The Arkansas Razorbacks have had a rather peculiar season to say the least. After dropping their season opener to rival Auburn, the Razorbacks rattled off three consecutive wins. At this point, things were looking up for a talented squad, but three straight defeats to stiff SEC competition had Arkansas sitting below .500. The Razorbacks, however, responded by winning three of four games and knocked off highly ranked Ole Miss and LSU in consecutive weeks. Finally, the team wrapped up their 2014 campaign with a tight loss to Missouri. Despite the roller coaster ride of a year, Arkansas became bowl eligible for the first time in three seasons and will square off against the Texas Longhorns in the Texas Bowl.
Still, the team will be without two keys players for an unspecified violation of team rules for the December 29 game. Due to the alleged incident, senior cornerback Carroll Washington will watch his career come to a close from the sidelines. Washington contributed 17 tackles while playing in a reserve role during all 12 games of the regular season.
A much more significant loss will be that of safety Rohan Gaines. Gaines, a junior, will also be forced to miss the bowl game for a similar offense. Head coach Brett Bielema said there is a chance for Gaines to return to the team in January “if he adheres to all the things we ask him to do.” Nonetheless, Gaines recorded 59 tackles and an interception over the course of the year and would be a major hit to an already thin secondary if it is indeed the end of his Razorbacks career.
*Section Photo credit to Sam Greenwood, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Justin Ford, USA Today Sports.
