List of Arkansas Razorbacks football seasons
The Arkansas Razorbacks football team competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) representing the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The University of Arkansas has continuously fielded an intercollegiate football team since the 1894 college football season. From 1894 to 1909, the team was known as the "Cardinals" and the school's mascot was a redbird. The team's name and mascot changed for the 1910 season after head coach Hugo Bezdek proclaimed the undefeated 1909 team played "like a wild band of razorback hogs."
The Razorbacks have been a member of only two athletic conferences. From 1894 through 1914, Arkansas competed as a football independent without any conference affiliation. In 1915, the Razorbacks became a charter member of the Southwest Conference (SWC). Arkansas won 13 conference championships before withdrawing from the SWC after the 1991 season. The Razorbacks became a charter member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1992. Since joining the SEC, the Razorbacks have won 4 division titles and appeared in the SEC Championship Game 3 times.
The Razorbacks have competed in 44 bowl games, the first was a tie in the 1934 Dixie Classic against Centenary College of Louisiana. The Razorbacks' first bowl game win came against the William & Mary Indians in the Dixie Bowl. The Razorbacks have received votes in the final rankings of the AP Poll in 28 seasons and the Coaches' Poll in 27 seasons. In 1964, the Razorbacks finished #2 in both the AP and Coaches' polls and were named national champions by the Football Writers Association of America, winning the Grantland Rice Trophy. The AP and Coaches' polls voted the Alabama Crimson Tide as their national champion in 1964 at the end of the regular season, but eventually stopped voting for their national champion until after the bowl games because Alabama lost to the Texas Longhorns in the Orange Bowl, a team Arkansas had beaten earlier that year in Austin. Arkansas went on to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Cotton Bowl, becoming the only undefeated team left in major college football in 1964.
Seasons
| National Champions † | Conference Champions * | Division Champions ‡ | Bowl game berth ^ |
| Season | Head coach | Conference | Conference finish | Division finish [A 2] |
Wins | Losses | Ties | Bowl result | AP Poll [A 3] |
Coaches' Poll [A 4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Cardinals | |||||||||||
| 1894 | John C. Futrall | Independent | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
| 1895 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1896 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1897 | B. N. Wilson | — | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | — | ||||
| 1898 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1899 | Colbert Searles | — | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | ||||
| 1900 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | |||||
| 1901 | Charles Thomas | — | — | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | ||||
| 1902 | — | — | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1903 | D. A. McDaniel | — | — | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | ||||
| 1904 | A. D. Brown | — | — | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | ||||
| 1905 | — | — | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1906 | Frank Longman | — | — | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | ||||
| 1907 | — | — | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | |||||
| 1908 | Hugo Bezdek | — | — | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | ||||
| 1909 | — | — | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||
| Arkansas Razorbacks | |||||||||||
| 1910 | Hugo Bezdek | Independent | — | — | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
| 1911 | — | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | |||||
| 1912 | — | — | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1913 | E. T. Pickering | — | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | ||||
| 1914 | — | — | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1915 | T. T. McConnell | SWC | T—2nd | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | |||
| 1916 | T—5th | — | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1917 | Norman C. Paine | 6th | — | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | ||||
| 1918 | T—6th | — | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1919 | James B. Craig | 5th | — | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | ||||
| 1920 | George McLaren | 2nd | — | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | ||||
| 1921 | 6th | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | |||||
| 1922 | Francis Schmidt | 6th | — | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | ||||
| 1923 | T—4th | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | |||||
| 1924 | 7th | — | 7 | 2 | 1 | — | |||||
| 1925 | T—4th | — | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | |||||
| 1926 | T—3rd | — | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1927 | 3rd | — | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1928 | 3rd | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1929 | Fred Thomsen | 5th | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | ||||
