The 2012 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Razorbacks played their home games at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville and War Memorial Stadium in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

. They were a member of the Western Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. The Razorbacks entered the season coming off of a win in the

2012 Cotton Bowl Classic The 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, the 76th edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on January 6, 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season, 2012 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas as part of the 2011– ...

, finishing the season with an 11–2 record and a No. 5 ranking in the AP poll. However, head coach

Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head co ...

was fired in the offseason after it was discovered that he covered up an extramarital affair with a member of his staff. Athletic director Jeff Long decided to hire former special teams coordinator John L. Smith, who had recently left to become the head coach at

Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

, as their head coach on a 10-month contract. Despite these circumstances, the Razorbacks were ranked No. 10 in the AP preseason poll. The Razorbacks started their season with a win over Jacksonville State, defeating former head coach

Jack Crowe Jack Crowe (born May 2, 1947) is a former American football coach. He played quarterback at West End High School in Birmingham, Alabama. He was most recently the head coach at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, a position he held from 2000 ...

, and rose to No. 8 in the AP poll. However, after an upset loss to unranked Louisiana–Monroe in overtime, they dropped out of the poll. The Razorbacks would never re-enter the poll, as this loss began a 4-game losing streak, and an eventual 4–8 finish. After the season, it was decided that Smith's contract would not be renewed. Instead, the Razorbacks chose to hire

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

head coach

Bret Bielema Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is currently the head American football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bielema served as the head football coach at of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012 ...

Personnel

Coaching staff

Recruits

Schedule

*Source: ArkansasRazorbacks.com: 2012 Arkansas football schedule

Game summaries

No. 22 (FCS) Jacksonville State

Louisiana–Monroe

No. 1 Alabama

Rutgers

at Texas A&M

at Auburn

Kentucky

Ole Miss

Tulsa

at No. 12 South Carolina

at Mississippi State

No. 8 LSU

Rankings

Notes

* December 4, 2012 –

head coach

has accepted the vacant coaching position at Arkansas for next season.Associated Press
Wisconsin Coach Headed to Arkansas
''New York Times'', December 4, 2012

References

{{Arkansas Razorbacks football navbox

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Arkansas Razorbacks football seasons

Arkansas Razorbacks football The Arkansas Razorbacks football program represents the University of Arkansas in the sport of American football. The Razorbacks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Weste ...