FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas fans have varying expectations when it comes to Chad Morris’s first season as the Razorbacks’ head coach. There are some who still view Arkansas as a total rebuilding job after seeing the Hogs go a combined 33-42 since Bobby Petrino ran the program into the ditch in April 2012.
This group tends to be more patient and understanding of the fact that Morris is inheriting a roster built to run schemes drastically different than he’s known for.
For this collection of fans, six wins and a berth in just about any bowl game would be a fine start for Morris’s staff, but they won’t jump ship if this year’s team isn’t quite ready to meet those standards.
On the other side is a group of fans who have completely run out of patience. They’re not interested in hearing about personnel issues, they want to win now.
This group sees the most favorable Arkansas schedule in several years and just enough talent on the roster to expect nothing less than 7-8 wins and a respectable bowl game at the end of the year.
It won’t be easy to please the latter crowd, but it is possible. After all, they do have a point about Arkansas’ schedule.
The slate’s toughest non-conference matchup is a road trip to Colorado State on Sept. 8, and the three other non-cons include a season-opener in Fayetteville against Eastern Illinois (Sept. 1), a home game against North Texas (Sept. 15), and homecoming against Tulsa (Oct. 20).
Arkansas certainly isn’t a program that can overlook or underestimate any of those teams, but it’s not exactly a difficult road to travel, either.
Taking care of business against all four non-conference opponents would leave the Razorbacks just two games shy of bowl eligibility, and there are more than a couple of winnable matchups in SEC play.
Two of those will be played in October, as a rebuilding Ole Miss team has to visit Little Rock (Oct. 13) and Vanderbilt, which is 18-31 under head coach Derek Mason, will travel to Fayetteville two weeks later.
When looking for a minimum of six wins and any sort of bowl game for this year’s team, that’s the recipe. Any more than that should probably be seen as icing on the cake, but there is potential for Arkansas to take a couple of “swing” games and finish with seven, possibly even eight regular-season victories.
No, not the road trip to Auburn on Sept. 22 or the home game against Alabama two weeks later. Those are pretty much out of reach for this year’s Hogs.
But the final three games of the regular season – which starts with a home game against LSU and finishes with trips to Mississippi State and Missouri – aren’t out of question.
LSU is expected to take a step back, and while Mississippi State and Missouri are still moving in the right direction, they’re not well ahead of the Hogs by any means.
The early-season matchup with Texas A&M – Morris’s alma mater – should be interesting, as well, considering the Aggies are also rebuilding under first-year head coach Jimbo Fisher.
Make no mistake, Arkansas still has a lot to figure out between now and the first of September, and nothing is guaranteed for this year’s team. But if starters stay healthy and things begin to click for the Razorbacks as the season rolls, there is potential for Morris’s first season to be an enjoyable one.