Talk about the SEC with Texas and Oklahoma as members.

[DirkPiggler]

I'm not "downplaying". It just seems to me that we lost the BIG games. Yes, we were ranked #3, but we LOST to #1 and #2. Winning those would be BIG games. We LOST in our only BCS game.

I would MUCH rather go back to those days, but we still lost more BIG games than we won back then. Again, not trying to downplay, just being honest.

You know what games we didn't lose under BMFP?  The ones like Liberty and BYU.  Or to a 5-7 or 5-6 Missouri at home.  Or to a 5-7 aTm after being up 14-0. 

The only games he lost to less talented teams or lower reputation teams were Kentucky and Miss State his first year, before he'd had time to install his system fully and flush the stench of Nutt from the program.  Without beating those teams you don't get the opportunity at any truly big games. And it's fair to say he won his share of the big games...2-2 vs. LSU, 3-1 vs. Auburn, 3-1 against the best teams South Carolina ever had, etc.

[AporkalypseNow]

I'd LOVE to whine about how we can't beat Bama again when we have 10 or 11 wins.

I guess some people do have unreasonable expectations for the program.

[Usafhawg]

I'd LOVE to whine about how we can't beat Bama again when we have 10 or 11 wins.

I guess some people do have unreasonable expectations for the program.

I say AGAIN.

I LOVED THE PETRINO YEARS

I guess my definition of "big" games and everybody else's is different. Beating USC-E doesn't merit a big game to me. Beating a 6-7 Georgia team doesn't merit a big game to me. I did say I will give the "didn't come to paint" game. A big game win to me would've been beating Bama. Beating LSU when we were both Top 3. Beating OSU in our only BCS game.

Just because we didn't lose to the Liberty's and BYU's, doesn't make those big games.

Either way, I'm happier than Rick B's guests on Thanksgiving when they tear into his wonderful crockpot dressing now that BMFP is back!!

[bigpig]

I say AGAIN.

I LOVED THE PETRINO YEARS

I guess my definition of "big" games and everybody else's is different. Beating USC-E doesn't merit a big game to me. Beating a 6-7 Georgia team doesn't merit a big game to me. I did say I will give the "didn't come to paint" game. A big game win to me would've been beating Bama. Beating LSU when we were both Top 3. Beating OSU in our only BCS game.

Beating LSU when they were #5 isn't a big game?

Beating South Carolina and Kansas St when they were in the top ten don't count as big games?


This is such a weird hill to die on. It sounds like you're saying "those big games don't count, only the ones we lost count" which is a weird, cynical way to look at things, especially in the context of what we were before and after Petrino's tenure as HC.

[BleedinRed]

I know a lot of people like to rewrite history and down play what we had and where we were going, but under BP every year was better and the big wins were coming.  

[piglosopher]

Under Petrino, the only dragon we didn't slay was Saban and Bama. We got our shots on everyone else.

[DirkPiggler]

Under Petrino, the only dragon we didn't slay was Saban and Bama. We got our shots on everyone else.

Exactly.  The media and simple fans narrative after he was wrongly terminated was that "Bobby couldn't beat Alabama or LSU."   He went 2-2 vs LSU, with one of the losses enabled by an egregious officiating "mistake" that bailed Les Miles out of losing two weeks in a row due to his inability to manage the clock at the end of a game.

I don't think any of us were or should have been under the impression that BMFP was about to turn us into Saban's Alabama.  But there is no reason to believe that we would have been anything less than a 9-10 win team on average, with 7-8 as the absolute floor and the upside to win the whole damn thing if the breaks fell our way.

[flash23]

The only game I can think of that Petrino didn't win that he should have is 2010 vs Bama. Other than that, he took care of business and won high profile games.

The 2011 season where we "didn't take care of business" was when LSU and Alabama had historically good teams. Each finished with 1 loss, and the loss was to each other. It's unfortunate and the Arkansas way that our best team in decades just happened to be that year

[buff2.0]

2011 also had the LSU game coming the same week that the team had to process the death of 88.

Also, can we not talk about 2010 Bama?

[SwahiliSteve]

I came to this thread thinking it was about Texas and Oklahoma in the sec and instead it's another fucking peteino thewad. Geesh

[animal]

In terms of best team in decades I think you could make a case for Berts 9 win team that flopped against Va Tech (better coaching would have probably got us up to 10 maybe 11 wins).

Sam's 9 win season makes you wonder a bit too. looking back knowing what we know now this coach is in way over his head and likely fell apart when Odom bailed.