SB Nation FanPulse: A Seasonlong Review of Chad Morris’ Wild Ride

I know, I know, you want to know who the next coach is going to be. So do I. But short of dressing up as Hunter Yurachek’s luggage, we’ve got all the information possible, and the consensus seems to be that nobody knows but him.

In the meantime, we’ve got a season worth of confidence data for football, and I think that’s super cool. Here’s how the season breaks down:

That’s right! The season ends with a bang and not a whimper by virtue of having the possibility of literally anyone else being our head football coach. It’s amazing to me that almost the minute Chad Morris got fired, confidence started rising, and now that we know the search is on, it’s back up over 50%.

The consensus with participating Arkansas fans seems to be that this dreadful period of football is an aberration, and that the next coach will get things straightened out. Whether that’s realistic, or just blind Hog Hopefulness™, I can’t say, but I’m ready to move on from Chad’s wild ride, and I think everyone agrees.

The top 25 has shaken out with SB Nation fans rebuking the playoff, keeping LSU locked in the first seed. I don’t understand what Ohio State has done that LSU hasn’t, but man I disagree with the committee. Joe Burrow alone is probably enough to push them ahead in my mind.

Norvell, Drinkwitz, Rhule, and Fickell are in that top 25, and they’re all in conference championships, so if it’s any of them, it’ll probably be till next week before we have a coach. Elsewhere Kiffin and Harsin are in championship games as well. If we get an announcement this week, logic dictates it’s someone not in a championship game like Matt Campbell or Justin Fuente. I think those two are in the lead right now, but as I said, no one knows.

What’s going to be interesting is who gets into that 4th Playoff spot now that Bama lost and #FireSaban is trending.

Most SB Nation readers tend to side with Utah. I don’t disagree that they’ve played really well, but the winner of Oklahoma/Baylor is intriguing to me. Baylor especially intrigues me, because if they won in the Big 12 Championship, their sole loss would be to a great OU team who they then beat in the rematch. The fact that they aren’t mentioned at all in this discussion shocks me. This year is a great case for an 8 team playoff in my mind.

Either way, the Playoff is a luxury we can’t afford right now, so let’s get back on the coaching search train and track some planes.

See y’all at Drake Field!

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