Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

We wonder if anybody on that trip back from Austin, Texas, in 2008 after a humiliating 52-10 loss to the bad guys in burnt orange could have imagined that, three years later, the Arkansas Razorbacks would be on a 14-of-16 winning roll and ranked in the Top 10 and with a shot at the Top 5 and another major postseason bowl bid.

Maybe Bobby Petrino and his staff could dream that outrageously during a September to forget, since this is where they planned to be when they put 16 freshmen on the field in 2008 and took their early beatings in the process.

Some coaches have to wait until their second year, at the earliest to enjoy a moment that tells them and their players — and the hard-to-please fan base — that all the hard work has indeed been worth it and even better days are ahead.

For Petrino, he remembered on Wednesday during the Southeastern Conference coaches teleconference as that moment being the 2008 season-ending, 31-30 win over LSU, accomplished in the final seconds at War Memorial Stadium — a "Miracle on Markham II," as it were.

It may have only meant the difference in 5-7 or 4-8 in the win-loss record, but it allowed players like Warren's Jarius Wright and Little Rock's Joe Adams to end a bruising season on a high note and it served as an impetus for those young players to work even harder in an off-season that was parlayed into an 8-win year and the first bowl game for the Petrino program.

Last year, in a season capped by a first-ever BCS bowl appearance, Arkansas' three defeats came against teams that at one time in 2010 were ranked No. 1.

When has that EVER happened in Razorback football history?

"The greatest thing about this group of seniors is, that year that they were freshmen and were playing as true freshmen, they came to practice every day with positive attitudes and eagerness," Petrino said. "That's really what carried us through that year, their great effort and work ethic, and it's really paid off the last three years."

But Petrino only had his 41-9 record at Louisville and the dream of winning big at Fayetteville to share with the Warren trio of Wright, Greg Childs and Chris Gragg when he and Arkansas recruiting coordinator Tim Horton, a holdover from Houston Nutt's staff, made a whirlwind tour of the state to lock down commitments made earlier in the year. Petrino also had to do what Nutt couldn't do: Convince Joe Adams that staying in-state and playing for his offense in Fayetteville would be more enjoyable than a college career in Los Angeles for Pete Carroll (who has since moved on to the NFL) and Southern Cal.

Let's also not forget that Petrino's arrival made it easier for Michigan transfer Ryan Mallett to come back home with his passing talents, or for two-time state title-winning Greenwood quarterback Tyler Wilson to jump at the Razorback scholarship offer he always desired.

Mallett would've had a harder time putting up his weekly record-breaking passing totals without the likes of J-Wright, Adams, Childs and holdover tight end D.J. Williams being here in 2009-10.

Wilson, in picking up in his own way where Mallett left off, put up a record-breaking, all-time UA mark of 510 yards passing against Texas A&M on Oct. 1, and Jarius Wright was on the receiving end of 265 (also a record) of those yards.