Petrino Just Following Advice from His Dad About Goals for Hogs

Why Razorbacks keeping apirations high for coming season, despite projections for doom, gloom

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino at a fall camp practice at the indoor field in Fayetteville, Ark. / Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

1. National championship.

2. Undefeated season.

3. SEC title.

4. Reach the 12-team NCAA playoff. Achieve #3 and #4 is guaranteed.

5. SEC West title. Wait, there is no East and West anymore in the SEC.

6. Winning record.

7. Bowl victory.

8. Bowl game.

9. Don't get the coach fired.

In case it's not obvious, those are the unstated goals for Arkansas' football team for the 2024 season. For the true dreamers who always think the Razorbacks will win every game they ever play, only Nos. 6-9 are achievable.

Lest the coaches and players take offense, it should be noted anything is truly possible. On a given Saturday afternoon, almost any team (especially one in the SEC) can beat any other team.

So, those SEC-caliber players who had one dream come true when they were recruited by a school from college football's powerhouse conference, those players who now reside in Fayetteville, could outlast a ranked Oklahoma State team in Stillwater in the season's second game.

They could also ambush Auburn in week 4 on the road.
They could upend A&M at Jerry World to reach 5-0.

Then they could top Tennessee in front of a frenzied sellout crowd at Razorback Stadium.
It might be a stretch, but they could follow that by getting refreshed on a bye week and outlast LSU for another home win.

That'd put Arkansas in the Top 10 of the national rankings, if not the Top 5. It's difficult to imagine, even for the biggest Arkansas homers or especially wide-eyed 8-year-olds who think the Razorbacks are the greatest thing ever and it's their dream to one day wear the uniform with the Hog on the helmet.

But, perhaps not. Remember the New York Mets, who'd never had a winning season, but stunned the world even more than the moon landing did in 1969 by winning the World Series?

They came out of nowhere, guided by a steady manager the team believed in while merging young talent with some veterans to fashion a make-believe season. Sports is full of hundreds more examples.

So, the Hogs could reach 8-0 with a road win at Starkville against a mediocre Mississippi State team.
They could come back home and outfox Ole Miss.

If so, that'd likely be their fifth win against a ranked team. Remember, before Stoerner stumbled and fumbled back in 1998, the Hogs were coming off a 4-7 season that featured a 31-7 loss to lowly SMU, then went 8-0 and were ranked 10th, leading No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville with just 1:47 left to play.

Tennessee escaped that day and won the national title, curiously the year after legendary Vols quarterback Peyton Manning was the overall No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. What that means is luck can sometimes play a huge role, along with talent, belief, confidence, team chemistry, and avoiding injuries.

Just winning eight games this season would exceed almost all expectations for the Razorbacks. If they're a shocking 9-0 when the hated 'Horns come to Fayetteville, fans will be looking for the Hogs to pull off the same magic that produced a 40-21 shellacking of Texas in 2021 when head coach Sam Pittman led Arkansas to a 9-4 season.

Arkansas fans went wild that day as their team led 16-0 at halftime, 33-7 after three quarters, and sent the always arrogant Longhorns home with their tails tucked. Then, all that would stand between the Hogs and their first unbeaten regular season since 1966 would be disposing of Louisiana Tech and finding a way to win a difficult road game against a ranked Mizzou squad.

Yes, people may think it's foolishness beyond belief. But, do those same people tell their kids they can't hit the ball, make the basket, score the goal, get the A in class, or ride a bike?

Of course not. Their kid would feel lousy if they did.

Point is, everyone knows — including the Razorbacks — that Vegas says they won't have a winning record this season. But, as St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andujar once infamously said, "You can sum it up in one word: 'You never know.'"

That was certainly the case for Mike Piazza, who was drafted in the 62nd round strictly as a favor by Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda to Piazza's dad. Lasorda was a dear family friend and godfather to Mike's brother, Tom.

Nobody, absolutely nobody, could've predicted that Mike Piazza would turn into a Hall of Fame catcher. So, like good parents, Arkansas coaches are encouraging their players and instilling belief and confidence while teaching them every day.

Every coaching staff in the country is doing the same and none know for certain how it will work out. They're all setting goals, and realistic or not, to show they all aspire to win some sort of championship.

"My dad used to tell me all the time, if you’re gonna have a goal, then you have to be courageous enough to announce it so you can go out and get it," Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino said. "If you want to keep your goal to yourself, your chances of going and getting it aren’t really good."

Speak it into being. So, while only Nos. 6 through 9 at the beginning of this story might seem realistic, don't squash the hopes of kids who envision so much more.

It's still early. Dare to dream.

HOGS FEED:

• Calipari continues hunting down elite Top 100 talent for 2025 class

•Petrino candid on where Arkansas offense stands

• Top 5 Sam Pittman quotes from training camp this year

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