Arkansas football: The Sam Pittman era may need to come to an end

Watching the Arkansas football game and seeing fans filing for the exits in a four-point game with over two minutes left was all it took for me to believe that the Sam Pittman era needed to come to an end.

The Razorbacks trailed 7-3 late in the fourth quarter, but fans gave up on the team before the game was officially over.

Fortunately for those who left early, it did end with that same exact score.

But that just shows the kind of direction that the program is headed in and how much the fans truly believe in Pittman and the Razorbacks. It felt like the end of an era. It felt like any hope that people had in a turnaround was crushed. This now marks a second straight disappointing season after two solid years to begin the Pittman era.

It feels over. And it probably should be over.

The Sam Pittman era is crashing and burning

The Razorbacks looked hapless in a home game that should have been a confidence-builder after nearly pulling off a couple of upsets in recent weeks. They showed fight against teams like LSU, Alabama, and Ole Miss but almost none on Saturday (offensively) against Mississippi State.

If Arkansas never let BYU come back to win earlier in the season to start this six-game losing streak, would the Razorbacks’ season look completely different? Absolutely. But it feels like the will of this team has been crushed. Their hope has been taken away.

And on Saturday, their bowl hopes are likely gone.

Pittman let it get this bad. His team was running the ball up the middle from their own 25-yard-line with three minutes left. They were taking sacks on crucial third downs. They were playing arguably their worst game of the Pittman era. It was ugly.

It may be time for the end of this era. Arkansas can’t afford to keep falling further behind.