When Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference ahead of the 1992 season, then defensive coordinator and soon-to-be interim head coach Joe Kines was quoted as saying, “In the SEC, they’ll slit your throat and drink your blood.”
That comment was a warning that the Razorbacks needed to get out of the warm cocoon they were used to in the Southwest Conference and prepare for the weekly gauntlet that was going to be playing in the SEC. There weren’t going to be any more cakewalk games, or if there were, they would be few and far between.
The conference has expanded twice since, with Missouri and Texas A&M joining in 2012 and then Oklahoma and Texas prior to this season.