Arkansas Football: Realistic expectations for Razorbacks in 2021

A 3-7 record doesn’t exactly seem like a successful first year for a head coach, but Sam Pittman has to be relatively happy with what he got out of his Arkansas football team in 2020.

The Razorbacks had zero conference wins in 2018 and 2019 under Chad Morris and in the first year of Pittman, he had three and was just a few plays away from even more wins.

In fact, Arkansas lost a controversial game against Auburn which probably should have been a win but a refereeing error costed the Razorbacks. They were also competitive for a half against Georgia, most of the game against Texas A&M, against LSU, and at Missouri.

Arkansas lost to Auburn, Missouri, and LSU by a combined seven points. That’s the difference between a 3-7 record and a 6-4 mark.

Imagine if Pittman won six games in his first season at Arkansas after Morris failed to win a conference game in two years. He probably would have been given an immediate raise.

A few plays away from 6-4 should set up an even better 2021 season.

What are the realistic expectations for Pittman and the Razorbacks?

Will Arkansas football go bowling in 2021?

It was pretty clear that Arkansas wasn’t close to SEC contention in 2020, losing to Georgia by 27, Florida by 28, and Alabama by 49. Those were three of the top contenders for the SEC title and the Razorbacks weren’t even close to any of them, talent-wise.

But after bringing in a talented recruiting class, returning 17 starters and having two quality coordinators in Barry Odom (defense) and Kendal Briles (offense), Arkansas should be better.

No, I’m not predicting an SEC West title for the Razorbacks — far from it, actually — but I do think this team will be bowling for the first time since 2016.

How many wins are realistic for the Razorbacks in 2021? With a tough road schedule, the Razorbacks might not win a single game away from Fayetteville. Traveling to Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU, and Alabama is a murderer’s row in SEC play and there’s a good chance they go 0-4 there.

Even if Arkansas is shut out on the road, they have a neutral site game against Texas A&M (likely a loss but anything can happen in a rivalry) and a favorable home schedule against Rice, Texas, Georgia Southern, Auburn, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Mississippi State, and Missouri. If all goes as planned, that could be 6-7 wins.

Realistic expectations while looking at the schedule and returning talent should be around a 6-6 or 7-5 record for Arkansas and that would be a heck of an improvement for Pittman.

Arkansas is no longer a pushover.