Really hard to find much motivation for Razorbacks against Longhorns

Arkansas playing for nothing that could be bad if anybody really cared about game against Texas

Arkansas Razorbacks tight end Rohan Jones tries to break away from Auburn Tigers defender in game at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It's hard to believe this Arkansas team is going to finish the season still fired up and ready to pull off a huge upset against the once-hated Texas Longhorns.

Nobody has really seemed that interested in Saturday's game where the No. 17 Longhorns are heavily favored. That's not surprising.

Considering Texas started the season No. 1 in the country and played Ohio State to the wire in one of the few games dominated by defense this year in all of college football none of that is too surprising.

They had a stumble game in a last-gasp effort by Florida. Quarterback Arch Manning hasn't had a bad season for a first-year starter, but didn't put up the staggering numbers required. The Longhorns looked as if they didn't believe they had a shot at Georgia.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws under pressure from Florida Gators linebacker Myles Graham (5) during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Now they're playing for a decent run to the end of the season and what they would hope set the path for next season, which I suspected was more realistic to expect something big down there anyway.

I have no idea what to expect with the Hogs. That includes these last two games or what they'll be getting ready to do next year.

Or exactly who will be trying to figure out what direction that will be coming from. With a coaching search now dragging into a second month and not a single win, nothing is surprising about that, either.

Thinking this Razorback team is ready to pull out some sort of emotional super effort on the road this week is probably a big dose of hope more than anything else.

This team hasn't just quit in the traditional sense like we saw at the end of some recent coaching changes, but there have been enough series in games they've let down it's right there below the surface.

Arkansas has been teetering for a few years. They stumbled to a couple of .500 seasons where they faced a mediocre opponent in the Liberty Bowl and everybody talked about a winning season. You could see this coming in the loss to BYU at Razorback Stadium in 2023.

Time to write a new chapter 🐗 pic.twitter.com/RwMWh3cQ8m

— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) November 21, 2025

It's slowly gone downhill since then with little problems slowly sliding into big problems. Now there is an interim coach some people thought could save the day.

Bobby Petrino hasn't managd to get a single win in charge and I'm not sure anybody cares enough about Texas that even getting a win in that game could get him the job full time.

In other words, this Razorback team could let go of the rope on the season at any time and it wouldn't really be surprising. When the best they can do with full effort is find creative ways to lose in the fourth quarter, sooner or later thy just aren't going to care that much.

Both Petrino and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian have said the appropriate things this week. There hasn't been any bulletin board material from the players because nobody lets the media talk to the players these days.

It does kinda take some of the interest off things these days. As long as people watch the games on TV and legally make wagers on it nobody's really going to care about that, either.

But don't be surprised if the Hogs finally let go of the rope. Just one of those weird feelings you get in these seasons. You learn by experience.