Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema has his work cut out for him in the tough SEC West. (Tom Lynn/Getty Images)

Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema certainly did his best to fire up the fan base by commenting on Alabama coach Nick Saban’s record when he was coaching Michigan State in the Big Ten.

Bielema, who was hired by the Razorbacks from Wisconsin in December, spoke Wednesday night to the Saline County Razorback Club, who were having their annual fish fry.

He was asked about the challenges of playing in the SEC West and what Bielema said was interesting:

“I came to the SEC for a variety of reasons, but the major one in my mind was to win an SEC championship. You can take Saban’s record when he was at Michigan State and when he was a coach in the Big Ten and put it against mine, and he can’t compare,” Bielema said, according to Hootens.com.

Arkansas plays nine teams this season that made it to a bowl in 2012. Saban’s SEC team, Alabama, on the hand, has dominated college football in the past several seasons, winning two of the past three national championship

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez will coach the Badgers against Stanford in the Rose Bowl. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez has asked departing assistant coaches not to poach any of the 2013 recruits who have already committed to the Badgers, according to Tom Mulhern of Madison.com.

Newly hired head coach Gary Andersen is retaining two of nine assistants — running backs coach Thomas Hammock and secondary coach Ben Strickland — who worked under Bret Bielema, before he was hired by Arkansas on Dec 4. Andersen is also considering offensive line coach Bart Miller for the tight ends job.

Alvarez has been happy with the work of the outgoing assistants preparing the Badgers for their Rose Bowl game against Stanford on Jan. 1. But he reminded them to continue their professionalism when it comes to recruiting for their new employers.

“I just told the coaches (Saturday), I wished them all well. I told them I appreciated all of the efforts they’ve given us,” Alvarez said. “I think they’ve been very professional.

“When it’s time to practice and meet for the Rose Bowl, I expect — and they’ve given us — their full attention. They’ve been good with the kids. On your free time, if you want to work with the other school you’re going to, that’s fine. I just asked them, ‘Don’t recruit the guys who are committed.’ ”

Alvarez said wide receiver coach Zach Azzanni, who will join Tennessee’s staff after the Rose Bowl, notified him that the Vols were recruiting a Wisconsin commit — but not through him.

“Zach came to me the other day and told me Tennessee was calling one of the kids that committed to us,” Alvarez said. “He told me it wasn’t him, he wasn’t involved in that, didn’t like that action.”

Safety Tiquention Coleman, from Georgia Military College, has been the only 2013 recruit to rescind his commitment since Bielema took the Arkansas job. Coleman signed with Arkansas during the early signing period for junior college transfers.

Bielema told the State Journal on Saturday he would not recruit players committed to the Badgers unless those players approached him first, which Coleman apparently did.

“I’m not going to touch anybody, but if they reach out to me, I will respond back,” Bielema said.

Oregon State head coach Mike Riley is set to interview for Wisconsin’s open head-coaching position, CBS Sports’ Jeremy Fowler reported Thursday night.

Fowler also reported that Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Mel Tucker is under consideration:

The long-time Beavers coach is set to interview with Wisconsin this week, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

Jaguars defensive coordinator Mel Tucker is also a candidate. Iowa State’s Paul Rhoads garnered interest early in the process but nothing materialized.

SI’s Pete Thamel reported Thursday that Miami head coach Al Golden turned down overtures by Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez.

Just got word that Al Golden is flattered by Alvarez’s interest but staying at Miami.

— Pete Thamel(@SIPeteThamel) December 13, 2012

Riley is in the midst of his second stint as Oregon State’s head coach — this one started in 2003. From 1999-2001, Riley coached the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. He has an 81-66 career record with the Beavers, including a 9-3 finish this season and an Alamo Bowl berth.

According to his official Oregon State biography, Riley is under contract through 2019. His contract “rolls over” one year every time the Beavers earn a bowl berth.

Wisconsin is replacing Bret Bielema, who left the school last week to take over the helm at Arkansas.

Brad Childress is reportedly being considered for the vacant coaching position at Wisconsin. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator and former Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress is “intrigued” by Wisconsin’s head-coaching job and is an option for the position, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported on Thursday.

The job opened up on Wednesday, when Bret Bielema bolted for the head job at Arkansas.

