Where Arkansas football has finished in every AP Poll of last 25 years
If you were to plot Arkansas football’s success over the 25 years on a graph, it would look like a rough blueprint for a new Six Flags ride. The good times don’t last long enough, and are almost always sandwiched between controversy, scandal or downright awful football.
A common theme over the last 25 years is how many opportunities the program has had that just never really seemed to come together at the right time. Iconic moments, major upsets and instant classics are prevalent, but there’s never been a consistent run of seasons where Arkansas could be considered a national contender.
Despite struggles with the national spotlight and title contention, Arkansas football has accomplished quite a lot. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane through the last 25 years of Arkansas football and see where they’ve started and finished in the AP Top 25 rankings each season. Get ready to relive some classic moments in Razorback history.
1998
Started: Unranked
Finished: 16th
Houston Nutt’s first year as Arkansas head coach was arguably the best of any in program history. They started the season 8-0 before heading to Knoxville for a primetime game against Tennessee.
Clint Stoerner infamously fumbled the ball late in the fourth quarter and Arkansas lost the game, which ended their chance as a title contender. They’d drop a heartbreaker to Mississippi State the following week to lose control of the West and miss out on an SEC Championship Game appearance.
Arkansas would end the 1998 season in the Citrus Bowl against Tom Brady’s Michigan Wolverines. The Razorbacks would come up short, 45-31, but ended the year with a successful 9-3 (6-2 SEC) record.
1999
Started: No. 22
Finished: No. 17
Houston Nutt’s second year in Fayetteville was filled with highlights. Despite a slow 2-2 start, Arkansas got back on track to end the year with wins over three ranked teams. The two most memorable were the 28-24 win over No. 3 Tennessee, in a rematch of 1998’s heartbreaking contest and the 27-6 rout of No. 14 Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
2000
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
After lighting the SEC on fire in his first two seasons as head coach, Houston Nutt’s third season was a struggle. Veteran leaders and playmakers like Clint Stoerner, Anthony Lucas, Brandon Burlsworth, Madre Hill and Joe Dean Davenport were no longer present and it showed. Arkansas finished 6-6 in the regular season and earned a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl to face UNLV. We don’t have to talk about what happened in that game.
2001
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
After an rebuilding year in 2000, Arkansas struggled out of the gate in 2001. They were able to sneak by UNLV in the season-opener, but lost their next three games and it looked like the team might begin to unravel. However, Houston Nutt was able to rally the troops and win six straight games – including a 7-OT thriller over Ole Miss – to earn a spot in the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma. Arkansas would lose in a rock fight, 10-3, but the season could be considered a success. It was the fourth consecutive season that Nutt had guided the Hogs to a bowl game.
2002
Started: Unranked
Finished: Receiving Votes
The 2002 season will always be remembered for Matt Jones and the “Miracle on Markham” win over LSU. Arkansas finished 9-5 (5-3 SEC) and scored their first appearance in the SEC Championship Game under Houston Nutt. How they earned their SEC Championship bid is much more memorable than anything that happened afterwards.
Eight-year-old me was in attendance, in the opposite endzone, to watch the famous Matt Jones-to-DeCori Birmingham touchdown and it will forever be etched in memory. Let’s choose to overlook the lopsided losses to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game the following week and then to Minnesota in the Music City Bowl in favor of that one electric November night on Markham Street.
2003
Started: Unranked
Finished: Receiving Votes
Arkansas scored their third nine-win season under Houston Nutt after a 27-14 win over Missouri in the Independence Bowl. The Razorbacks finished 9-4 (4-4 SEC) and were ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP Poll. The most memorable game from this season was the “Ambush in Austin” where Matt Jones led Arkansas to a 38-28 upset over No. 6 Texas. Later that season, Arkansas would play in the longest game ever – again – after having previously set the record in 2001 against Ole Miss. Once again, they would need seven overtimes to beat Kentucky, 71-63.
2004
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
The final season of Matt Jones’ Arkansas career was disappointing to say the least. A common theme of the Hogs under Houston Nutt was being able to win close games over ranked teams – no matter how lopsided the odds were. In 2004, however, the Razorbacks went 0-5 against ranked opponents and failed to make a bowl game for the first time since Nutt arrived in Fayetteville.
2005
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
The seat started to get warm for Houston Nutt following the 2005 season. Arkansas finished the year 4-7 (2-6 SEC), which was worse than the previous season’s mark. Once again, the Hogs were unable to beat any of the five ranked teams on their schedule – including an embarrassing 70-17 road loss to No. 1 USC in week two. The lone bright spot of this season was freshman running back Darren McFadden, who provided fans with a glimmer of hope heading into 2006.
