Arkansas Football: 3 takeaways from huge win over No. 23 Cincinnati

3 of 3

Sep 3, 2022; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks tight end Trey Knox (7) celebrates with offensive lineman Luke Jones (70) after catching a pass in the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /

1. This was a statement win for Arkansas

Three years ago, Arkansas was in the gutter of the SEC. The Razorbacks were one of the worst teams in college football and it looked like a massive rebuild was needed to even be relevant.

Sam Pittman was hired and the rebuild happened much quicker than expected.

After going winless in SEC play for two years under Chad Morris, Pittman led Arkansas to three conference wins in year one. He followed that up with a 9-4 overall record in year two and now he has a ranked win over a playoff team from last season to kick off 2022. The Razorbacks were ranked No. 19 heading into this game and will likely move up a couple of spots.

This was one of those statement wins that shuts a lot of doubters up. Sure, it was a home win over a fringe-Top 25 team, but Cincinnati was in the playoff a year ago and it’s arguably the best Group of Five team in the nation.

Arkansas has come so far as a program under Pittman.

Next. Ranking the top 25 head coaches in college football. dark

Home/Arkansas Razorbacks