John L. Smith just keeps on smiling.  His team is 4-6 and just 2-4 in the SEC, but Smith continues to look on the bright side of life (NSFW).  The man thrown into an unwinnable situation — made so because most believed the Arkansas situation was way too winnable — isn’t thinking about the end of his tenure as the Razorbacks’ interim coach.  He’s still trying to be optimistic.

According to the Associated Press, Smith said the following during a press gathering yesterday:

“I’m the most optimistic guy you could imagine.  So, I’m always optimistic.  I’m optimistic on us going to Starkville and getting a win this weekend.  The other stuff can take care of itself.  I’m not overly worried about any of that…

That’s way over my head, mentally (to reflect on his coaching career).  I have trouble just concentrating on today and this part of our season and where we are.  I’m going to love every day that we go do the practice field, because that’s the best part of my day and being around those guys is what it’s all about.  And thank God I’ve had the opportunity to do that.

I’m just knocking on wood, stretch it as far as we want or as far as we can.”

Players like quarterback Tyler Wilson and kicker Zach Hocker still speak highly of Smith and they should.  While many Hog fans have blamed him for their team’s collapse, the real culprit is Bobby Petrino, the sunshiney Smith.  It should be clear in Arkansas today — just as it was clear in Louisville after he left there — that the secret to Petrino’s winning programs isn’t great recruiting classes, great assistants, or great defense… it’s Petrino himself.

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Oh, sure, sure.  You just look for entertainment purposes.  NCAA football betting isn’t something you actually engage in.

Unless, of course, you’re in Las Vegas.

Or your bookie Vito calls.

Regardless of whether you bet on games or not, there’s nothing like a good Vegas line to give teams some extra motivation heading into a ballgame.  How many coaches over the years have uttered the words “Nobody is giving you a chance to win” to their teams?  Thousands?  Hundreds of thousands?

Well, below are the latest lines for Week One SEC action.  Feel free to be outraged because your favorite team isn’t favored… or isn’t favored by enough.  Enjoy.

Notes:

* The LVH is The Las Vegas Hotel, formerly The Las Vegas Hilton.

* Texas A&M/Louisiana Tech, Tennessee/NC State, Auburn/Clemson and Alabama/Michigan are all neutral site games.

* Jacksonville State at Arkansas, Central Arkansas at Ole Miss, Jackson State at Mississippi State and Southeastern Louisiana at Missouri aren’t listed because those games involve FCS-level schools.

Looks like it’s gonna be a headlines-only kind of day.  My apologies.

1.  Alabama freshman receiver Chris Black will miss 3-4 months after shoulder surgery.

2. The passing skills of Tide quarterback AJ McCarron are underrated.

3.  The competition is heating up for Auburn’s safeties.

4.  Arkansas “unafraid” defense took a step forward yesterday.

5.  Hog hoopster Marshawn Powell has been cleared to return from injury during UA’s tour of Italy.

6.  It’s lonely at the top, but LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis likes it that way.

7.  That’s not a bowling ball, it’s MSU running back Josh Robinson.

8. Bulldog quarterback Tyler Russell could break a lot of the Bulldogs’ passing records.

9.  Ole Miss’ freshmen are taking baby steps.

10.  Christine Michael leads a talented stable of running backs at Texas A&M.

11.  Florida’s got quite a battle raging at cornerback.

12.  Redshirt freshman receiver Ja’Juan Story — a once highy-sought after recruit — will transfer from UF.

13.  Georgia freshman kicker and freshman punter have big shoes to fill.

14.  Joker Phillips is in a bind when it comes to true freshman Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles.

15.  CBSSports.com’s Jeff Goodman says that John Calipari once tried to get him fired.

16.  South Carolina’s got playing time available at wide receiver, behind Ace Sanders.

17.  Linebacker depth is a concern for Tennessee.

18.  While their new football complex is being finished in Knoxville, the Vol team heads off campus for a week of NFL-style camp.

19.  Vanderbilt’s new video board is in place at Dudley Field.

20.  For the first time, Missouri has sold out its season-ticket allotment and Gary Pinkel has praise for those doing the buying.

21.  Help is on the way for the Tigers’ banged-up offensive line.

A final sidenote…

22.  Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips has announced he’s retiring.  (So I guess now that FSU/Clemson “done deal” to the Big XII thing can be announced.  We’re still waiting for a couple of Big XII fans to return and apologize — as they promised they would — for ripping us when we called those initial rumors nonsense.)

It’s was about this time last year when dynamic Arkansas running back Knile Davis suffered a serious ankle injury in practice that cost him the 2011 season.  Rather than turn pro, Davis chose to return to Fayetteville and he’s back on the practice field.

But Razorback coaches are still keeping him away from heavy contact.  Offensive coordinator Paul Petrino told The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “As of right now, he’s not going to get hit yet.”

So when will UA’s coaches feel comfortable enough to let their expected starter get some contact?  That’s an “ongoing conversation” according to Petrino.

