Bret Bielema and Arkansas will never contend for an SEC title under they win uncomfortable games in which they must repeatedly adjust on the fly.
Bielema is 26-28 in four-plus seasons at Arkansas. He has won more than three SEC games in a season once, has never finished a regular season more than two games above .500 and his longest winning streak is four games (once).
Slice 'em and dice 'em however you please, bottom line is Bielema's record in any games — conference, non-conference, home, away, low-scoring, high-scoring, September, October, November, morning, afternoon, night — is not good.
And following the Razorback's 50-43 overtime loss to Texas A&M on Saturday, we were reminded why all of those dubious numbers litter his unimpressive post-Wisconsin résumè. When Bret Bielema can't keep the game within his wheelhouse, his team has a very hard time winning, particularly in high-scoring games.
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Since he arrived in 2013, Arkansas is 8-13 in games in which both teams score at least 25 points. They are a miserable 4-10 in SEC games when both teams score at least 25. That has largely contributed to their 10-23 overall conference mark under Bielema, which ranks 12th in the league since 2013.
Despite the struggles, Bielema's job appears to be safe — for now. Two weeks ago, athletics director Jeff Long said that he's evaluating more than just wins and losses when determining value and success for his football program.
"Yes, winning is important,” Long said. “Now contrast that if you’re a win-at-all-cost program which we’re not and I’ve said many, many times we’re not, then you don’t worry about the academics, you don’t worry about the conduct, you just win.
“And you know what? When I arrived here 10 years ago, that’s not what the leaders wanted at the time and certainly that’s certainly not what we’ve delivered."
Although Arkansas was just a play or two away from turning Saturday's loss into a win, another miss in an uncomfortably high-scoring affair could raise the temperature of Bielema's seat.
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