Bret Bielema's Arkansas Offense Finally Ready for SEC Play

You don't take an offense that likes to spread things out and chuck the ball around and turn it into one that slows things down, pounds the rock and maintains possession and expect it to be ready to compete in the SEC.

The experiment began for Bret Bielema and the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2013 and as expected, the results weren't pretty. After opening last season with three straight victories, Arkansas lost its final nine games and eclipsed the 30-point mark just once, in a defeat to Texas A&M.

Fast-forward to the present day and Bielema's philosophy is starting to produce results. After a season-opening 45-21 loss at Auburn, the Razorbacks beat Nicholls State, 73-7, and followed it up with a 49-28 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday.

Against Nicholls State, starting quarterback Brandon Allen had just 117 yards passing, but the rushing attack, led by the two-headed monster of Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams, put up 495 yards. That would be impressive against a pile of sofa cushions let alone an actual football team.

Danny Johnston/Associated Press

Allen didn't need to do much more in the win over Kliff Kingsbury's Red Raiders either, throwing for just 61 yards. Collins and Williams, however, combined to rush for 357 yards and six scores on 49 carries.

No one will mistake the Red Raiders' defense for the one Alabama brings to the table, but being able to pile up big yards on the road against a power-five opponent is impressive in itself. And when going up against teams with more talent, the Razorbacks will need to find a similar rhythm to stay close and pull off upsets.

Doing this on the road against Texas Tech is one thing, and following it up with the same type of effort on Sept. 20 against Northern Illinois will be another. But following the tilt with the Huskies will be a three-game stretch at home that could become a defining period in Bielema's tenure.

Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia all come calling in the span of four weeks. One win should make fans happy, but two or three would make a major national statement.

With the offensive shift in college football toward a more up-tempo style that disregards time of possession and spreads things out both through the air and on the ground, it seemed crazy to think that Bielema could take a team without a wealth of talent and turn it into a contender in the best conference in college football using a physical, run-first brand of offense.

But that's exactly what's happening here, and it's time to give credit where it's due.

Given the talent in the trenches throughout the conference, being able to pass the ball is a must, and Allen will likely have to develop into a threat at some point, even if he doesn't transform into Ryan Mallett overnight. He probably isn't the next Russell Wilson, either, but he can learn a thing or two about how the former Badger ran Bielema's offense at Wisconsin.

In Wilson's only season as a Badger, he threw for over 3,100 yards and had 33 passing touchdowns. The biggest thing Allen can learn from, however, is Wilson's efficiency. He had just four interceptions and completed nearly 73 percent of his passes, and it's that ability to limit mistakes that could be huge when opposing defenses start stacking the box and forcing someone other than a running back to beat them.

But with those two backs averaging over six yards per carry behind an experienced offensive line, the Razorbacks finally appear ready for the grueling SEC slate that lies ahead.

The question now becomes, is the offense ready to simply compete, or can it score enough points to knock off a conference heavyweight or two? What happens in a close game late in the fourth quarter? Will Bielema's offense be able to throw the ball or can the rushing attack remain effective with the clock winding down?

Those questions have yet to be answered, but fans should be more confident in this group than they've been in quite some time. The offense now finally looks capable of scoring points against some of the best programs in the country.

A short time ago, Arkansas didn't seem capable of doing that against anybody. In fact, you have to go back a long, long time to find the program's last win against an FBS program.

In order to keep piling up those wins, the defense will have to do its part, too. Stopping Auburn isn't easy, but you can't allow 45 points as the Razorbacks did in Week 1 and expect to win. Neither side of the ball playing well is what leads to seasons like 2013.

In today's world, you're either a contender in your conference or your not. Arkansas still falls into the latter category, but with a strong rushing game and a real identity for the first time in several years, the Razorbacks will likely play a major role in the SEC race, even if they aren't in the hunt themselves.

That's all due to an offense that is much improved from 2013. The scary part? If this is Bielema's program in year two, how good will things be in year three or four?