FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette said before the Cotton Bowl the Razorbacks wanted to be remembered as one of the best teams in school history.
A few days after the 29-16 win against Kansas State, the final college football polls made sure that would become a reality.
Arkansas finished the season ranked No. 5 in both The Associated Press and USA Today polls, which were released after Alabama’s 21-0 win against LSU in the national title game on Monday night. It signaled Arkansas’ first top-five finish since 1977 and its fourth ever, also joining the 1964 and 1965 teams.
“It’s real, real big,” Arkansas senior Greg Childs said about the Cotton Bowl win last week and what it meant to the program. “(The seniors) wanted to go out on a good note. We wanted to go 11-2. We wanted to leave this program better than we got here.”
The Razorbacks tied a school record under Petrino in 2011, becoming the third Arkansas team to finish with 11 wins (1964 and 1977).
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Arkansas also tied a school record for wins in consecutive seasons, netting 21 in 2010 and 2011. It equaled the two-year mark set by Frank Broyles’ 1964 and 1965 teams.
Arkansas earned its final spot after going 2-2 against teams ranked in final AP and USA Today polls. The Razorbacks notched wins against South Carolina (No. 9 in AP, No. 8 in USA Today) and Kansas State (No. 15 in AP, No. 16 in USA Today). Its losses were to SEC West rivals Alabama (No. 1) and LSU (No. 2). Three SEC West teams finished in the top five.
The Razorbacks, who were 12th at the end of 2010, finished consecutive seasons ranked for the first time since 1998-99. Arkansas also placed in the top 12 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1978-79. “To get this program consistently in the top 10, in BCS bowl games, great bowl games like the Cotton Bowl … the top five in the country with 11 wins, it means so much to me personally and to this group of seniors,” Bequette said after the Cotton Bowl win last Friday. “It’s just been such a fun ride.”