Arkansas secured an important road win over Auburn, moving halfway to bowl eligibility, but the team’s performance has been far from flawless. Under head coach Sam Pittman, the Razorbacks have shown progress, but turnovers have been a significant issue, with seven committed in just four games. These mistakes have kept Arkansas from a perfect 4-0 record and a spot inside the Top 25, where they’ve been ranked three times in the last five seasons.
Still, the improvement from the Chad Morris era is undeniable, with Arkansas rising as high as No. 8 in the AP Poll in recent years. While there’s reason for optimism, the team must address its turnover woes if they aim to reach their full potential this season.
The Razorbacks are one dropped touchdown pass and a pick six from defeating No. 16 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Preseason darlings like Florida State, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and many others would give anything to be in the Razorbacks position right now but sadly aren’t.
Wins don’t have to be pretty, folks. The bottom line for coaches is how many games they won not how they won them. Pittman and his choice of solid coordinator and assistant hires have kept Arkansas out of the gutter of doom the past five seasons.
Nothing in football is perfect by any means. Whether its an ugly win or not it’s always good to be on the right side of .500 and running back Ja’Quinden Jackson echoed that sentiment in the post game press conference when asked about how he felt about the pregame point spread but beating Auburn by 10.
“Stop sleeping on us, Jackson said. “It’s not going to always be pretty but it’s football. It ain’t going to always be perfect But, hey, stop sleeping on us. We’re not the same team from last year. We’re here. We’re better.”
A victory over Texas A&M Saturday all but solidifies Arkansas a bowl team and that’s about all fans could have asked for in the preseason buildup. Pittman felt the overwhelming outside pressure to have a successful season or he wouldn’t have gone out and hired Bobby Petrino in a move to remain competitive.
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman is keeping his focus narrow, aiming to take the season week by week as the Razorbacks push forward. After a key SEC road win over Auburn, Pittman acknowledges that the victory lightens the pressure slightly, making preparation for the upcoming game against Texas A&M a bit smoother.
“We have to go beat Texas A&M,” Pittman said, emphasizing that while the win offers a confidence boost, it doesn’t guarantee anything. “It gives you a shot in the arm, makes practicing easier, but just because I believe we have a really good team, we have to go out and prove it.”
Pittman is also quick to detach this season from previous campaigns, including their 9-4 finish last year. “I just want to play this season,” he added. The team is currently 3-1, with their only loss coming in a double-overtime heartbreaker to Oklahoma State, where they had plenty of opportunities to win.
He highlighted how the road win helps build credibility with recruits, proving that Arkansas can win in the SEC. Though not yet perfect, Pittman’s Razorbacks are heading in the right direction, and as he said, they are “trending in the right direction,” which is all that can be expected at this point in the season.