Razorback Fans Overlook Great Teams Under Houston Nutt

Hoopla over exit covered up one of best decades in Hogs football history

(USA TODAY Sports)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — One name stood out among the Hall of Honor folks Arkansas announced earlier this week, mainly because too many football fans can't let go of "what if" when it comes to Houston Nutt.

The former coach who had the best decade of success for the Razorbacks since they joined the SEC in 1992 is one of nine honorees named by the UA. The one among them that will make it even more special for Nutt is one of his former players, Felix Jones, will go in at the same time. That's fitting.

"I'm humbled by it," Nutt said Wednesday afternoon, trying to stay out of the searing heat in Texas, where he now lives. He found out a few days before the announcement he was going in when athletics director Hunter Yurachek gave him the news. "I'm really excited to go in with Felix."

Looking back at his time (1998-2007), it should be a target for where the program could be. Too many people get hung up on the exit because — as fans often do — they wanted better than the 1998 and 2006 teams that came close, but untimely and key injuries probably cost them a shot at a season for the ages that never really came. In 1998 the team was No. 9 late in the season following a freak loss to Tennessee, yet was still a field goal away from playing Tennessee again in the SEC championship game for the right to go to the national championship game. The 2006 team was ranked No. 5 heading into the final week of the season and won the SEC West. Those were just a few of the great teams he had then.

"We really did have some great teams," Nutt said, reflecting back. "Some outstanding teams. As a coach, you always have those couple of plays that keep.you awake at night for awhile." 

There always is unless you win every game, which doesn't happen very often, even on championship teams. Even the coaches think about that perfect season and dwell on that single loss, but Nutt is always quick to point out he didn't do it by himself. "I wouldn't have been there without the coaches and players," Nutt said.

When he was hired in 1998, it's fair now to say he probably wasn't the odds-on choice to get the job. Most folks thought it was going to be Tommy Tuberville, who was then coaching at Ole Miss.

What most people didn't know was how Nutt had impressed the panel of former players who were talking to candidates. They were drawn in by Nutt's enthusiasm and energy, along with a long, deep genuine love for the Razorbacks. He grew up going to games at War Memorial Stadium in the 1960's and early 70's, playing touch football on the grassy spot before games with a whole gaggle of kids. That usually lasted until Houston, Sr,, came out hollering for them and making a motion like he was going for his belt. The game broke up quick.

Even Nutt probably didn't realize exactly how good the collection of talent was that he inherited in 1998, mainly because they didn't look like it in spring and early practices.

"What am I missing?" he asked trainer Dean Weber, who had been around since the single bar face mask days. "Can we even play in the SEC? He told me they hadn't won and didn't have any confidence. A lot of people didn't know how good those guys really were. Danny Ford had recruited a lot of really good players. I took it as having a long way to go."

All of the preseason talk into August was about getting past SMU, who had been a constant thorn in Ford's side with three straight losses. It was a pain for fans, too, and they weren't even looking at the season opener that year against Louisiana-Lafayette. That game started with Clint Stoerner on a little quick pass to Anthony Lucas, who caught it close to the right sideline, made a tackler miss and went the distance for an early score.

SMU turned out not to be a problem in a 44-17 win that could have been much worse. Most fans figured that was the end of that after two big wins to open the season. Alabama was next and that wasn't an especially bright spot. The Hogs got the nation's attention with a 42-6 win, and it was off to the races.

"They got a little confidence early," Nutt said, "then it really took off with that win over Alabama. They knew then they could play."

The Hogs were 8-0, ranked No. 10 in the country and headed to Tennessee and folks were thinking national championship. In a game they should have won, the Hogs couldn't close it out. A trip by Stoerner that led to a fumble as Arkansas looked to run out the clock, followed by total collapse on defense, prevented Arkansas from claiming a signature win. Then, another road trip for a deflated team ended in a 22-21 loss in Starkville to Mississippi State. That's remembered more than than the shocking start to the season.

That loss in Knoxville still haunts a lot of people, but probably wasn't as costly as the loss to the Bulldogs that knocked them out of the SEC championship game and a rematch against the Vols. Don't forget the start, though, and the hope it gave to an entire state after years of being stuck in the mud.

"We did the best job we could," Nutt said. "We ate and breathed football." 

It continued through 2007 and his last game was a stunning overtime road win in Baton Rouge over then-No. 1 LSU. There were some down years for a couple of reasons, but he did win over 60% of his games, including two wins over a Nick Saban-coached team. Nobody's done it since.

Nutt left for four years at Ole Miss where he ran head-on into a mess he had nothing to do with creating. With the athletics director at the time, just about everything in Oxford ended up in a train wreck. Nutt went out the door along with the AD and some other people at the time. For the last 12 years he's been a Saturday football analyst on the CBS Sports Network.

"It's a grind," Nutt said. "I leave Thursday and come back on Sunday. That's tough and my wife, and I have been talking about doing half of the games, but she's been pushing hard to reduce that."

With a couple of grandkids now, he's looking to take things a little slower. It leaves time for his mind to wander back to his Arkansas days, playing for what could be called the best team in 1977 with the best claim to a national title in program history.

He also coached a couple of teams that were good, too, and that probably should be the focus, not the way it ended. Hog fans need to let go of "what if" and take what was. That was a pretty good decade of football when you look at with about 20 years of reflection.

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