Arkansas Staff Prepared for UAB Like Men Coaching for Their Jobs

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Sam Pittman’s rarely been good at taking a gamble.

Part of the reason Razorbacks fans get so flustered with him is every time a big decision comes up, he always seems to make the wrong call. He’s tried a little of everything, switching from his gut to analytics and back to his gut again, and whether it be deciding whether to kick a field goal, go for it on fourth down or opt for the 2-point conversion, it never seems to work out.

However, there have been hints Pittman may have taken one gamble that has worked out so far — to an extent. Everything about how this past week played out, from players’ peculiar reactions to specific questions about UAB to how off-guard they appeared through much of the game screamed a lack of focus on the Blazers.

For instance, when Ja’Quinden Jackson and Andrew Armstrong were asked about the Blazers specifically last week, they looked at each other as if they were almost unsure they were actually playing UAB the upcoming Saturday and shook their heads. Even though the question asked was specifically about Trent Dilfer’s team and players, the answer that followed had zero information about them.

All they said was they were focused on fixing themselves. When the game was over and the Razorbacks managed to come from behind to pull out a 37-27 win, Pittman dropped a small crumb that might have shed light on why his players didn’t know much about what was supposed to be an overmatched opponent.

“Last week’s game, we practiced five times in two-a-days,” Pittman said when asked about how much Arkansas put into trying to get a potentially valuable win over Oklahoma State. “Six actually.”

There had been no need to put a lot of work in on Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Hogs were drastically more talented, so precious practice time was spent, instead, on the Cowboys and it showed on the field.

The Razorbacks kicked OSU’s backside up between its shoulders everywhere but the scoreboard and left Heisman candidate running back Ollie Gordon wondering whether he still knew how to play football most of the game.

So, having put so much effort into trying to pull off a win that would have gone a long way in making sure this staff gets to keep receiving paychecks after this season and finding that level of success, it would be hard to hold it against Pittman if he chose to go to the well once again. His team was matched up against a Blazers team that got blasted spectacularly by Louisiana-Monroe the week before, so opting to focus on Arkansas miscues and maybe squeeze in a little early work on Hugh Freeze’s Auburn Tigers would appear to be a safe gamble under the circumstances.

If that was the case, Pittman’s staff may be taking a little heat, but technically the first half of the risk has paid off. Arkansas needed a victory over UAB and the Hogs came out of the weekend with another tally in the win column.

When it comes time to see who qualifies for bowl games, Arkansas isn’t going to get a half point for a close game with the Blazers. If more focus on things the Hogs need to improve to be in better shape for the SEC opener with a side eye glancing at Auburn helps Pittman break his curse against Freeze, then good for him.

If the Hogs lose to the Tigers, people are going to blow up anyway, so a close game versus a blowout win over a UAB team fans didn’t respect either isn’t going to change things. Losing to an Auburn team with a perceived quarterback problem that struggled with winless perennial doormat New Mexico for over a half will start warming up that hot seat once again, so better to risk giving it all he has to prevent that.

There were a lot of excuses put up by Pittman about his team’s performance. Players weren’t doing a lot of live tackling in practice, the defensive coordinator was tending to a newborn (and rightfully so), and there were a lot of injuries that need time to heal.

Those were circumstances, not necessarily reasons. The most obvious reason was a lack of focus from beginning to end.

That just leaves the question of whether that happened in the name of being more prepared this Saturday at Auburn. Everyone will know in a few days whether Pittman went through with a gamble, and, if so, for once his luck changes and it pays off.

HOGS FEED:

• Former Auburn lineman sees enoug positives in Hogs to be concerned for Tigers

• Will Pittman have clues how to fix Hogs’ issues?

• Ramsey’s Razorbacks rebound draws high praise

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