Sam Pittman took over as Arkansas football’s head coach three years ago and all he’s done is turn the Razorbacks into a respectable SEC program.
The Razorbacks are 19-17 over the three years of Sam Pittman while going 2-0 in bowl games which is a far cry from where they were under Chad Morris before him. They were irrelevant in the SEC and arguably one of the worst teams in the Power Five. It’s crazy how far they’ve come.
But after a 7-6 season, people are unsure of how to treat Arkansas. Is it a contender or a pretender?
Well, let’s find out via these bold predictions for 2023.
3. Arkansas will split between LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Florida
This may not seem all that bold, but Arkansas will be the underdog in each of these matchups. Beating two of Texas A&M, LSU, Florida, and Ole Miss away from home will not only be an impressive feat but one that could launch them into New Year’s Six bowl contention.
Arkansas should have a top-50 defense nationally, a really solid offense led by arguably the best quarterback in the SEC, an above average offensive line, and one of the best running backs in the country. The only question marks are at receiver, but I think those will be worked out and answered quickly.
The Razorbacks look like a team that’s going to shock a few people and while the schedule is tough, I could see them going 9-3 on the year and potentially earning win No. 10 in bowl season.
That kind of year would be fantastic, and it’s probably if they can beat two out of Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss, and Florida. My prediction would be the latter two as Texas A&M will be better and LSU is a powerhouse.
2. KJ Jefferson finishes top 10 in Heisman voting
This may sound insane, but I’m driving the KJ Jefferson bandwagon until it runs out of gas. The senior quarterback may very well be the best quarterback in the SEC to start the season and I think he has a legitimate chance to make a Heisman splash this year.
Do I think Jefferson is going to win the Heisman? No, but I do think he’s going to have a career year and put up good enough numbers to land himself in the top 10 of the Heisman voting.
Just look at last year. He finished with 2,648 yards and 24 touchdowns with five interceptions while completing 68 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 815 yards and nine scores. And yet Jefferson still didn’t get the respect he deserved on a national level.
Imagine what fans are going to say when he passes for 3,500 yards and rushes for 1,000 with 40 total scores. There’s no way he can be left out of the Heisman conversation.
1. Arkansas finishes ranked in the top 15
This kind of works together with my prediction of Arkansas beating two potentially-ranked teams on the road this season in SEC play.
If Arkansas is able to steal a couple of wins over Florida and Ole Miss, and then it takes care of business in the other games it’s supposed to win, I can legitimately see the Razorbacks finishing somewhere in the top 15.
Looking at the schedule, the two losses to Alabama and LSU stand out early on and I’m predicting wins over Florida and Ole Miss. They’ll beat Western Carolina, Kent State, and BYU to start the year 3-0. They might struggle against a Texas A&M team that should be much better this year. Arkansas will beat Mississippi State, Auburn, FIU, and Missouri at home to end the year.
That would mean that Arkansas would finish the year 9-3 and that should be good enough to get them into that top-15 range nationally.
I could even see the Razorbacks stealing a win over Texas A&M to get to 10-2 or even 9-3 with another loss elsewhere.
A top-15 finish is going to do wonders for Sam Pittman’s recruiting.