THE DOWNFALL OF 2012Jan. 7 — Arkansas defeats Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl to cap an 11-2 season that results in a No. 5 ranking, the program’s first top-five finish since 1977.April 1 — Head coach Bobby Petrino is injured in a motorcycle accident, and he claims to have been alone.April 10 — Petrino is fired after it was revealed that 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell was on the motorcycle and that he misled university officials about their relationship.April 23 — John L. Smith is named interim coach and signs a 10-month contract for $850,000.Sept. 8 — Starting quarterback Tyler Wilson suffers a concussion in the second quarter against Louisiana-Monroe, and Arkansas blows a 28-7 lead in a 34-31 overtime loss.Sept. 15 — Arkansas is humiliated in a 52-0 home loss to Alabama, and a sidelined Wilson tells reporters that there were times when the Razorbacks gave up.
The turbulence within the Arkansas football program was evident in Saturday’s 52-0 home loss to Alabama and again Monday, when Razorbacks coach John L. Smith was asked if he regretted taking the job.
A season that began with a No. 10 national ranking met an early derailment Sept. 8, when Arkansas blew a 28-7 lead in a 34-31 overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe. Then came last week’s humiliation against the top-ranked Crimson Tide, and the vastness of this wreckage suddenly seems to have no limits.
“Our goal was definitely to win a league championship, but we just have to get back on track with a win,” Smith said. “We are readjusting everything.”
Arkansas players promised throughout the summer that they had survived the calamitous departure of former coach Bobby Petrino, who directed the Razorbacks to 21 wins the past two seasons but lied to school officials in April about an extramarital affair.