12/18/10
After three years of coaching in Fayetteville, Bobby Petrino has his Razorbacks where most of the faithful had anticipated. He has transformed a grind it out rushing system into a wide-open aerial assault that wins football games equaling an invitation to a BCS bowl game. Whether or not the magic man behind center decides to stick around for another season will go far into determining where Arkansas will rank this preseason. Quarterback Ryan Mallett is the strength of this football team. If he decides to jump to the pros as many expect him to do, the Razorbacks obviously will take a big drop in these rankings. And what a shame from a collegiate standpoint if he does jump ship considering the talented group of receivers set to line up again in 2011. Running back Knile Davis is also a big reason why Arkansas made its surge in the second half of the season. The Razorbacks had a stable of qualified but relatively unproductive backs until Davis made a huge leap. His ability has made the Arkansas offense two-dimensional opening up the passing lanes for Mallett. The defense has been a work in progress over Petrino's tenure. While it won't be a dominating group again in 2011, there is enough returning talent across the board to be respectable. What keeps Arkansas ranking so high this off-season is a six game regular season win streak they take with them into the Sugar Bowl versus Ohio State. The Mallett return factor cannot be stressed enough however as the 6'6 signal caller plays a major role in just where Arkansas will sit in the preseason polls. But Coach Petrino's success has afforded him a brand new seven-year contract. He can win in the SEC West with any legit quarterback.