In 2010, Davis rushed for 1,322 yards, 13 touchdowns and led the SEC with a 6.5 yard-per-carry average.

Allow us to state the obvious: The Paul W. Bryant Museum is a designed to draw in Alabama fans.  Fans of other schools might tour the place when in town for a weekend, but a Bear Bryant museum is going to first try and target Bama fans first and foremost.  Obviously.

For that reason, no one should take too much offense to the boastful new advertisement that the museum posted online yesterday:

“So many trophies, so little space,” instantly gets the message across that Bama’s football history is, well, pretty darned good.  (Though it also makes the museum sound kinda small, if you think about it.)  More interesting to us is the guy who makes a cameo at the end of the spot.  Any SEC basketball fan will immediately recognize the bug-eyed face of UA student Jack Blankenship who became a bit of a sensation by holding up a large cut-out of his own face while opponents attempted free throws during last hoops season.

Right about now we should all just get ready for the day when each and every college football and basketball program features as many mix-and-match options as the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.  One, it’s a good way to sell more merchandise to fans (and schools are desperate for any new revenue streams they can create).  Two, recruits and players eat up oddball uniforms.

For those who don’t agree with that last part, you’re most likely from a different day and a different age.  Just watch this video to see how one football team lost their ever-lovin’ minds when handed black unis.  It’s crazy, but it sells.

Today Arkansas unveiled their new 2012 duds and what everyone expected… we got:

* Black jerseys (Nike calls it “anthracite”), cardinal jerseys and white jerseys.  All with gradated numbers in a new font.  Silver/gray is included in some areas of the design.

* Black pants, cardinal pants and white pants.

* Cardinal helmets and new white helmets.

Considering what else is out there in the world today — Oregon’s umpteen designs, for example — these aren’t the worst things to ever hit the gridiron.  Unless, of course, you’re a Razorback traditionalist, in which case the all-black number is probably making you lose your sooie.  But the other options are rather similar to what the Hogs have worn the past two years under Bobby Petrino.

According to Arkansas AD Jeff Long:

“We can do a little mixing and matching.  Overall we’ve been very conservative.  We’ve made it cutting edge.  We’ve made it futuristic.  We’ve stayed conservative.  We’re not going wild with it.”

Meh.

We wouldn’t rank these as poorly as we did Missouri’s new alternate helmet (which looks like someone fired a yellow paintball at it).  And who knows what Mississippi State will unveil later this summer or how “shocking” that uniform might be?

So in the grand scheme of things, UA’s new unis are pretty much par for the course in 2012.  But this writer can’t shake the feeling that we’ll all someday look back on the this era just as we currently look back on some of the schlock and garbage that was trotted out during the 1970s — with great embarrassment.

Arkansas’ new football uniforms for 2012 will be unveiled tomorrow morning.  According to school, the Razorbacks’ new duds will “show respect to the past” while also incorporating “more modern elements.”

Those modern elements include gradated numbers, some silver text and — most likely — a new black or dark charcoal uniform.

UA will release a 15-minute video at 11am ET tomorrow.

Recruits and players will like the “more modern elements.”  Old coots — like myself — and traditionalists will likely ask how the new unis “show respect to the past,” aside from still featuring cardinal and white.

Fayetteville television station KNWA-TV — Eazy-E and Ice Cube reporting — have posted a story claiming that Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long has been approached by Stanford regarding their AD spot.  Bob Bowlsby is leaving that school to take over as the Big 12′s new commissioner.

According to KNWA anchor Matt Turner on the station’s website:

“Jeff Long is one of the candidates to replace Bob Bowlsby as the new athletic director at Stanford University. That’s according to three separate sources close to the situation, and one of the people providing the information is a school official at the University of Arkansas.

The primary source, who wants to remain anonymous, says Stanford officials have “reached out” to Long about filling the vacancy but added that Long has not yet responded to the inquiries.

The source also said that Long is not a finalist for the job despite rumors circulating on internet message boards.”

It would make sense for Stanford to reach out to Long.  He has shown that he can lure in just about any big fish he sets his mind to when it comes to coaches.  He’s overseen an increase in UA’s athletic budget and spearheaded the school’s drive to build bigger and better facilities.  He’s viewed as one of the top athletic directors in the SEC — which is saying something — and the nation.

While he ultimately wound up taking a figurative punch to the ribs for hiring Bobby Petrino, the ex-coach did improve the fortunes of the Razorback football program before he wrecked his motorcycle and his career.

Speaking of Petrino and messageboards and even anonymous email tips, yes, we’ve heard the conspiracy theories regarding Petrino, his one-time mistress Jessica Dorrell and her ex-fiance Josh Morgan.  All three are now ex-Razorback employees.  The chatterers in social media have suggested everything from the fiance driving the pair off the road to taking a baseball bat to the coach’s noggin.

