SPRINGDALE - Lou Holtz knows something about pulling off major upsets. He coached Arkansas’ football program in two of its most memorable upset victories ever, when the Razorbacks beat No. 2 Oklahoma 31-6 in the 1978 Orange Bowl and when they beat No. 1 Texas 42-11 in 1981.
So what does Holtz think about this year’s Arkansas team’s chances of upsetting any of its next four opponents: No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 20 Florida, No. 12 South Carolina and No. 1 Alabama?
“Let me ask you this - do they have to play them all in the same day?” Holtz said Monday when he spoke to the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club.
Arkansas will play those four ranked teams one per week, beginning with Texas A&M at 6 p.m. Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
“OK, then you focus on who do you have next - Texas A&M,” Holtz said. “I don’t know who we play after that, we have A&M.
“You focus on the one you have, because if you win, if you lose, that affects how your team is going to react the following week. You have a great win, then you’re going to approach it in a little bit different way.”
Texas A&M beat Arkansas 58-10 last season and has the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in quarterbackJ ohnny Manziel, but Holtz said he believes the Razorbacks can win.
“They’ve got a shot at A&M, let me tell you,” said Holtz, an ESPN analyst. “A&M has problems on defense right now, at least from what I’ve seen.
“You control the ball, you play them here, which is a great asset.”
Holtz said Arkansas’ defense played well in the first three games and in the first three quarters of last week’s 28-24 loss at Rutgers before the Scarlet Knights rallied from a 24-7 deficit in the third quarter.
“You’ve got a good defense,” Holtz said. “You’ve got an outstanding freshman running back in [Alex] Collins. Just go play it. You guys are on scholarship, too.”
Bret Bielema said upon his hiring as Arkansas’ coach in December that he took the job to win the SEC championship, something the Razorbacks haven’t done since joining the conference in 1992.
Arkansas is 0-3 in SEC Championship Game appearances, losing to Florida 34-3 in 1995, to Georgia 30-3 in 2002 and to Florida 38-28 in 2006.
Bielema coached Wisconsin to Big Ten championships the previous three seasons, and Holtz said he sees “no reason whatsoever” that Arkansas can’t win an SEC title under Bielema.
Holtz said he’s known Bielema since his days at an assistant coach at Wisconsin, where Barry Alvarez is athletic director.
Alvarez was Holtz’s defensive coordinator at Notre Dame before becoming the coach at Wisconsin, where he promoted Bielema from defensive coordinator to behis successor.
Bielema went 68-24 in seven seasons as Wisconsin’s coach.
“I see nothing on his resume, nothing on his background that would cause you to believe he would not enjoy great success here once he gets everything established,” Holtz said. “I think Arkansas can definitely win [an SEC title].”
Holtz coached in the SEC for six seasons at South Carolina before retiring from coaching after the 2004 season with an overall college record of 249-132-7 in 33 seasons, including 60-21-1 at Arkansas in 1977-1983.
Arkansas played in the now-defunct Southwest Conference when Holtz coached the Hogs, and he said it wasn’t much different, competition-wise from the SEC.
“I know the SEC is difficult, but let’s count some of the teams that were in the Southwest Conference whenI was here,” he said. “Texas was pretty good. A&M was outstanding. SMU was the best money could buy. Houston annually was a top 10 team, and Baylor was very good under Grant Teaff.”
Holtz said Arkansas was among the best teams in the SWC and is now able to compete in the SEC because of Frank Broyles, the Razorbacks’ coach in 1958-1976 and athletic director in 1973-2007.
“I know that they’ll always will be indebted to Frank Broyles and what he did - his loyalty, the facilities and everything else,” Holtz said. “You can’t thank Frank Broyles enough for everything he’s done.
“Whatever Arkansas football is, it’s because of what he started. I also think that you have an awful lot of assets going for you. You have a good coach, your facilities are second to none. Your fan base is as strong as any.”
Sports, Pages 15 on 09/24/2013