Editorial: Wait 'til next year - again

Arkansas fans react after a North Texas score Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, during the second quarter at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. Visit nwadg.com/photos to see more photographs from the game.

You’ve got to be tough to be an Arkansas Razorback football fan these days. As you often hear on talk radio or read on “fan” message boards, the Razorbacks are currently mired in one of the least successful eras in their history.

In the seven years since whipping Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl to close the 2011 season at 11-2, the football Razorbacks have won only 35 games and lost 51, a winning percentage of 40.6 percent. In that time, they’ve had three head coaches (not counting the one who got fired for misbehavior) and only three winning seasons (if fans consider “winning” as defined by a number of victories just slightly north of 50 percent).

Adding insult to injury, the 2018 campaign — the one that wraps up today with a game against Missouri — will be no better than tied for worst of all. The Razorbacks stand at 2-9, and have only once before lost as many as nine games in one year. First-year coach Chad Morris’ team had a few close calls. But all in all, it’s been a very disappointing year for the fans of the cardinal and white.

If fans are disappointed, imagine how the coaches and players feel. It’s fair to assume none of them were counting on 3-9 or 2-10 going into the season. That’s especially true for the senior players, who came to the hill when the program seemed to be on the ascent. At least those Razorbacks had chances to play games of national consequence and in the post-season. Not so in the last two seasons.

Despite all that, Morris — the coach brought in to right the ship and change the team’s culture (again) — has remained a paragon of positivity. He has avoiding the clownish buffoonery of John L. Smith (“Smile!”) and the cocky casualness of Bret Bielema while remaining focused on signs of progress from his team. Yes, at 2-9, there really was some progress (despite last week’s lackluster performance at Mississippi State).

And then, there’s the future.

If toughness is a requirement to call the football Hogs, so are resilience and optimism. While Morris’ first team has been historically unsuccessful, his first recruiting class appears to have as much or more potential than any other before it. The services that rank recruiting classes for the benefit of voracious fans say the Razorbacks’ cadre of incoming players will be among the 15 best in the country. No previous coach has been able to claim that.

Fans see those reports of recruiting success and are already dreaming of a Razorback resurgence beginning next year. Many also see in the coach a likable, confident leader who says all the right things and hits all the right notes.

If that brightens the outlook for some fans, good for them. We suspect those supporters will have a much more pleasant off-season than the crotchety naysayers of the blogosphere who will spend the winter, spring and summer predicting even more gloom and doom in Hog Country. Some have already pronounced the new coaching regime a failure (as if one season is enough to make a final judgment) and are beginning to debate who might be coming next to save the day in Fayetteville (we’ll bet Jon Gruden won’t be on that speculative wish list this time around).

We’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to thank those young men who took to the field each week. None of them were Pollyannish about this season. Probably more than most others, they recognized the challenges and the limitations of a team caught between two coaching eras. They knew the difficulties, and they showed up to play, to literally give it the old college try. No, there are no moral victories, but credit is due where it is deserved. They are Razorbacks, dedicated to team and school. They wanted more for themselves, the college and the state. Fans get to stay fans. Players have a limited time to don that uniform. We suspect many of this year’s players will relive this difficult season over and over in their minds for many years to come, after fans have moved on to a hopefully brighter future of Hog football.

Of course, fans really won’t know what the future holds until it gets here and Morris’ second team takes the field. As always, they’ll win some and they’ll lose some but no one can say how many of each. If following the team provides entertainment and a little distraction from the foibles in the real world, more’s the better.

There really is one thing that is certain: Win or lose, it’s only a game. So why not just enjoy the ride wherever it goes?