2006
Started: Receiving Votes
Finished: No. 15
After back-to-back losing seasons, Houston Nutt brought in Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator. Immediately, issues behind the scenes between Malzahn and Nutt began to crop up. Despite the dysfunction, the team had a lot of success in 2006. After getting blown out by No. 6 USC to start the season, Arkansas was able to rattle off 10 wins in a row leading up to a game with LSU in Little Rock – which would begin a three-game losing skid to end the year.
The Razorbacks climbed as high as No. 5 in the AP Poll, made their second SEC Championship Game appearance and ended the season with a loss to Bret Bielema’s No. 6 Wisconsin team in the Capital One Bowl. Darren McFadden had an incredible season where he finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting.
2007
Started: No. 21
Finished: Receiving Votes
Houston Nutt’s 10th and final season in Fayetteville was the definition of a roller coaster ride. The fallout of Nutt’s rift with Malzahn ended with Malzahn’s departure after one short season. The rift also divided fans and important decision-makers with the university. Similar to 2006, though, the team was able to put the dysfunction aside and have another successful season.
Arkansas started 1-2 on the year, but rallied to win seven of their last nine to end the regular season. In the final game of the regular season – with rumors swirling of Nutt’s imminent departure – Arkansas went into Baton Rouge and famously knocked off No. 1 LSU in triple-overtime. Nutt resigned as head coach the following week and defensive coordinator Reggie Herring coached the Razorbacks to a 38-7 loss to No. 7 Missouri in the Cotton Bowl to end the year.
2008
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
The Bobby Petrino era in Fayetteville began with the 2008 season. Despite a plethora of players from the previous season being gone, Casey Dick stayed behind to help implement Petrino’s spread offense. Arkansas would fail to make a bowl game, but would have some very impressive showings throughout conference play. Arkansas was able to upset No. 22 Auburn on the road, 25-22, and then end the season with a 31-30 upset win over LSU in a game dubbed “Miracle on Markham II.”
2009
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
After sitting out the 2008 season due to transfer rules, Ryan Mallett took the reigns of the Arkansas offense in 2009. Petrino’s offensive scheme with Mallett under center was a thing of beauty and fans knew that something special could be brewing. Close losses to No. 23 Georgia, No. 1 Florida (we won’t talk about that one) and No. 17 LSU coupled with upset wins over No. 17 Auburn and Texas A&M showed everyone that Arkansas was going to be back in contention much sooner than expected.
2010
Started: No. 17
Finished: No. 12
The 2010 season was extremely special for Arkansas football. The Razorbacks spent every week inside the AP Top 25 rankings and won 10 games for the first time since 2007. Their only regular season losses came to No. 1 Alabama and on the road to No. 7 Auburn.
Ryan Mallett broke nearly every single season passing record and guided the Razorbacks to their first ever BCS bowl game appearance with a dramatic win over No. 6 LSU to end the regular season. In the BCS Sugar Bowl against No. 6 Ohio State, Arkansas came up just short in a classic, 31-26. Despite that loss, Arkansas was planted firmly in the national spotlight heading into the next season.
2011
Started: No. 15
Finished: No. 5
Arkansas was able to build off of the momentum of an impressive 2010 season and pick up right where they left off with Tyler Wilson leading the offense in place of Ryan Mallett. Arkansas spent every week ranked and their only two losses were road games against No. 3 Alabama and No. 1 LSU. The Razorbacks would earn a trip to the Cotton Bowl where they beat No. 11 Kansas State to captured their first 11-win season in modern history. The sky seemed to be the limit heading into the offseason with a lot of pieces returning in 2012. We all know what happened next.
2012
Started: No. 10
Finish: Unranked
As quickly as Bobby Petrino had built Arkansas into a championship contender, it all came crashing down even faster – literally. Petrino was fired as Arkansas head coach in early April and everyone remembers the reason why. Motorcycle, mistress and misleading his boss. What was going to be the most anticipated football season in program history quickly devolved into a circus. John L. Smith took the interim head coaching role and following an embarrassing week two loss to Louisiana-Monroe, the wheels were officially off in Fayetteville.
