As Year 5 of the Sam Pittman era winds toward another assuredly polarizing conclusion, it’s worth reliving (for the sake of Arkansas football fans’ mental health, mostly) the best five victories of his sporadically successful regime.
It’s also an opportunity to state something obvious: With a bowl bid in hand, Pittman and the Razorbacks have a chance to finally end the Follies at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. and probably push an upset of Mizzou onto this list, too.
There’s little reason to think this Razorback team, though flawed to the gills, couldn’t win this year’s tilt – despite its 0-6 all-time record in Columbia.
The Tigers have won eight games, but it’s not the most daunting array of wins: Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College, and UMass outside of league play, and narrow escapes against Vandy, Auburn and Oklahoma before a decisive win over lowly Mississippi State for their four conference wins.
Put simply, Missouri is one of the shakiest 8-3 teams in the country. And Texas A&M and Alabama both manhandled the Tigers. Brady Cook has been somewhat banged up and hasn’t registered a 300-yard passing game all season after having five such efforts in 2023. Meanwhile, dynamic wideout Luther Burden III has churned out pedestrian metrics (10.8 yards per catch, and a long of only 44) after racking up 86 grabs for 1,212 yards a season ago.
But let’s not put the cart ahead of the horse. For now, let’s look at Pittman’s best wins before this year’s regular-season finale…
Top 5 Wins of the Sam Pittman Era
No. 5 (tie): Arkansas 21, Mississippi State 14 – Oct. 3, 2020
No reason to wait on breaking out the Christmas fudge: we’ll start our top-five list by making it six. Two of Pittman’s signature wins happened at the expense of the Mississippi schools, and it’s clear that the 2020 win over Mississippi State in Starkville was pivotal to the upward arc of the affable head coach. Arkansas took big steps out of the dregs of the Chad Morris experiment, challenging a formidable Georgia team early in its opener before fading. But the Hogs still went to Davis-Wade Stadium unfazed despite a 20-game SEC losing skid. The relative dearth of attendees due to COVID restrictions hampered the hosts, who made gaffe after gaffe and fell out of the Top 25.
No. 5 (tie): Arkansas 42, Ole Miss 27 – Nov. 19, 2022
Two years later, Arkansas’ season had been in a tailspin coming off losses to Liberty and LSU, and the Hogs needed to beat either a ranked Ole Miss or Missouri to get bowl-eligible again. The Razorbacks and Rebels treated the Razorback Stadium crowd to a wild one, with Ole Miss managing to ring up over 700 yards of offense and still lose handily. Arkansas got 232 yards and three touchdowns from Rocket Sanders, and Jefferson slung three scores as well. And in fairness to our beloved hosts, they basically had the game in hand after Sanders’ 68-yard run put them up 42-6 in the third quarter. The Rebels got most of their output in the fourth quarter, but Arkansas closed it out for a win over Lane Kiffin’s 14th-ranked bunch.
No. 4: Arkansas 24, Penn State 10 – Jan. 1, 2022
The culmination of that once-a-springboard 2021 season happened on New Year’s Day in 2022 when Arkansas dominated the Outback Bowl against Penn State. Granted, the Nittany Lions had a disappointing year and dealt with a ton of bowl opt outs, but the Hogs didn’t let up in a gorgeous Florida early game. Jefferson won the first of his two bowl MVP awards with a crisp effort, and Odom once again drew up a neutralizing game plan. It wasn’t the most artful game, and it lacked the sheer thrills of some earlier takedowns that season, but in the end, it served notice that Pittman was at least not going to be a flash in the pan.
No. 3: Arkansas 20, Texas A&M 10 – Sept. 25, 2021
A case could be made that this game should be a spot higher on this list, as it was a true SEC game with major implications. With Texas A&M owning the Hogs to the tune of nine straight wins in the Southwest Classic, Arkansas showed up ranked, hot and ready for the Aggies this time. Another excellent defensive effort from Barry Odom’s troops carried the day, and made my favorite transfer of the Pittman era, “Vanilla Gorilla” John Ridgeway, a momentary star. Jefferson and Treylon Burks connected for a long touchdown early and the offense simply outworked and wore down the Ags.
