A year ago, the Arkansas Razorbacks were 3-1 and coming off a 28-20 loss to Rutgers.
No one was drinking the Kool-Aid. There was none to drink.
Now the Hogs are 3-1, and the comment most heard Monday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club was "I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid, but ..."
Maybe it is a cautious optimism the Razorbacks Nation is feeling now, and that is a lot better than what it had the past two years.
The victories over Texas Tech and Northern Illinois were strong indications the Razorbacks are improving, and while everyone is waiting on the real test this weekend against Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Hogs received some love in the coaches and Associated Press polls.
The coaches poll had the Hogs with 19 points, which makes them the No. 35 team in the nation. The AP poll had them with nine points, which would puts them tied for 37th.
Six of the Razorbacks' final eight opponents are ranked. It would have been seven, but Missouri didn't take care of business Saturday against Indiana and dropped out of the poll after being No. 18.
So if the Hogs are going to be a top 25 team and bowl contender, they have the schedule to prove they deserve it.
It is a tough schedule, one that will take great planning, scheming and practices to survive.
The SEC West is so strong it may be time for a realignment of the schools, something Georgia, Florida and South Carolina would fight.
It just seems time to have either Auburn or Alabama go to the East and Missouri go to the West. The schedule would be tricky, but the rivalry game could stay intact, especially if the SEC voted to go with two permanent opponents from the other division.
If the SEC made the switch, Arkansas' permanent opponents should be Vanderbilt and Kentucky, which will happen when Mark Pryor and Tom Cotton go fishing together.
Currently five of the seven SEC West teams are undefeated, and the only losses were Arkansas to Auburn and LSU to Mississippi State. Every team in the SEC East has at least one loss.
The West has zero nonconference losses, while the East has three.
Of course, it would be probably take years for realignment to be agreed upon and right now the focus is on this season, and for Hog fans, it is about this weekend and a battle in Jerry's World, where the Razorbacks are 4-0.
Arkansas is 3-0 against the Aggies in Arlington and beat Kansas State 29-16 on Jan. 6, 2012, in the Cotton Bowl.
A year ago, the Hogs might not have beaten Texas Tech or Northern Illinois, but this season is different than the past two, and the Razorbacks are winning the games they are supposed to win, thus the optimism.
They established a powerful running attack against Tech that couldn't be stopped. No matter what the down or the situation, the Hogs controlled the line of scrimmage, and running backs Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins picked up extra yards after contact.
A week later, Arkansas rushed for 212 yards and passed for 215. That type of balance may have the Aggies a little concerned because they can't just put six defenders in the box to stop the run.
And seven Hogs had at least one catch. Keon Hatcher is obviously the go-to guy for Brandon Allen, but there are other guys who can run great routes and make the catches.
The most important thing for Allen is to avoid throwing interceptions. It took a year to get Bobby Petrino out of Allen's mind. No longer does he think he has to make every play work.
He's learned to manage the game by trusting his linemen and running backs, and now all of them face a test that could jump them into everyone's top 25.
Sports on 09/24/2014