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1985 Arkansas

10–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Southwest Conference), coached by Ken Hatfield, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Arkansas in 1985, game by game: won at Ole Miss 24–19; won vs. Tulsa 24–0; won vs. New Mexico State 45–13; won at TCU 41–0; won at Texas Tech 30–7; lost vs. Texas 13–15; won vs. Houston 57–27; won at Rice 30–15; won vs. No. 11 Baylor 20–14; lost at Texas A&M 6–10; won vs. SMU 15–9; won vs. Arizona State 18–17+41−4Won 24–19 at Ole Miss+5Ole MissWon 24–0 vs. Tulsa+24TulsaWon 45–13 vs. New Mexico State+32New Mexico StateWon 41–0 at TCU+41TCUWon 30–7 at Texas Tech+23Texas TechLost 13–15 vs. Texas-2TexasWon 57–27 vs. Houston+30HoustonWon 30–15 at Rice+15RiceWon 20–14 vs. No. 11 Baylor+6No. 11 BaylorLost 6–10 at Texas A&M-4Texas A&MWon 15–9 vs. SMU+6SMUWon 18–17 vs. Arizona State+1Arizona State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 14atOle MissW 24–⁠1955%
Sep 21vsTulsaW 24–⁠064%
Sep 28vsNew Mexico StateW 45–⁠1388%
Oct 5atTCUW 41–⁠061%
Oct 12atTexas TechW 30–⁠768%
Oct 19vsTexasL 13–⁠1570%
Oct 26vsHoustonW 57–⁠2781%
Nov 2atRiceW 30–⁠1583%
Nov 9vs11BaylorW 20–⁠1460%
Nov 16atTexas A&ML 6–⁠1055%
Nov 23vsSMUW 15–⁠959%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsArizona StateHoliday BowlW 18–⁠1758%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona State 18–⁠17 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 2: 15
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 14
  5. Wk 5: 10
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 7: 6
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 14
  11. Wk 11: 12
  12. Wk 12: 9
  13. Wk 13: 18
  14. Wk 14: 14
  15. Wk 15: 13
  16. Wk 16: 14
  17. Final: 12

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1985.

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 4
Points
323–⁠146
Coach
Ken Hatfield
Elo
1690 +115 this season
SP+ rating
16.6 No. 21 of 106; offense No. 34, defense No. 15
SRS
13.2 No. 20 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Fred Goldsmith
Captains
David Bazzel, Greg Lasker, Nick Miller and Andy Upchurch
Offense
Option

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 2Greg Lasker DBNew York Giants
Rd 5Ravin Caldwell LBWashington Redskins
Rd 5Bobby Joe Edmonds WRSeattle Seahawks
Rd 5Nick Miller LBCleveland Browns
Rd 5Kevin Wyatt DBMiami Dolphins

1985 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas A&M7–⁠110–⁠26
Arkansas6–⁠210–⁠212
Baylor6–⁠29–⁠317
Texas6–⁠28–⁠4
SMU5–⁠36–⁠5
Houston3–⁠54–⁠7
Rice2–⁠63–⁠8
Texas Tech1–⁠74–⁠7
TCU0–⁠83–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.