The Arkansas Razorbacks are staring down a piece of program history no one hoped to see again. With their current SEC losing streak sitting at nine games dating back to 2024, the Hogs are now on the verge of their third double-digit conference skid in just over a decade. For a program with Arkansas’s tradition, resources, and fan support, that is an alarming pattern and a harsh reminder of just how deep the rut has become.
Arkansas has already endured two such streaks since 2012. The first came from 2012–2014, when the Razorbacks dropped 17 straight SEC contests. The second was even worse, a brutal 20-game drought stretching from 2017–2020 that defined one of the darkest periods in modern program history. Now, the Hogs are once again teetering on the edge of double digits, something that was once unthinkable for a program that prided itself on being one of the SEC’s toughest, most consistent competitors.
A Decade of Searching for Stability
Since that first spiral began in 2012, Arkansas has been fighting to reclaim something resembling sustainability. The roster, the culture, and the results have fluctuated wildly, leaving the program stuck in a cycle of resets and rebuilds. This inconsistency has been reflected most clearly in the coaching carousel.
Ironically, the last Arkansas head coach to deliver sustained success is the same man now serving as the interim: Bobby Petrino. Under Petrino, Arkansas posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2010 and 2011, climbed into the national conversation, and looked poised to cement itself as one of the conference’s emerging powers. But the scandal that led to Petrino’s firing in 2012 sent the program into a long, painful tailspin.
Since then, Arkansas has cycled through four head coaches and is now headed for its fifth. Some have enjoyed flashes of promise, even strong single seasons, but none have delivered the sustained success the Razorbacks once enjoyed. Instead, the SEC losing streaks keep piling up, reshaping expectations and eroding confidence within the fan base.
A Proud Program That Shouldn’t Be Here
The SEC is notoriously unforgiving, loaded with top-tier talent, national contenders, and relentless weekly challenges. But even acknowledging the league’s difficulty, Arkansas should not find itself in this position, let alone possibly three separate times.
This is a program with a proud history, a passionate fan base, and resources that rival many of the nation’s top programs. Double-digit SEC losing streaks are not supposed to be part of the Razorbacks’ identity, and yet they’ve become a recurring storyline of the last decade.
Competitive, Yet Empty-Handed
What makes the current skid even more frustrating is that Arkansas has not been a pushover this season. They entered the year with modest but real expectations, not to win the SEC or challenge for the playoff, but to be a tough, physical, inconvenient opponent with legitimate talent on both sides of the ball. In many ways, they have been exactly that. The problem is that the results have not matched the competitiveness.
Close losses, missed opportunities, and inconsistency have left Arkansas winless in conference play with only two chances remaining: Texas and Missouri. Both games will be emotional, physical, and high-stakes. And both represent the Razorbacks’ last opportunities to avoid another historically damaging SEC skid.
Pressure Mounting for the Next Coach
If Arkansas fails to pick up an SEC win this season, the next head coach will inherit an enormous burden. Starting your tenure by trying to snap a double-digit conference losing streak is not ideal under any circumstances and doing so in the SEC only amplifies the challenge.
The next hire must bring more than energy or short-term improvements. Arkansas needs stability, a clear vision, and a commitment to reestablishing the winning standard that once defined Razorback football. Without that, the cycle of streaks and staff turnover will simply continue and the program can not afford another prolonged slide.
The Bottom Line
Arkansas is dangerously close to adding another painful chapter to a frustrating era. A third double-digit SEC losing streak since 2012 would highlight just how steep the climb back to relevance has become. The urgency is real. The stakes are high. And the next two games may determine whether the Razorbacks can stop the bleeding now or leave the next head coach with the difficult task of doing it himself.
If Arkansas reaches that double-digit mark again, one thing is certain: everyone involved will hope it’s the last time the program ever sees such a streak.