| 1930 | 5th | — | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | |||||
| 1931 | 7th | — | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | |||||
| 1932 | 7th | — | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | |||||
| 1933 | 1st*[A 5] | — | 7 | 3 | 1 | Tie 1934 Dixie Classic against Centenary Gentlemen, 7-7 ^ | |||||
| 1934 | 5th | — | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | |||||
| 1935 | 5th | — | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | |||||
| 1936* | 1st* | — | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | ||||
| 1937 | 3rd | — | 6 | 2 | 2 | — | 14 | ||||
| 1938 | T—6th | — | 2 | 7 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1939 | 5th | — | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1940 | 6th | — | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1941 | 7th | — | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1942 | George Cole | 7th | — | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1943 | John Tomlin | T—5th | — | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1944 | Glen Rose | 3rd | — | 5 | 5 | 1 | — | — | |||
| 1945 | 7th | — | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1946* | John Barnhill | T—1st* | — | 6 | 3 | 2 | Tie 1947 Cotton Bowl Classic against LSU Tigers, 0-0 ^ | 16 | |||
| 1947 | T—7th | — | 6 | 4 | 1 | Won 1948 Dixie Bowl against William & Mary Indians, 21-19 ^ | — | ||||
| 1948 | 5th | — | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1949 | 6th | — | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1950 | Otis Douglas | 7th | — | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1951 | 6th | — | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1952 | 7th | — | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1953 | Bowden Wyatt | 5th | — | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1954* | 1st* | — | 8 | 3 | 0 | Lost 1955 Cotton Bowl Classic against Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 6-14 ^ | 10 | 8 | |||
| 1955 | Jack Mitchell | 4th | — | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | ||
| 1956 | 4th | — | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1957 | T—5th | — | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1958 | Frank Broyles | T—5th | — | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1959* | T—1st* | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | Won 1960 Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 14-7 ^ | 9 | 9 | |||
| 1960* | 1st* | — | 8 | 3 | 0 | Lost 1961 Cotton Bowl Classic against Duke Blue Devils, 6-7 ^ | 7 | 7 | |||
| 1961* | T—1st* | — | 8 | 3 | 0 | Lost 1962 Sugar Bowl against Alabama Crimson Tide, 3-10 ^ | 9 | 8 | |||
| 1962 | 2nd | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | Lost 1963 Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss Rebels, 13-17 ^ | 6 | 6 | |||
| 1963 | 5th | — | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1964 †* | 1st* | — | 11 | 0 | 0 | Won 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic against Nebraska Cornhuskers, 10-7 ^[A 6] | 2 | 2 | |||
| 1965* | 1st* | — | 10 | 1 | 0 | Lost 1966 Cotton Bowl Classic against LSU Tigers, 7-14 ^ | 3 | 2 | |||
| 1966 | T—2nd | — | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1967 | 5th | — | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | |||
| 1968* | T—1st* | — | 10 | 1 | 0 | Won 1969 Sugar Bowl against Georgia Bulldogs, 16-2 ^ | 6 | 9 | |||
| 1969 | 2nd | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | Lost 1970 Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss Rebels, 22-27 ^ | 7 | 3 | |||
| 1970 | 2nd | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | 11 | 12 | |||
| 1971 | 2nd | — | 8 | 3 | 1 | Lost 1971 Liberty Bowl against Tennessee Volunteers, 13-14 ^ | 16 | 20 | |||
| 1972 | T—4th | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1973 | T—4th | — | 5 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | |||
| 1974 | T—4th | — | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | |||
| 1975* | T—1st* | — | 10 | 2 | 0 | Won 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic against Georgia Bulldogs, 31-10 ^ | 7 | 6 | |||
| 1976 | 5th | — | 5 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | |||
| 1977 | Lou Holtz | 2nd | — | 11 | 1 | 0 | Won 1978 Orange Bowl against Oklahoma Sooners, 31-6 ^ | 3 | 3 | ||
| 1978 | 2nd | — | 9 | 2 | 1 | Tied 1978 Fiesta Bowl against UCLA Bruins, 10-10 ^ | 11 | 10 | |||
| 1979* | T—1st* | — | 10 | 2 | 0 | Lost 1980 Sugar Bowl against Alabama Crimson Tide, 9-24 ^ | 8 | 9 | |||
| 1980 | T—6th | — | 7 | 5 | 0 | Won 1980 Hall of Fame Classic against Tulane Green Wave, 34-15 ^ | — | — | |||
| 1981 | 4th | — | 8 | 4 | 0 | Lost 1981 Gator Bowl against North Carolina Tar Heels, 27-31 ^ | — | 16 | |||
| 1982 | 3rd | — | 9 | 2 | 1 | Won 1982 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl against Florida Gators, 28-24 ^ | 9 | 8 | |||
| 1983 | 5th | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1984 | Ken Hatfield | T—3rd | — | 7 | 4 | 1 | Lost 1984 Liberty Bowl against Auburn Tigers, 15-21 ^ | — | — | ||
| 1985 | T—2nd | — | 10 | 2 | 0 | Won 1985 Holiday Bowl against Arizona State Sun Devils, 18-17 ^ | 12 | 12 | |||
| 1986 | T—2nd | — | 9 | 3 | 0 | Lost 1987 Orange Bowl against Oklahoma Sooners, 8-42 ^ | 15 | 16 | |||
