A year after an unflattering start to his SEC career, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema turned the Razorbacks into a formidable foe in 2014.

Arkansas finished last season winning three of its last four games, including a dominating bowl win against Texas, but 2015 brings much higher expectations. Seven wins last season was great for a program that had hit an ugly snag, but that won't be acceptable in Year 3 of the Bielema era.

He knows it, and his fans know it.

Why Arkansas will win 10 games:

Dynamic rushing duo: Arkansas was the only FBS team to sport two 1,000-yard rushers from last season. Jonathan Williams (1,190 yards) and Alex Collins (1,100) return, and both are good enough to start for just about any other SEC team. Both had 12 rushing touchdowns last season and averaged a little more than 5 yards per carry. The perfect complements at running back, these two can slice up defenses or pound them. They averaged a combined 136.9 yards per game in conference play and 4.5 yards per carry.

Defensive bite: After years of average to below average defensive play, Arkansas made a giant turnaround in 2014. After ranking 13th in the SEC in total defense vs. SEC opponents (475.3 yards per game) in 2013, Arkansas finished last season allowing 381.5 yards per SEC game, but ranked second overall in the SEC in total defense (323.4 yards per game). Though the Hogs lost some valuable guys from their front seven, this defense should still be strong, especially with a deeper -- and maybe more athletic -- defensive line. Linemen JaMichael Winston and Taiwan Johnson had great springs, and the secondary finally returns both talent and experience.

More comfortable quarterback: One thing Arkansas would have liked a little more of last season was a passing game. Brandon Allen returns for his third year as the starter and had a tremendous spring in Dan Enos' new offense. Though Allen wasn't the most decorated passer last season, he did throw 20 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He wasn't asked to chuck the ball around a lot last season, but that could change with him being very comfortable in Enos' more wide-open scheme. Allen wants to go down field more, and he's admitted to feeling much more comfortable doing that now. Allen will definitely throw for more than just 175.8 yards per game in 2015.

Why Arkansas will fall short: