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Let's all hope we reach it.
WPS

This is the first in a series previewing SEC football teams.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- One question became so predictable during Houston Nutt's first eight months as Arkansas' coach that he could see it coming at every Razorback Club appearance.

Can you beat SMU?

Four years and four bowl games later, the stakes have changed.

"My question now at Razorback Clubs is, 'Are you going to take us to the next level?' " Nutt said. "I'm trying. 'Coach can you take us to the BCS [Bowl Championship Series]? We want to get to the BCS.' I do too."

At a point when many coaches have reason to worry about their job security, Nutt enters his fifth season without wondering whether Athletic Director Frank Broyles is fingering the eject button. Not all of Nutt's predecessors were able to say the same.

Yet, Nutt said he feels the pressure to win -- and win big -- more now than ever.

Expectations -- specifically of the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately variety -- was the subject that drew the most animated and lengthy response from Nutt on Tuesday during his SEC media days interview with a few hundred reporters.

It was a more seasoned Nutt than the guy who was just happy to be here four years ago. That's back when the Hogs were coming off two 4-7 seasons and the burning question was whether they could shake a nonconference losing streak to SMU.

Now fans want to know everything from when the Hogs will win their first SEC championship to why Nutt doesn't replace himself as play-caller with an offensive coordinator.

"I'd love to be at Arkansas another 20 years," said Nutt, who turns 45 in October. "But we live in a world where there are all these talk shows and everybody's a quarterback. They know every block. They know how to call all the plays. There's more opinions now. There's more experts than ever before.

"It's all about that last Saturday."

At the American Football Coaches Association convention last January, Nutt watched what he described as an unsettling scene when Notre Dame and Vanderbilt were honored for academic success but their coaches couldn't accept the awards because they'd been fired.

While grade points and graduation rates have stayed afloat under Nutt, the embarrassing off-season arrests of players Cedric Cobbs and Ken Hamlin and an NCAA investigation made Nutt's job harder.

Any adverse effects on the program caused by the arrests or investigation are hard to detect so far. Nutt counted it a good sign that nine recruits already have committed to Arkansas.

Such distractions contribute to the stress on coaches, but the biggest pressure is still winning and losing.

What Arkansas has accomplished under Nutt is the kind of performance that usually keeps coaches employed.

No SEC West team has more victories (30) than Arkansas in the past four years. During the same span, no other program in the division has been to bowls each year, with three being Jan. 1 games. In separate votes, the media and SEC coaches voted Nutt the SEC coach of the year after last season.

"He's our football coach, and he will be our football coach for a long time," Broyles said. "I'm happy with him. The people are happy with him.

"Each coach puts pressure on himself. Houston feels pressure to win, but it's 90 percent self-inflicted."

And winning, goes one theory, is 90 percent players and 10 percent coaching.

Arkansas' talent has risen with each recruiting class, Nutt said.

Nutt bragged on the team speed, especially in the secondary where five players with starting experience return. He said the quarterback position is much more stable now than a year ago, that there's finally depth at receiver and that the running backs are a strength.

Concerns? Several. The biggest worries are the offensive and defensive lines, Nutt said. Both are inexperienced.

Nutt ordered more physical workouts in spring practice to try to hurry development on both sides.

A more diversified offense also is a must to keep defenses from concentrating on the running game, Nutt said. Arkansas still will try to establish the run but will expand its passing game.

Improving on last year's 7-5 record might take more than a few passes, but having eight games at home -- where the Razorbacks are 23-3 under Nutt -- should help.

Nutt is making no promises about where the Razorbacks will finish in the SEC West, how many games they'll win or whether they'll reach a fifth consecutive bowl.

Arkansas is picked to finish fifth in the West by four preseason publications, second by one magazine and first by another.

No matter where Arkansas finishes -- barring a national championship -- Nutt can expect to be asked about reaching the next level at those Razorback Club meetings next spring. And the next. And the next.

Outlook

RETURNING STARTERS Offense 5, defense 7

SURE THING Tailback, secondary

UNSURE THING Offensive line, defensive line

OFFENSIVE MVP Matt Jones

DEFENSIVE MVP Ken Hamlin

SEC TITLE SCENARIO It would help if Arkansas avoids the slow starts it's had the last couple of years. Playing two of the first three conference games on the road won't help. But the West champ usually has two losses, and the Hogs should be a contender if they find a pass rusher and score a few more points. The finale against LSU could be for the right to go to Atlanta for the league's championship game.
The comment at the beginning about Hog fans just wondering if we can beat SMU is so true. Its easy to look over the accomplishments Houston has made at Arkansas and I am quite sure that he can get the Hogs to the BCS. If not this year, than the next.
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