The murky middle, they call it. It’s an area, in sports, where teams live when they’re not bad enough to be considered terrible and not good enough to be considered, well, good. No team wants to live there.
In professional sports, few teams linger long. Teardowns and rebuilds ensure long-term parity, even if dynasties are a very real thing. But in college sports, few teams know the zip code better than Arkansas. And after Saturday’s 21-17 loss to Texas A&M in Cowboys Stadium, the Razorbacks appear to have checked back into the proverbial two-star hotel.
Optimists can argue the destination as at least superior to last year’s roadside motel.