Team preview: Arkansas

The Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook previews the 2008 Arkansas Razorbacks, exclusively on Insider.

Originally Published: July 8, 2008
Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook

Editor's Note: ESPN Insider has teamed with Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook to provide a comprehensive look at the Division I-A teams. To order the complete 2008 edition of Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, visit www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-866-805-BALL (2255).

(All information as of June 20, 2008)

COACH AND PROGRAM

The first time Arkansas came calling to gauge his interest late last fall, Bobby Petrino said no and returned to coaching the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. About a week later, after a disastrous Monday night loss, Petrino decided he had made a mistake.

The biggest mistake, he realized, was ever leaving college football for the NFL. He belonged back in college football, but not at just any place. He wanted to coach a program that had everything in place to compete. Arkansas gave him that opportunity. "First, the facilities and the support of the administration give us a chance to win the SEC and win a national championship," Petrino said. "Then, just playing in the SEC. And then, just Northwest Arkansas. It's a beautiful place to live, a beautiful place to raise your family."

It's also Petrino's chance to prove himself against the best of the best. He never really got that chance in his previous college job at Louisville, where he took the Cardinals to new heights but did it in Conference USA and the Big East.


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