Jimmy Carter.
Arkansas’ 44-28 win over South Carolina has big implications for the Razorbacks.
It keeps the Hogs’ SEC West title hopes alive. To that extent, Arkansas still has an outside, three-quarters court shot at a national championship appearance.
It’s unlikely either will happen, but that’s not important.
The Razorbacks are firmly on the national radar for the second consecutive year. The Hogs are ahead of where they were last season.
That’s all a fan base can ask.
Winning an SEC Championship requires an amazing season and some luck.
Winning a national championship is an extraordinary accomplishment.
Texas is one of the most prestigious football programs in college football history, but the Longhorns have won just four national championships in 118 years. Their 2005 title broke a 35-year streak without a championship.
The goal for any top program is to compete for a title consistently.
Oklahoma and Boise State are two of the best examples. The Sooners haven’t won a title since 2000, while the Broncos have yet to play in one.
Both are top-10 mainstays each season, though.
An elite program is a consistent national contender. Arkansas is edging closer to that point.
How long has it been since Razorback fans have been able to say that? The late 1980s in the Southwest Conference?
Even then, comparing the SWC to the SEC is like comparing Vlade Divac and the Sacramento Kings to Shaq and the Lakers. They’re both good, but one is clearly the bigger, badder and better.
It’s like comparing the Big 12 to the SEC West this year.
The Hogs might not make a second consecutive BCS appearance, but they’re about to get a lot of exposure down the stretch of the season. Exposure that will aid the program.
Arkansas can create a three-way tie for the SEC West title by beating No. 1 LSU in Baton Rouge Nov. 25, assuming the Razorbacks, Tigers and Alabama win out.
A Razorbacks’ win isn’t incredibly far-fetched.
The Hogs have won three of four against LSU. The Tigers will be favored, but the last six games in the series have been decided by just 31 points.
Arkansas lost 38-14 to the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa in Sept. 24, but the Razorbacks played their worst offensive game of the season and gave up three non-offensive touchdowns.
A win against LSU would create controversy, bringing the BCS system into question again.
The tiebreaker for a three-way SEC divisional tie is the BCS rankings. The catch is that if the second-highest ranked team from the division is within five spots of the highest-ranked team, the head-to-head winner gets the nod.
A Hogs win would give them the edge over the Tigers.
LSU beat Alabama.
The Crimson Tide beat Arkansas.
It would be a mess. One the Razorbacks would love to be a part of.
Alabama fell just one spot in the BCS rankings following their 9-6 overtime loss to LSU. They won’t fall out of the top five if they win out.
A Hogs win in the Battle for the Golden Boot would put them firmly in the top five.
Alabama would have the head-to-head win over Arkansas and win the trip to Atlanta to drub Georgia if the two teams were first and second in the BCS standings following the end of the regular season.
LSU has easily played the toughest schedule of the three and could stay ahead of the Razorbacks and Crimson Tide even if the Hogs win.
However it works out, Arkansas will be mentioned more times on ESPN in late November than Anthony Weiner on CNN in June.
That’s a huge step for the program.
The Razorbacks control their own destiny to earn a second consecutive at-large BCS berth.
That’s elite football.
That’s all a fan base can ask.
Jimmy Carter is the sports editor of The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Tuesday. Follow him on Twitter @jicartersports.