Bret Bielema might be the wildest hog in the rough and rugged SEC.
Type his name into Google and one of the top results will be a photo of him shirtless at a party with a pink drink in his hand. He met his future wife on a Las Vegas vacation in which he claimed to be a University of Wisconsin history professor.
He is the new coach at Arkansas, and mere months into his new job declared his intent to topple Alabama’s Nick Saban. He took it a step further by pointing out that he had more success at Wisconsin than Saban did at Michigan State. In his first trip to SEC Media Days, Bielema got into it with Auburn coach Gus Malzahn over uptempo offenses.
How is his booming personality going over in Arkansas? Pretty well, it seems.
“I just am who I am,” he said. “We went around the state and out of the state to all the booster clubs and everything was very, very positive. It’s a good indication.”
Bielema grew up in Illinois, played on the defensive line at Iowa and spent most of his coaching career at Wisconsin. He is only beginning to get a taste of life in this part of the country, where he hopes to rebuild the Razorbacks after they went 4-8 last season.
He is in the middle of a hard lesson on how strong this conference is. Coming off a 45-33 loss to No. 9 Texas A&M, the Razorbacks visit No. 18 Florida on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN2). They follow their stay in Gainesville with games against No. 13 South Carolina and No. 1 Alabama the next two weeks.
Bielema, 43, faced four ranked opponents during the regular season once in his last four seasons at Wisconsin. Now he gets that many in one month. He took the Badgers to the Rose Bowl each of the past three years and left that program to take over one that will have to claw its way to bowl eligibility in the brutal SEC Western Division.
“If you truly are a person who appreciates challenges, this is an environment you can thrive in,” he said of the SEC. “The more uncomfortable you can make yourself, the more you grow and the more you can achieve.”
Arkansas opened 3-0 against inferior non-conference teams before falling to Rutgers and Texas A&M, but still has UF’s attention. The Gators (3-1, 2-0 in the SEC) see a program striving to be just like theirs. Bielema and UF coach Will Muschamp believe in winning at the line of scrimmage and muscling the ball between the tackles.
Florida is first in the SEC in run defense and seventh in rushing offense, plus it leads the country in time of possession at nearly 39 minutes per game. The Razorbacks (3-2, 0-1) are second in the conference in rushing and fifth in stopping the run.
“They’re gonna definitely try to come out and establish their will,” Gators defensive tackle Damien Jacobs said. “They’re a team just like our offense. They’re gonna line up and run it until you stop them. We’ve gotta strap it up this week. It’s gonna be fun.”
The star of Arkansas’ ground game is running back Alex Collins, a true freshman from South Plantation High School. He topped 100 yards in each of the first three games and leads the SEC with 597 rushing yards.
Collins runs behind an offensive line built like Bielema. The Razorbacks’ starting five averages 6-foot-6, 320 pounds. Left guard Dan Skipper is 6-foot-10, 317 pounds, and right guard Denver Kirkland stands 6-foot-5, 345 pounds.
That unit is one of the few that does not require an overhaul. There are plenty of other question marks on the roster, but Bielema already is shaping Arkansas into what he wants.
“I have a lot of respect for the job he does,” Muschamp said. “His résumé is pretty good with what he did at Wisconsin, and you see his imprint on this football team from a physicality standpoint.”