No. 2: Arkansas 40, Texas 21 – Sept. 11, 2021
That 2021 season may ultimately prove to be the peak of the Pittman era. His stock and national profile spiked that September when the Hogs, relying on a still-untested K.J. Jefferson and a bevy of hungry transfers, blasted Texas in the teams’ first matchup as unofficial SEC foes. UT had announced that summer its planned defection from the Big 12 and arrived at Razorback Stadium as the No. 16 team in the country. An electrified crowd and Jefferson’s big-play ability got the Hogs rolling early and it never ebbed. Rocket Sanders burst onto the scene that night as well, and an inspired defense pinned Steve Sarkisian with his first loss as Texas head coach.
No. 1: Arkansas 19, Tennessee 14, October 5, 2024
There’s not much question anymore as to the top victory. The October bum-rushing of No. 4 Tennessee was nothing short of massive – and at a time when Pittman needed it the most. It was also the least likely outcome ever: the Hogs trailed late as usual, but instead of collapsing, they put together a composed, methodical game-winning drive featuring the arm and leg talent of backup quarterback Malachi Singleton and the bruising running of 18-year-old tailback Braylen Russell. The defense shined all night, with that effort being rewarded on a final stop inside the Tennessee red zone as time expired.
Looking Ahead to Arkansas vs Missouri
The purpose of this list is twofold. One, it demonstrates that for all of Sam Pittman’s shortcomings, he’s still authored more high-energy, positive Saturdays than his three predecessors did for the prior decade. Secondly, it puts some admittedly hopeful context around the Missouri game next Friday.
Bret Bielema notably whiffed in two tries at Faurot Field, the latter of which in 2016 featured 21 unanswered points by Mizzou in the second half and probably irreparably damaged Bielema’s future in Fayetteville.
The Tigers had been the better team in 2014, but Arkansas charged out of the gates hard, only to fall victim to some suspect officiating and soft coverage late. In 2016, the roles were reversed: Arkansas came to Faurot with a 7-4 record despite some ugly defeats and had a 17-point halftime lead over a three-win Tiger team that was simply ready to end a ragged season. They stormed back to upset the Hogs, who promptly gagged away a Belk Bowl against Virginia Tech.
It goes without saying that Chad Morris got waxed in his single trip there in 2018, and Pittman’s two trips (2020, 2022) were among his many one-score losses.
During the COVID year, Arkansas took the lead with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 43 seconds left, only to lose on a last-second field goal. Two years later, the Hogs had a narrow 21-20 halftime lead, but mustered only a pair of Cam Little field goals after that and fell 29-27.
Obviously, it starts to weigh on the head coach first when a team cannot break through against an opponent or a venue. And Missouri has every right to brag about dominating this once-alleged, now-lopsided “rivalry.” In fact, Arkansas has won two home games against far inferior Mizzou teams since the Tigers entered the SEC in 2012, making it just 2-8 in the series over the last decade. It’s this context that would put a win at Mizzou into the Top 6 of Pittman’s biggest all-time wins, bumping down the Mississippi State victory to slot in at No. 6.
Such a win could go a long way in swinging public sentiment back in Pittman’s favor.
This piece isn’t suggesting that 7-5 will either happen or appease the supporters, but in looking back at Pittman’s career, he’s shown a persistent knack to bounce back at the perfect time. Even amid last year’s misery, he accomplished something his forebears had not: the singular SEC win at Florida was a program first.
If the Hogs run off three to end the season, though, and settle at 8-5 with four league wins, that’s basically the reversal of fortune that everyone recognized a full year ago that Pittman would need to stay comfy. It will vindicate his choices of coordinators, too, and there’s no question that would attract incoming talent from both the portal and high schools.
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