Gainesville, Fla. - First-year Arkansas coach Bret Bielema will never be mistaken for Frank Broyles, not that anyone ever will be in Razorback country.
The two men could not be more different — Bielema, the brash, blue-collar Midwesterner with Big Ten roots, and Broyles, the Southern gentleman reared under the legendary Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech.
But the Razorbacks are banking on Bielema to give Arkansas the long-term coaching stability and championships that recall Broyles’ 19 seasons at the school.
“We’re in pursuit of a national championship just like anyone in the SEC and across the country,” Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long told The Sentinel. “I think Brett gives us a chance.”
Bielema undoubtedly has brought a buzz back to Fayetteville just 18 months removed from the Bobby Petrino scandal.
A season after the program hit the skids and won four games, the Razorbacks (3-2, 0-1 SEC) will field a competitive, hard-nosed squad against the No. 18 Gators (3-1, 2-0) on Saturday night in the Swamp. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN2.
Bielema left Wisconsin, one of the premiere programs in a top-heavy Big Ten, for a middle-tier SEC school so that he could coach these kinds of games week in and week out. The Hogs’ first SEC road test with their new coach comes on the heels of a 45-33 loss at home to No. 9 Texas A&M, led by Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.
“I told our guys after the game, ‘We’re not there yet, but this climb to the top of the mountain has been a lot of fun,’” Bielema said. “‘When we get to the top, it’s going to be really fun to know what you did.’ I’m not saying it’s going to come this week, but I have a strong belief that they’re going to play better.
“To do it on the road in SEC play is a lot of fun.”
Bielema, a former nose tackle at Iowa, backs up his swagger and big personality — he drives a Jeep on campus — with an impressive track record. His teams won three straight Big Ten titles before he left Wisconsin, frustrated he was losing assistant coaches — six in 2011 alone — because he could not pay them enough.
Arkansas has deep pockets, and increased his assistant coach salary pool by more than $700,000. Like Wisconsin, the school has a passionate fan base, one that pretty much has embraced Bielema.
The 43-year-old Illinois native might have won over some holdouts this past weekend during the school’s “Hog Walk” prior to the A&M game. Bielema took a spill on a rain-soaked sidewalk, but hopped up and gave a fist pump as he continued to Razorback Stadium.
Arkansas players, many competing for their third coach in three seasons, love Bielema’s attitude and authenticity.
“He’s laid back, but he means business,” senior defensive end Chris Smith told the Sentinel. “He wants us to be great. He’s not going to beat around the bush with you.
“That’s one thing Hog fans like: what you see is what you get.”
Razorback fans also like — and expect — winning.
Petrino won in his three seasons, but he was forced to resign after a motorcycle wreck forced him to disclosed he was having an affair with a female member of his football staff.
Lou Holtz in the 1970s and Ken Hatfield in 1980s each had three double-digit win seasons, but Holtz burned out and Hatfield bolted for Clemson.
Broyles, winner of seven Southwest Conference titles and the 1964 national championship, remains the gold standard at Arkansas.
The school still seeks its first SEC title since joining the league in 1992. It’s now Bielema’s turn to lead the Hogs into a new era.
“Our university sitting in Arkansas, where we are the professional and the college team all rolled into one there, gives us a chance,” Long said. “I think Brett’s style of play will play well in the SEC. We’re going to be a program that they’re going to have to be concerned about.”
