Chris Bahn: Razorbacks Have Choice as Football Season Winds Down

Michael Smith has seen all this before.

It was just last year, in fact. Arkansas had been through a difficult and, at times, disheartening stretchand stood just 3-4 with five games remaining in the season.

Bowl hopes were weakened in Bobby Petrino's first season against what some observers called the toughest schedule in school history. From there things only got worse.

Disheartened by the slow start, players began to lose focus. They couldn't quite convince themselves the postseason was a reality and Arkansas closed out the year with a 5-7 record, just missing out on bowl eligibility.

Just because the Razorbacks are in familiar territory doesn't mean they have to follow the same path. Smith, a senior running back regarded as a leader for the Razorbacks, wanted to make that clear Monday.

With five games remaining, Arkansas has an opportunity to reverse course. Missing out on another postseason doesn't have to be a foregone conclusion.

Arkansas' players have a choice. Smith wants them to choose wisely.

"The reality of the situation is we are seven games into it and we have the same record as we did last year. This could go two ways," Smith said. "We can either step up and everybody play and make it to a bowl game ... or we can feel sorry for ourselves that we were close but didn't get a call here or make a play there."

Because 18 starters are back from last year, it's easy to forget this team is still young. That's not an excuse, but it is a reminder of just what Arkansas is dealing with.

Saturday's 30-17 embarrassment at Ole Miss featured only seven seniors among the 22 offensive and defensive starters. It's not outside the realm of possibility to think that if Smith and the team's upperclassmen don't intervene, Arkansas could experience a similar slide.