2013
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
After the Petrino scandal and subsequent media circus during the 2012 season, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema was hired away from Barry Alvarez’s shadow to try and right the tattered ship that was Arkansas football. Arkansas went in the exact opposite direction from the exciting high-octane spread offense that Petrino employed. Bielema was dead set on implementing a ground and pound, pro-style offense that was going to try to compete with the Alabamas and LSUs of the world. Needless to say, that transition yielded awful results in the first season. Arkansas finished 3-9 (0-8 SEC) in Bielema’s first season.
2014
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
Bret Bielema’s second season went much better than his first in Fayetteville. Arkansas was able to become bowl eligible despite having to face nine ranked teams in 2014. The most memorable moments of the year happened when Arkansas pitched shutouts to defeat No. 20 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss in back-to-back weeks. Then, to end the year, Arkansas went on to rout Texas 31-7 in the Texas Bowl – their first bowl win since 2011.
2015
Started: No. 18
Finished: Receiving Votes
The 2015 season showed the first signs of trouble for the Bret Bielema era. Toledo came into Little Rock and upset the Razorbacks in just the second week of the season. Arkansas would start 2-4, but rebound strong going 6-1 to end the season. They salvaged a potentially disastrous season by making it to the Liberty Bowl and disposing of Kansas State rather easily, 45-23.
2016
Started: Receiving Votes
Finished: Unranked
Cracks in the foundation began to show towards the end of the 2016 season. Arkansas started off 3-0 with an impressive road win over No. 15 TCU, but would be unable to keep any consistency throughout the season. Following their 3-0 start, Arkansas would alternate wins and losses each of the remaining weeks to end the regular season.
Towards the end of the year it became clear that Arkansas would lose games after building first half leads and then not being able to hold on in the second half. The Belk Bowl loss to Virginia Tech was a perfect example. Arkansas built up a 24-0 halftime lead but allowed Virginia Tech to score 35 unanswered in the second half to win. It would mark the beginning of the end for Bret Bielema at Arkansas.
2017
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
The final season of Bret Bielema’s tenure at Arkansas was doomed from the start. The offense had lost their ability to run the ball and control the line of scrimmage while the defense looked downright abysmal at times. While Bielema pleaded in postgame press conferences that Arkansas “was close” to being able to compete again, fans and decision-makers – rightfully – disagreed. Bielema was fired following Arkansas’ 48-45 loss to Missouri to end a disappointing 4-8 season.
2018
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
Arkansas hired Chad Morris to replace Bret Bielema in 2018 and things never quite got out of the right lane. The season started off with a blowout win over Eastern Illinois and included some decent moments, but a lot of losing. Arkansas lost four one-possession games and finished 2-10 (0-8 SEC), but it was largely overlooked as it was the first season for a first-time head coach. Morris was given the benefit of the of the doubt heading into 2019.
2019
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
After a 2-1 start to the 2019 season, Arkansas was upset by San Jose State in Fayetteville and that was the beginning of the end for the Chad Morris era at Arkansas. The Hogs would finish 2-10, once again, and Morris would be fired two games before the season ended. Barry Lunney Jr. took over as interim head coach for the final two games as Arkansas began looking for their next head coach.
2020
Started: Unranked
Finished: Unranked
Sam Pittman had one of the most difficult jobs in the country when he was tabbed as Chad Morris’ replacement. Then, the Covid-19 pandemic happened and made a difficult job look even more impossible. Instead of a traditional schedule, Arkansas played 10 SEC games and six of those SEC teams were ranked. That may go down as the most difficult schedule in program history. Despite that schedule, Pittman was able to win more games in his first year than Morris did in either of his first two, so fans were optimistic heading into 2021.
2021
Started: Unranked
Finished: No. 21
The 2021 season was special mostly because it showed that Arkansas could produce a winning football team once again. Sam Pittman was able to guide the Hogs to their most successful season in a decade with wins over No. 15 Texas, No. 7 Texas A&M and Penn State. The most memorable moment from the season came when fans stormed the field following the 40-21 win over No. 15 Texas in week two. Arkansas finished the year 9-4 (4-4 SEC) and won the Outback Bowl.
2022
Started: No. 19
Finished: Unranked
After an outstanding 2021 campaign, Arkansas football came crashing back to reality during 2022. Major injuries across the roster coupled with rumors of dissent in the locker room held the Hogs back from replicating the success of 2021. They were barely able to get bowl eligible where they needed triple-overtime to defeat Kansas to win the Liberty Bowl. The return of KJ Jefferson as Arkansas’ QB1 and a major overhaul of players and staff might be enough to improve upon last season’s lackluster showing.
