Bielema's SEC record doesn't show how close Razorbacks are to riches
Bret Bielema's career at Arkansas got off to a admirable start. The Razorbacks were 3-0 and headed into their final non-conference contest before the 2013 SEC slate began.
Then Rutgers happened.
Over the last 17 minutes and change of the game, Rutgers erased a 24-7 deficit by scoring the final 21 points of the game to beat Arkansas by four points.
This was easily foreshadowing for the pain that was to come.
The Razorbacks didn't win again all season. Bielema's team faced off against eight SEC foes, and fell prey each time.
Similar to last season, Arkansas has performed well in its non-conference games (3-1 in 2013, 4-0 in 2014) but hasn't found success in the SEC.
All told, the Razorbacks are 7-1 out of conference and 0- 13 in the SEC under Bielema. While that isn't the start to his career at Arkansas that anyone wanted, the fact that he's winless in the SEC isn't as bad as it sounds.
The easiest reasoning behind Arkansas' 0-13 conference record under Bielema is that the Razorbacks aren't as good as the rest of the conference. There is some truth to that statement, but only a hint.
In 2013, Arkansas faced six ranked opponents. All of them were from the SEC, including a five-game gauntlet that included consecutive games against five ranked opponents. Three were in the top 10, and one was the top-ranked team in the country.
Remember, these were all conference games.
The only two SEC teams Arkansas faced last season that weren't ranked were the two darlings of the ball this season, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Six of the Razorbacks eight conference matchups were ranked, and none lower than No. 18.
The results showed. Arkansas lost twice by 40 points or more, four times by at least 18 and had an average margin of defeat of three touchdowns (21 points).
But Arkansas' closest defeats were its three final games. The Razorbacks lost to Ole Miss by 10, Mississippi State by seven and to 15th-ranked LSU by only four.
The losses were still piling on, but the beatings were looking less like quick knockouts and more like closely- matched battles.
Arkansas' five SEC losses this season have been much more competitive, but no less treacherous. Each opponent was ranked in the top 10, but the Razorbacks' losses have been by an average of 9.6 points. Take away their Week 1 loss to Auburn by 24, and the other four losses have been by an average of just a touchdown, including two by exactly seven points and a loss to Alabama by just one point.
Some of these losses have been excruciatingly close.
Top-ranked Mississippi State scored a go-ahead touchdown with 13:21 to play in the game last week, but had to fight off a late flurry and come up with a goal-line stand and pick off an end-zone pass in the final seconds to hold off the Razorbacks.
Bielema fought back emotions after losing by one point to Alabama, a team they outgained by 108 yards.
"The part that kills me is for my players, their families," Bielema said. "Because they are winners. I can't give them a 'W.' They're getting frustrated. It is very frustrating for me."
More evidence of a win escaping Arkansas was found in Texas A&M's come-from-behind victory on Sept. 27. The Aggies had to score 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter just to push the game to overtime, where they handed the Razorbacks another conference loss.
Arkansas hasn't won an SEC game since it beat Kentucky on Oct. 13, 2012. That's 17 consecutive losses (four belong to John L. Smith from 2012), but no one is looking to add Bielema to any hot seat.
Of all the head coaches in college football that have never sniffed a conference victory, Bielema might be the best.
"At this point it's almost numbing to be so close and not be able to come out on top with one of these opportunities," Bielema said after the loss to Mississippi State.
When Bielema was coaching the Wisconsin Badgers, his teams were virtually mistake-free, and played in a calm almost methodical fashion. That hasn't happened in Arkansas yet.
<>The Razorbacks rank 12th in the SEC with eight lost fumbles, and even though quarterback Brandon Allen only has five interceptions, his pick in the end zone at the end of the game versus Mississippi State was costly and could have been avoided.
But other than some of the bad decisions, or areas where poor discipline cropped up, this Arkansas team has been, for the most part, punching blow-by-blow with the titans of the SEC.
It won't be too long before Arkansas finally knocks one of these conference Goliaths down. When that happens, expect the flood gates to open.
The Razorbacks have given myriad examples that they are close to similar levels of play with the big boys in the SEC. The only thing lacking from Bielema's Arkansas team is the knowledge of exactly what it takes to win a football game.
When this team learns how to finally win, expect another SEC West power to emerge. Even though their record doesn't show it, Arkansas is closer to being a ranked power than a Power-5 cellar dweller.