| 1987 | T—2nd | — | 9 | 4 | 0 | Lost 1987 Liberty Bowl against Georgia Bulldogs, 17-20 ^ | — | — | |||
| 1988* | 1st* | — | 10 | 2 | 0 | Lost 1989 Cotton Bowl Classic against UCLA Bruins, 3-17 ^ | 12 | 13 | |||
| 1989* | 1st* | — | 10 | 2 | 0 | Lost 1990 Cotton Bowl Classic against Tennessee Volunteers, 27-31 ^ | 13 | 13 | |||
| 1990 | Jack Crowe | 7th | — | 3 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1991 | T—2nd | — | 6 | 6 | 0 | Lost 1991 Independence Bowl against Georgia Bulldogs, 15-24 ^ | — | — | |||
| 1992 | Jack Crowe (0-1) Joe Kines (3-6-1) |
SEC | — | 4th[A 7] | 3 | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | |
| 1993 | Danny Ford | — | T—2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | ||
| 1994 | — | T—4th | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1995 | 2nd | 1st ‡ | 8 | 5 | 0 | Lost 1995 Carquest Bowl against North Carolina Tar Heels, 10-20 ^ | — | — | |||
| 1996 | — | 5th | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1997 | — | 5th | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 1998 | Houston Nutt | — | T—1st ‡ | 9 | 3 | 0 | Lost 1999 Florida Citrus Bowl against Michigan Wolverines, 31-45 ^ | 16 | 17 | ||
| 1999 | — | T—3rd | 8 | 4 | 0 | Won 2000 Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas Longhorns, 27-6 ^ | 17 | 19 | |||
| 2000 | — | T—5th | 6 | 6 | 0 | Lost 2000 Las Vegas Bowl against UNLV Rebels, 14-31 ^ | — | — | |||
| 2001 | — | T—3rd | 7 | 5 | 0 | Lost 2002 Cotton Bowl Classic against Oklahoma Sooners, 3-10 ^ | — | — | |||
| 2002 | 2nd[A 8] | T—1st ‡ | 9 | 5 | 0 | Lost 2002 Music City Bowl against Minnesota Golden Gophers, 14-29 ^ | — | — | |||
| 2003 | — | 4th | 9 | 4 | 0 | Won 2003 Independence Bowl against Missouri Tigers, 27-14 ^ | — | — | |||
| 2004 | — | T—3rd | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 2005 | — | 4th | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 2006 | 2nd | 1st ‡ | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost 2007 Capital One Bowl against Wisconsin Badgers, 14-17 ^ | 15 | 16 | |||
| 2007 | Houston Nutt (Regular Season) Reggie Herring (Bowl Game) |
— | T—3rd | 8 | 5 | 0 | Lost 2008 Cotton Bowl Classic against Missouri Tigers, 7-38 ^ | — | — | ||
| 2008 | Bobby Petrino | — | T—3rd | 5 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 2009 | — | T—5th | 8 | 5 | 0 | Won 2010 Liberty Bowl against East Carolina Pirates, 20-17 ^ | — | — | |||
| 2010 | — | T—2nd | 10 | 3 | 0 | Lost 2011 Sugar Bowl against Ohio State Buckeyes, 26-31 ^ | 12 | 12 | |||
| 2011 | — | 3rd | 11 | 2 | 0 | Won 2012 Cotton Bowl Classic against Kansas State Wildcats, 29-16 ^ | 5 | 5 | |||
| 2012 | John L. Smith | — | 6th | 4 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 2013 | Bret Bielema | — | 7th | 3 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 2014 | — | 7th | 7 | 6 | 0 | Won 2014 Texas Bowl against Texas Longhorns, 31-7 ^ | — | — | |||
| 2015 | — | 3rd | 8 | 5 | 0 | Won 2016 Liberty Bowl against Kansas State Wildcats, 45-23 ^ | — | — | |||
| 2016 | — | 5th | 7 | 6 | 0 | Lost 2016 Belk Bowl against Virginia Tech Hokies, 24-35 ^ | — | — | |||
| 2017 | — | 7th | 4 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
| 2018 | Chad Morris | — | 7th | 2 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 2019 | Chad Morris (2-8, fired on November 10)
Barry Lunney Jr. (interim, 0–2) |
— | 7th | 2 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 2020 | Sam Pittman | — | T—6th | 3 | 7 | 0 | Game Cancelled 2020 Texas Bowl against TCU Horned Frogs | — | — | ||
| 2021 | — | 3rd | 9 | 4 | 0 | Won 2022 Outback Bowl against Penn State Nittany Lions, 24-10 ^ | 21 | 20 | |||
| 2022 | — | 5th | 7 | 6 | 0 | Won 2022 Liberty Bowl against Kansas Jayhawks, 55-53 ^ | — | — | |||
| Totals | 17 | 24 | 3 | (bowl games; 44 appearances) | |||||||
| 736 | 531 | 40 | (all games) | ||||||||
Notes
- ^ Statistics correct as of the end of the 2020 season.
- ^ The Southeastern Conference introduced divisional play in 1992; the divisional winners advance to the SEC Championship Game to determine the conference champion.[1]
- ^ The Associated Press began conducting a weekly college football poll in 1936.[2]
- ^ The college football coaches' poll has been sponsored by multiple organizations since its creation in 1950. Its current sponsor is USA Today[2]
- ^ The Southwest Conference did not award a conference championship in 1933.
- ^ The AP and Coaches Poll did not post a poll after Bowl Week until 1965 due to the controversies surrounding this National Championship title. Alabama was given the title after the regular season ended, finishing 10-0, however, they lost in the Orange Bowl, while Arkansas won their bowl game in the Cotton Bowl. The Razorbacks were recognized as National Champions by the Football Writers Association of America at season's end.
- ^ The Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1992 as they began playing in the Western Division.
- ^ The Razorbacks finished as the Western Division Co-Champions, however, due to NCAA sanctions, Alabama was not allowed to play in the SEC Championship Game. The Razorbacks would lose to Georgia 30-3 in the game.
References
- ^ "SEC Championship Game". SECdigitalnetwork. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ^ a b Football Bowl Subdivision Records, p. 80