Arkansas head coach John L. Smith insists his side can still reach a bowl game, despite a far from impressive 1-3 start to the season.
Smith, who has previously coached Michigan State and Louisville, was hired on an interim basis in April after coach Bobby Petrino was fired.
The interim coach spoke to reporters prior to appearing at the Little Rock Touchdown Club where he stressed the fact that his team needed to demonstrate more confidence and play with more consistency in order for them to win.
The Razorbacks had been expected to challenge for the SEC title and also the national championship.
During his luncheon speech he mistakenly referred to Arkansas as Alabama and when the blunder was pointed out, Smith said, "I did? Where would that come from? I've never even heard of Alabama."
He further added: "Don't give up on us. It's our program. It's a state of Arkansas program. 'It's not one individual's program.
"As fans, you deserve better. You're invested more. Our players deserve better. We all are working our tail off to make sure that it is better. Understand that. We're in as much pain as everybody is out there."
The Razorbacks need to win at least 5 of their remaining 8 games to keep their hopes alive of reaching the bowl. They will be playing against unranked teams in their next five games, but face some stiff competition from No. 6 South Carolina, No. 21 Mississippi and No. 3 LSU in their final three games.
Arkansas started impressively with a victory over Jacksonville State, but lost in overtime to the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks followed by another defeat to Alabama.
Quarterback Tyler Wilson, who suffered an injury to his head against Louisiana-Monroe, returned for their last game against Rutgers, but was unable to save his team from a 35-26 loss.
Smith believes that his interim status as coach hasn't adversely impacted the team's performance or his coaching abilities. "You're not committing to me," he said. "You're not committing to an individual. You're not committing to these coaches. You're committing to this university and this program.
"Take a look at what we have here, take a look at what is coming and if you can't buy into that, then don't commit.
The Razorbacks will take on Texas A&M on Saturday.
Last season the Razorbacks finished as the fifth-ranked team, losing only to champions Alabama and runners-up LSU.
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