Like It Is

A little optimism goes a long way with fans

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long speaks at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday, Sept. 14, 2014.
Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long speaks at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday, Sept. 14, 2014.

Apparently if it were up to Wolverines Nation, Michigan Coach Brady Hoke wouldn't be fired until after he had been horse-whipped at high noon on the 50-yard line of the Big House.

Such an event might sell out. In advance.

His latest mistake was not replacing injured quarterback Shane Morris during last Saturday's shocking 30-14 loss to Minnesota.

OK, that was probably minor compared to losing to Minnesota. And 26-10 to Utah. And getting skunked 31-0 by Notre Dame.

In three years, Hoke, 55, has gone from bona fide hero to unqualified heel.

So far this year Hoke is making $2 million per victory, based on his two victories and $4 million salary.

The victories were against Appalachian State, which is 1-3, and Miami of Ohio, which is 0-5.

Compared to Hoke, even Florida's Will Muschamp appears to have job security.

Hoke came to Michigan after turning around the Ball State program, which was ranked as high as No. 12 at one time, and then taking San Diego State to nine victories and a victory over Navy in the 2010 Poinsettia Bowl.

That was enough for those who write the big checks to think they could wash away the Rich Rodriguez mistake with a guy who was said to be out of the mold of Bo Schembechler, and there is no higher praise in Michigan.

Hoke, Jim Harbaugh and Les Miles were the most talked about names, but Miles withdrew and Harbaugh wanted the San Francisco 49ers job.

Miles had been mentioned before for the job, but he and LSU were a month away from winning the 2008 BCS championship when his name came up for the job Rodriguez eventually landed.

It is only fair to believe Miles' name will be mentioned for a third time and that once again he will find a way to get a raise for not taking a job he probably wasn't going to get.

Yes, barring going undefeated the rest of the way, it seems that Hoke is history at Michigan. And whether it is just him or Muschamp is forced to resign as well, the country is going to see that the talent pool among college head coaches has become very shallow.

Coaches are no longer wandering from one pay raise to the next. Most of the top-level coaches make more than they can spend anyway, so why uproot the family?

Which makes Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long's hiring of Bret Bielema look even stronger.

Bielema does not have the Razorbacks back yet. He's even said he needs another recruiting class.

What he has done is instill discipline, dedication and pride, not to mention that his players' off-the-field conduct has improved tremendously and the graduation rate is rising.

So despite going 3-9 overall and 0-8 in SEC play last year, and being 0-2 in league play this season, few seem to be questioning Bielema.

There have been some questions after the heart-breaking loss to Texas A&M last Saturday, but mostly it was out of frustration and not aimed at the head coach.

In Arkansas' two losses, both to top-10 teams, the Razorbacks played a very good first half. Against the Aggies, they added a good third quarter.

Both Auburn and A&M decided at half to do whatever it took to stop the Hogs' running game. Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney tried to get things going through the air, but Keon Hatcher, the go-to-receiver, is a marked man. It may take using some freshman receivers a little more.

If you look at Arkansas' remaining schedule objectively, it is hard, hard and harder.

Every opponent but Alabama-Birmingham is ranked. But after seeing what the Razorbacks did last Saturday, it's easy to see why the Razorbacks Nation is becoming more optimistic about the future.

That is something that is in very short supply in Ann Arbor, Mich., right now.

Sports on 10/01/2014

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