“Why else would he look so bad while she escaped major injury?”  Uh, because Petrino was in front and Dorrell on the back of the motorcycle.  Because she had a helmet on and he didn’t.

Sorry, not buying that one.  One cop may have helped Petrino get to the hospital, but no officer of the law — knowing he could lose his job — would cover up an assault.

That said, there is a rumor floating around among media types in the Natural State and it’s something we wondered about at the time of the Petrino fiasco — What did Long know of the relationship and when did he know it?

Some in the Arkansas media believe Long and others inside the UA athletic department were aware of the Petrino-Dorrell relationship well before the two crashed the coach’s bike.  Anonymous sources have given them that information, but no one has gone on the record to confirm it.  If true, it would mean Long knowingly allowed Petrino to hire his mistress and that he helped speed up the process at the coach’s request.

We’ve been waiting since mid-April for Long to have to explain what he knew, when he knew it, and how something like Petrino’s hire of Dorrell was allowed to take place on his watch (whether he knew anything about their relationship or not).  And we don’t mean putting out a press release expressing shock.

Some members of the Arkansas media are now asking those questions and they’re hearing reports that he might have known more than he initially suggested, though for now those are only rumors.  Whether anyone inside the UA athletic department will roll over on the situation — if there’s anything to roll over about — remains to be seen.

But the odds are good that if/when Stanford officials meet with Long, they’ll have more than a question or two about how a mess like Petrino’s could occur on his watch.

John L. Smith was hired to be the caretaker of the Arkansas football team for 2012.  As interim coach, he’ll walk back into a program — one that he left just five months ago — that is expected to be a Top 15 team or better in 2012.

But it doesn’t sound like he intends to just sit in the shadows.  Instead, he believes the Razorback program needs to get the word out that all is well in the Ozarks, despite the recent Bobby Petrino scandal and dismissal:

“I’m sure there is (an image problem), from the outside in particular.  That’s why we have to become maybe a little bit more outgoing as a program and let people know there is no problem… I think us as a team and as coaches, we have to mend that.”

That means being “accessible” and “approachable” when it comes to fans, media and even the Razorback players.  ”I just have to be myself,” Smith told ArkansasNews.com.  ”It’s going to change that way.  Bobby… I don’t know if a little more rigid is the word.  These kids are going to know that, “Hey, Coach Smith is going to kick you in the butt.  But he might hug you walking in the door.”

(Insert joke about “Petrino” and “rigid” being used in the same sentence… here.)

Talk to those in Arkansas post-scandal and you’ll find that Petrino wasn’t exactly buddy-buddy with his players or his co-workers.  About the only person to get “close” to Petrino during his time in Fayetteville — if you believe the backspin now being put on things — is the one young aide whom he shouldn’t have gotten so close to at all.

But whether you believe a kindler, gentler coach was needed at UA or not, there is definitely expected to be a different leadership style on display at Arkansas this fall.  Whether that will help or hurt the Hogs’ fortunes on the football field remains to be seen.

Arkansas AD Jeff Long gave new assistant head coach Taver Johnson control of the Razorback football program through spring practice.  On Saturday, spring drills concluded in Fayetteville.  Today, Hog assistants are hitting the road for the spring evaluation period.

But Long has yet to announce who’ll be leading UA from here.

Johnson told ArkansasNews.com on Saturday that he would “have a 6 a.m. flight and I’ll be on it,” when it comes to luring in new players.  But what will he and others say when asked, “Are you coaching us?”

Long needs to make his call.  Soon.  He said last week that his decision would come in “days, not weeks.”  One report suggested that pick could be made official today.  Good.

From the start we’ve said that the best bet for Arkansas this season and beyond is for Long to simply promote a current member of a veteran coaching staff to the title of interim coach for the 2012 season.  No fuss, no muss, no players-getting-to-know-new-coaches, no issues with an outside interim coming in and running the show over a group of aides who already know how to work together.  Best of all, Long would be able to spend the next few months targeting the right man for the job long-term.  And the pool of candidates willing to move in December would be greater than the pool of candidates who would be willing to move now, as well.

The fact that Long has dragged out his interim selection so long suggests that he didn’t agree with our advice.  If he had, he’d have tabbed Johnson or Tim Horton or Paul Petrino as his guy two weeks ago.  Instead, it’s been rumored he’s talked to everyone from Phillip Fulmer (as an interim candidate) to Pete Carroll (as a full-time candidate).

If and when he promotes someone from within — be it today or tomorrow or later this week — there will be little doubt that he’s done his homework.  That’s a positive.

But sending his coaches out on the recruiting trail without a plan just yet?  That’s a negative.  That will only help to add to the perception in some kids’ and parents’ minds that UA is a rudderless ship at the moment.

Long needs to make a call.  Quickly.  And he needs to make the call we suggested when he first gave Bobby Petrino the hook.

An interim from within for now.  A solid, smart search for eight months.  And a darn good hire come November or December.