Arkansas football: Win over Texas A&M a statement for Sam Pittman

Arkansas football fans have opened up the tailgate of the bandwagon and are waving the nay-sayers in after the No. 16 Razorbacks’ upset of No. 7 Texas A&M, and Sam Pittman is suddenly the hero they not only needed, but deserve.

Last year, Georgia football fans knew what Arkansas was getting when they lured the Bulldogs’ offensive line coach and top recruiter away from Athens, and they tried in vain to tell Arkansas fans who were saying, “Sam who?”, that their new head coach was the right hire.

Those same fans don’t have to ask who anymore. In just his second season as head coach of the Razorbacks, Pittman has guided his team to a 4-0 record to start the season and finished that September run with a win over No. 8 Texas A&M (you know, the team everyone said was going to challenge Bama this year?) completing the second part of the Texas two-step after beating the Longhorns on September 11.

Yes, the hog-calling is finding its way back to SEC stadiums in 2021, and Sam Pittman is now a household name in Fayetteville.

Even after year one’s 3-7 record in the Covid-marred 2020 season, Arkansas football fans could tell there was something special happening with this team, but they may not have expected it to happen quite this fast.

Did anyone?

Pittman is the perfect person for this job, and his blue-collar, no-nonsense, old-school approach to both coaching and recruiting is paying big dividends. There was nowhere to go but up when he took over in 2020, and now he’s got to sustain the success he’s started.

Arkansas football on the rise, but will it last?

So here the Hawgs sit, 4-0, and tied for the lead in the SEC West with Alabama. Ready to take the next step. But, as they say in the movies, watch that next step…it’s a doozy.

Pittman’s next challenge is to face his former employer, the University of Georgia, and a Bulldog team that is hungry to get back to the top of the SEC and to the College Football Playoff. The No. 2 Bulldogs brag probably the best defense in the nation and an offense that seems to be getting more dangerous with each passing week.

No need to introduce Kirby Smart and Sam Pittman, and it’s certain both of them will have at least an inkling of what the other may be thinking at any given time during the game. This will be a chess match with sweet iced tea refreshments.

But it’s not just the reunion of former pals in Athens that’s looming for Pittman and his Razorbacks. After the game against Georgia, he can look forward to meeting No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 23 Auburn, and road games at LSU and No. 1 Alabama a few weeks after that.

Win or lose any of those contests, one thing is certain – the Razorbacks will be a battle-tested team and will be better because of it.

Realistically, the chances of Arkansas running the table with a schedule that tough staring them in the face are pretty slim.

But so was a 4-0 start this year.

And so was beating a Top 10 Texas A&M team.

So, don’t start counting your wins against Arkansas just yet, Bulldogs, Rebels, Tigers, and Tide, because Sam Pittman has made a statement by beating the Aggies, clearly saying “We’re not your doormat anymore. You’re going to get a fight and know that you’ve been in a physical football game.”

Sam who?

Sam-I’m-coaching-a-probable-top-10-team-Pittman, that’s who.