For eight seasons in the 1990s, Childress was a member of the coaching staff of Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez,  who will coach the Badgers in the Rose Bowl next month.

During his five seasons as Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator, Childress earned praise for his work with Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ron Dayne. He left the school in 1999 to coach the quarterbacks with the Philadelphia Eagles, and he subsequently spent three seasons as their offensive coordinator.

Childress moved on to spend parts of five seasons as the Vikings head coach, where he had some success but was ultimately fired 10 games into the 2010 season.

Bret Bielema has led Wisconsin to a 68-24 record over the past seven seasons. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Arkansas football will hire Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema as its head coach, Yahoo! Sports is reporting.

Bielema has led the Badgers to three straight Rose Bowls, including the upcoming Jan. 1 matchup with Stanford. He plans to coach in that game, according to ESPN.com:

An official announcement will come Tuesday, according to the Yahoo! Sports report, but Bielema is not expected to be introduced until Wednesday.

The move comes as a shock to many, as Bielema was not known to be on Arkansas’ radar. The Razorbacks reportedly offered LSU coach Les Miles a five-year deal last week, before Miles signed an extension with the Tigers.

Under coach John L. Smith, Arkansas plummeted to a 4-8 record this season after opening the year ranked in the top 10.  Smith replaced Bobby Petrino, who was fired in April.

In seven years at Wisconsin, Bielema has posted a 68-24 record and two bowl victories. He was previously an assistant at Wisconsin, Kansas State and Iowa, where he played from 1989-92.

According to the Yahoo! Sports report, escaping the shadow of longtime Wisconsin coach and current athletic director Barry Alvarez was among Bielema’s motives for accepting Arkansas AD Jeff Long’s offer:

Long was less worried about getting someone with Southern ties than he was getting someone with an established winning record.

Although Bielema’s winning percentage of .739 is the highest of any Wisconsin coach since George Little in 1925-26, he struggled to escape the shadow of program architect Alvarez – who remains at the school as its athletic director. Wisconsin’s relatively modest facilities might also have been an issue for Bielema – a problem he will not encounter at Arkansas.

Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema has replaced his offensive line coach. (Tom Lynn/Getty Images)

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal are reporting Wisconsin offensive line coach Mike Markuson has been replaced after two games.

Markuson was not available for comment Sunday, but sources close to the program confirmed the change.

Sources have confirmed Bart Miller, in his second season as UW’s offensive quality control coordinator, would be promoted to fill Markuson’s position.

Wisconsin has failed to live up to its reputation as a powerful running team so far in 2012 after producing more than 3,000 yards in each of the last two seasons.

Under Markuson, the Badgers have gained just 267 yards on 70 carries (2.9 yards per carry) while going 1-1 in 2012.

Coach Bret Bielema was not available for comment on Sunday but mentioned the offensive line’s inability to control the line of scrimmage Saturday in a 10-7 upset loss at Oregon State.

“There just wasn’t any room in there,” he said. “We weren’t getting any push at the line of scrimmage.”

Bielema noted several times the responsibility for solving the woes of the line and the offense, generating 16.5 points per game, was his.

“We’ve got to be able to execute the plan that we have in place,” he said. “Obviously what we do at Wisconsin, there is a certain formula that we recruit to that we believe to be very, very important for us to have success.

“And when we can’t (make) that happen, we’re going to find ourselves in trouble.”

Markuson, who spent 14 seasons coaching at Ole Miss and Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference, was hired to replace Bob Bostad after the 2011 season.

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema has accused Ohio State coach Urban Meyer of committing illegal recruiting practices, according to the Sporting News.

Bielema accused Meyer and his staff of using former Ohio State NFL players to call high school recruits.  In particular, the Wisconsin coach accused Meyer of ‘bumping’ into offensive lineman high school standout Kyle Dodson, who was committed to the Badgers and then flipped and signed with the Buckeyes. “Bumping” is a practice which occurs when coaches accidently come into contact with players  during recruiting dead periods.

Both the phone calls from NFL players and bumping are NCAA violations.  When asked by the Sporting News of the accusations, Meyers denied any wrongdoing.  Ohio State has also not self-reported any of these type of violations.

Bielema will get to face Meyers when the teams play in Madison, Wisconsin on Nov.17.