Losing to Oklahoma State in double overtime at Stillwater on Saturday couldn’t just be a normal loss for Arkansas.
It had to happen in all manner of inexplicable ways and defy odds. A game the Hogs statistically owned slipped out of their hands (on multiple occasions, literally so) and into the waiting arms of the No. 16 Cowboys.
Oklahoma State will not get a gift quite like the 39-31 double-overtime victory often, even with the Cowboys being really adept at comebacks. Meanwhile, back in Fayetteville, Sam Pittman’s got a new dash of salt to get out of his wounds.
It was a draining, difficult game, mostly for Pittman because of his already fragile job status. And as if that weren’t enough, Bobby Petrino’s offense and Travis Williams’ defensive unit controlled the majority of the game.
We could relive the gaffes on special teams and beat a dead horse about the team’s general game management late. I’d rather take an unusually optimistic angle and say that this game may prove beneficial at the end.
Was This an “Arlington” Moment?
If the way this game played out seemed grossly familiar, you cannot attribute it entirely to Pittman.
Bret Bielema’s five-year tenure could’ve extended further had he not whiffed in all five games against Texas A&M. In the four Southwest Classics in Arlington, Arkansas led at some juncture in each, and three went to overtime.
Pittman notably gave the Hogs their first SEC victory over A&M in 2021, and it was a fairly commanding 20-10 win. But the 2022 game represented a hard pivot-point in his coaching career. And you may remember the moment it happened:
Pittman wasn’t responsible for KJ Jefferson’s dumb choice there. But he had been on a 12-4 run for Hogs squad nationally ranked 10th until losing that one due to one of Cam Little’s rare misses as the Hogs’ exceptional kicker. And, yeah, we clearly miss him now, too.
Since the Aggies eked that one out, the Hogs are 9-15.
Sam is teetering again, but let’s assess Oklahoma State for what it was: a non-conference game that only really could have hurt the Hogs if they had no-showed. That clearly didn’t happen.
Arlington has represented some of this program’s biggest failures in the past decade. Petrino was 3-0 against the Aggies at JerryWorld when the Classic began as a non-conference affair. He knows that atmosphere well, and how to unleash his talented skill players on that surface.
Kevin Sumlin and Jimbo Fisher had little trouble vanquishing the Hogs, but Mike Elko’s term is only two games old now, too. And while Arkansas gets potential recovery against UAB this weekend (the Blazers got knocked around by Louisiana-Monroe) the Aggies have a road trip to Florida, where the Gators will be in desperation, fighting mode.
Improved Outlook for Arkansas Football
Coming off a 4-8 season, this revamped group looked much improved against the Cowboys. And these Hogs are potentially far more threatening to the rest of the SEC by extension.
While Texas and Tennessee look dominant, Arkansas at least gets both at home and later in the year when injuries or outcomes may alter the prospects of an upset. The Hogs also draw LSU and Ole Miss at Razorback Stadium.
I know none of that sounds very encouraging, but Auburn looked terrible in a home loss to heavy underdog California. Both the Aggies and LSU have also lost games that exposed some of their early weaknesses.
There would be considerable momentum going into the teeth of the schedule if the Hogs can somehow seize the last three in September. The likelihood of that is fairly slim, though beating UAB and Auburn would certainly would certainly amplify the importance of that Texas A&M game.
And while cleaning up mistakes hasn’t been the strength of Pittman’s staff year to year, there’s way more hope for that to occur here with Petrino and Williams running their respective shows. Careless errors like Ja’Quinden Jackson flubbing a clean pitch or Taylen Green gathering in a snap? Those are imminently fixable.
If those things keep happening, any discussion about Pittman’s future becomes moot, though. A team with a negative turnover margin but big yardage will increase Hog fans’ calls for Petrino’s return to the big chair.
But Arkansas was too good in the first quarter of the OSU game to ignore. The Hogs muted that crowd for two solid hours. Ollie Gordon could do nothing. Running lanes looked like on-ramps. Green missed some throws, but still flaunted that cannon plenty. Jackson and Andrew Armstrong posted all-conference numbers.
Tests Loom for Arkansas Football
The Hogs’ rickety performance after halftime Saturday didn’t inspire confidence in Sam Pittman. Granted, the players’ most egregious mistakes were all on them.
But Pittman also retained special teams coordinator Scott Fountain this past offseason, and I felt that decision was dubious. Little kicked his way to the NFL on pure leg alone; the unit as a whole didn’t perform.
Devin Bale punted very well Saturday, and Isaiah Sategna is still the best return option by a mile. He’s like most folks, I suspect, in that he doesn’t want to try to catch a punt with one of his teammates banging into his ankles.
As bad as the Hogs were in 2023, they had chances at three or four more wins and blew those. This team is clearly better and deeper, so will it address those endgame scenarios finally?
The game underscored that Pittman’s fate hinges on smarter football in the clutch. The first challenge didn’t end well, but there was plenty to like still.
The Razorbacks can’t just settle for “showing up” in their upcoming winnable games, though. Auburn and Texas A&M – not to mention UAB this week – are “must-win” games, or at least one of those two SEC matchups, if Pittman is going to get a Year 6 in Fayetteville.
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