Why Last Year Means Absolutely Nothing for Hogs Now
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Coaches say it all the time but nobody wants to listen.
"Last year has absolutely nothing to do with this year," Lou Holtz told the media in 1978 after Arkansas was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the preseason choice for No. 1 with quarterback Ron Calcagni, running back Ben Cowins and Lou all there.
After having their best shot at winning at legitimate national title in football, there were high expectations.
Arkansas Razorbacks Ron Calcagni and Ben Cowins with coach Lou Holtz on the cover of Sports Illustrated on Sept. 11, 1978. (Sports Illustrated)
Now Hog fans have high expectations after a 9-4 season last year. For some reason a lot of people that has something to do with this year.
It doesn't. Lou told us that in 1978 ... I was there and heard it.
Predictions in August really are meaningless. They are usually based on last season and assuming the Hogs are the only team in the SEC that worked in the spring and fall camp to get better.
Everybody did.
The guess here is they will be somewhere between 6-6 and 11-1. Tell me what everybody else does this season and I'll give you a more accurate answer at the end of November.
Also tell me what officials are calling the games and I can weigh in with that, too.
The bottom line is injuries, game conditions and a lot of things that nobody can predict will happen during the season.
"We’re getting there," Hogs coach Sam Pittman said last week about building the expectations of the fans. "We’re not there yet, but we’re certainly headed in the right direction."
The guess here is Sam would be perfectly happy with people picking the Hogs to be 5-7. Some view it as respect where they are picked.
That means they are looking in the rearview mirror and not through the windshield.
We could go into the whole "last week has nothing to do with this week" that Holtz also told us, well, about every week.
But we have at least a week before that one comes into play.
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AUBURN MAKING NEWS FOR WRONG REASONS, MORE MIKE LEACH GEMS
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