(09-20-2023 06:05 PM)Garrettabc Wrote: I never figured Arkansas has some deep tie to Dallas, that’s how little I know about Texas. It’s an interesting read that explains a few things.
SMU should compete just fine in the ACC in their debute season. Stan-Cal will likely be permanent fixtures on the schedule, they are both at low points. There are a handful of ACC teams that look like they are on the upswing, so those will be tough, but everybody else SMU should be able to hang with or beat.
If you are old enough to remember the SWC when Arkansas was a member, they had some of their best seasons in the 60s to the 80s, and some truly classic games while playing in the conference. For reference, here was the list of FB champions/
Texas (27 titles, 19 outright): 1916, 1918, 1920, 1928, 1930, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1950, 1952, 1953*, 1959*, 1961*, 1962, 1963, 1968*, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975*, 1977, 1983, 1990, 1994*, 1995
Texas A&M (17, 15): 1917, 1919, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1939, 1940*, 1941, 1956, 1967, 1975*, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993
Arkansas (14, 7): 1933, 1936, 1946*, 1954, 1959*, 1960, 1961*, 1964, 1965, 1968*, 1975*, 1979*, 1988, 1989
SMU (11, 9): 1923, 1926, 1931, 1935, 1940*, 1947, 1948, 1966, 1981, 1982, 1984*
TCU (9, 7): 1929, 1932, 1938, 1944, 1951, 1955, 1958, 1959*, 1994*
Baylor (7, 5): 1915*, 1916, 1922, 1924, 1974, 1980, 1994*
Rice (7, 4): 1934, 1937, 1946*, 1949, 1953*, 1957, 1994*
Houston (4, 1): 1976*, 1978, 1979*, 1984*
Texas Tech (2, 0): 1976*, 1994*
Oklahoma (1, 0): 1915*,
* – Denotes shared title
I have to point out, never has there been a more annoying fan base than Tx Tech. They were a deadbeat in the SWC, and the trend continues in the Big 12, where after 27 years, they have yet to make a championship game, or win a title. But they act like they win the national championship every year.
Back on topic. Arkansas produced some pretty good teams in the SWC, largely because they recruited the heck out of Texas. They have a very large and loyal contingent of pig fans that live throughout North and East Texas. And during big games could sometimes match the home team's attendance. When they went to the SEC, they stopped playing in Texas, although SMU did play an 8 game series with them. They joined the SEC 1992, and continued playing SMU through 1999 going 4-4. They did not play another SWC team until facing Texas in 1999 in the Cotton Bowl.
But more importantly to the story, Arkansas has never won the SEC conference. They have 3 appearances in the CG, and lost all three, the last in 2006.
I have many Pig friends and the default excuse for a loss is always officiating. The real reason IMHO is they cannot recruit nearly as effectively in Texas as they did in the past. #1A is some really bad coaching hires.
Its a good school with great fan support. But they can't recruit nationally like Alabama and Georgia. They need to own their backyard - AR, OK, LA, and hit Texas hard. And that's difficult when you are out of sight and out of mind.
I don't know enough about ACC recruiting to say for sure. Its somewhat rare to see ACC names in offer lists. I'm sure some do recruit here. I would suspect everyone who does recruit Texas would love the exposure. There is just so much talent here, feeding FBS to JUCO all over the country. And the numbers continue to grow.
