Hogs fans wanting Alabama on schedule normal, not weird, as Saban was exception

For Arkansas football fans age 30 and younger, this must feel like the Twilight Zone.

swap out a few teams in favor of playing Alabama instead. However, that's what's happening, and, regardless of how weird it must feel for some, it's a reset to how things are supposed to be before Lord Saban came and turned the Tide into an unstoppable force feared by all.

As Hogs fans have seen, without the master of the process, Alabama has reverted to the perfectly stoppable farce under former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer. It shouldn't be shocking though because that's exactly what the Tide were between the Gene Stallings and Nick Saban eras.

Alabama once cowered at the idea of facing tiny little Razorbacks like 5-foot-8 receiver JJ Meadors and shuttered every time a coach wandered within 10 miles of a club.

Arkansas went 7-5 against Alabama in the later years of the Stallings regime up until Saban came along. The Razorbacks won four SEC East championships during this time and blasted the Tide 42-6 during Houston Nutt's first season.

Before Saban's arrival, Nutt had knocked off Alabama three of the last four times he faced the Tide just prior to his departure.

Alabama records during this window are as follows.

Gene Stallings:

1995 8-3
1996 10-3

Mike Dubose:

1997 4-7
1998 7-5
1999 10-3
2000 3-8

Dennis Franchione:

2001 7-5
2002 10-3

Mike Shula:

2003 4-9
2004 6-6
2005 10-2
2006 6-6

So, as one can see, ushering in an era of below average to average success at Bama isn't a new thing. It's tradition.

What's more, stirring up the highest amount of drama is reserved for those Tide coaches from Washington on whom athletics directors take big gambles.

Former Washington Huskies coach Kalen deBoer is a far cry from creating ultimate upheaval with his four losses to unranked teams in 14 games. Instead, it's former Washington State coach Mike Price, who got the job in the early 2000s after big success in the PAC-12, who set the standard for Pacific region coaches.

He never got to coach a single game. Instead, he supposedly developed a quick habit of making his way to strip clubs in Pensacola, Florida and perhaps spending a little too much time with the girls.

He never got the chance to see if he had a Vanderbilt moment in him as he was ousted for character reasons to add to the list of coaches they burned through down in Tuscaloosa.

So, no Razorbacks fans. It's not odd nor wrong to want Alabama on the schedule now.

It's a return to normal, just like SEC West championships used to be.

Unfortunately, that one can't come back, but it's modern equivalent is a spot on the playoffs, so maybe that can return too. Enjoy all this while you can Hogs fans. 

History says you got about a decade to soak it in before the Tide stumble upon their next national championship coach.

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