Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

The last time Beano Cook thought this highly of the Arkansas Razorback football program — proclaiming the Hogs likely to play for a national championship — he was 43 years younger, and Arkansas was returning most of the team that throttled a Southeastern Conference powerhouse in a New Year's Day bowl game.

Then, as now, Cook cited one major factor in Arkansas' favor: the upcoming schedule.

In the winter-spring of 1969, Cook was working for ABC Television's Roone Arledge, who was wanting to make college football's centennial season extra special. Arledge wanted the best TV package possible — and remember, this was when one network carried college football, and often only one game was shown each Saturday, and games weren't moved from afternoon to nighttime on a whim a week before kick off. Also, the NCAA frowned upon teams being shown more the twice in one season.

My, how times have changed.

But in 1969, Cook had the foresight to see that Texas and Arkansas, if they moved their game from the usual mid-October date to Dec. 6, at the end of the season, they could both arrive there unbeaten and perhaps ranked Nos. 1-2. Of course, Ohio State was the defending national champion and had almost everyone back, and the Buckeyes would have to stumble.

And it all came to pass. Arkansas and Texas were both televised three times that year. The Texas-Arkansas game was so big, President Richard Nixon attended, and Billy Graham gave the invocation. What's fascinating is to read Orville Henry's preseason writeup of the season in the Arkansas Gazette that also forecast those events for Dec. 6, 1969.

Flash forward to now, with Cook being the first of several sports columnists/would-be seers who have penciled Arkansas in for at least playing for the national championship. Cook said the Hogs and Southern Cal, which will be back on the bowl scene after a year away because of probation, will meet in the BCS Championship Game.

If you're fully expecting another SEC team to make the title contest for the seventh year in a row and are simply tired of naming Alabama or LSU for one of the spots, then Arkansas probably seems like the next logical choice from the league based on the success of Hogs' past two seasons.

Arkansas' five losses over 2010-11 have come against teams that at one point were No. 1 in the polls in the past two years — Alabama (twice), LSU, Auburn and Ohio State.

With maybe the best quarterback in the country returning, along with four offensive linemen, one experienced receiver, and running back Knile Davis healthy after a year's absence, the national prognosticators and columnists don't see much if any fall-off in Bobby Petrino's offense.

National writers who are hesitant to crown Arkansas as the next SEC king always point to the Hogs'  shortcomings on defense the past four seasons under Petrino. Arkansas fans we've encountered, however, seem outright giddy at the Hogs' performance in the Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State, proclaiming it proof that ousted defensive coordinator Willy Robinson won't be missed.

The thought appears to be that all is about to be well with Arkansas defensively with new coordinator Paul Haynes and a recruiting class that was heavy in star-studded defensive talent (well, relative to what had been recruiting the past few seasons).