The Razorbacks may not be Paul Finebaum's idea of a legitimate SEC program, but he seems to think at least somewhat highly of their coach. Finebaum has just published his annual ranking of the SEC football coaches, and Mr. Petrino comes in at number three (you'll never, never guess who the top two are).
Here's what the Alabama columnist has to say about Bobby:
After a stunning 41-9 mark at Louisville, fans are still waiting for Petrino to put it all together at Arkansas. On paper, his record in Fayetteville (13-12, 5-11 SEC) is unimpressive. However, fans believe this could be the year the greatness of Petrino comes out again.
And here are his remarks about Houston Dale, who clocks in at number eight:
By most objective standards, last year's 9-4 record was a bitter disappointment after pundits had Ole Miss ranked in the top 10 team and the Rebels made it up to No. 4 before the wheels came off. Still, most seem content with Nutt for now (don't forget he replaced Ed Orgeron!). But standards in Oxford are pretty low, considering the school is the only SEC West member who has never been to Atlanta and it hasn't won a league title since 1963.
My first reaction is that Petrino's ranking seems a little high but guys like Spurrier, Miles and Richt haven't exactly set the world on fire the last couple of seasons. Anyway before Bobby gets too giddy (and we hear he's prone to bouts of extreme giddiness), he needs to remember that when it comes to rankings of potential road-trip companions, he still has some work to do.