams in the SEC last year. Both Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins had over 1,100 yards on the ground, and Brandon Allen proved to do just enough through the air to keep defenses honest.
All three men in the Arkansas backfield are back, and that could be really good news, especially behind an offensive line which features three seniors and two juniors who have been here with Bielema all three years he has been in Fayetteville.
We'd like to see a little more out of Allen as a passer this year, as 188.0 yards per game through the air isn't going to cut it as we see it.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Very quietly, Arkansas made huge gains defensively last season. The team ranked tenth in America in total defense at 323.4 yards per game, and the end result of 19.2 points per game was amazing.
The Hogs posted consecutive shutouts in the SEC, something that no one else did all of last season, and they should again be at least good, if not spectacular on the defensive side of the ball.
Bielema is bringing back eight starters from last year's crew, though losing Trey Flowers is going to provide a challenge to replace him up front.
SEASON PREDICTION
Color us believers in Arkansas this year. This schedule is just too brutal to make us think that this is a playoff team, but a ceiling of 10 wins is most certainly attainable.
There's a reason that Bielema's bunch is 45 to 1 to win it all this year, ahead of other potentially really good teams such as Stanford, Texas A&M and Texas.
That said, we still have to remember that at best, this is the third best team in the SEC West, and going 6-6 would be every bit as believable as going 10-2. The hype is high on Arkansas, but in this case, we feel as though it is justified.
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