Everything Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman Said After 24-21 Loss to Alabama
Here is what Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said following the Razorbacks' 24-21 loss to No. 11 Alabama on Saturday.
Opening statement
I want to congratulate Alabama. They have a really good football team and a physical team.
Jalen Milroe threw the ball really well, and their defense was really good. We knew going into the game they were good. Coming into this venue we knew it would be a tough task, but we wanted to be in it in the fourth quarter with an opportunity to win and we were.
I’m really proud of our team and hate we couldn’t come away with the win. It’s two times in a row we’ve come in here and lost by seven and today by three. But, we need to win. I’m looking forward to getting back home.
On comeback after falling behind 24-6
We were trying to just keep it close in the fourth quarter. We’ve lost a lot of games in the fourth quarter, and we’ve made an emphasis on it. The defense made some adjustments. On two of their touchdowns we had some breakdowns and turned their receivers loose.
Offensively we decided to run the ball a little on third down; other teams have had some success against them. Even though we didn’t play the entire game well offensively, we showed some sparks that led us forward.
We made adjustments and KJ made some plays. It was a really good job by the kids and the coaches to give us a spark. We just couldn’t close it out.
We got the ball on the 6-yard line and needed a field goal. It was wide open, but (Rashod) Dubinion just couldn’t keep his cleats on line. I believe he would have gotten down there to where we could have kicked a field goal, but we couldn’t do it.
On Arkansas injuries and depth
You think, ‘Oh lord, this guy is out, this guy is out.’ We have better depth than we’ve had in the past and it shows. You have guys that want to play who are capable of playing and it shows you can do a lot if you don’t make mistakes. We were fairly clean today.
Landon (Jackson), what a game. He continues to get better each week. Milroe is a hard guy to get on the ground, but we collapsed the pocket pretty well. He didn’t take off and run on us too much today. I thought Landon played his heart out—a lot of kids did— but he just happened to get three or four sacks.
On KJ Jefferson escaping sack from Terrion Arnold
He finally had some big success on the run. That kind of motivated him. He was dead to rights on that play, but he got out of it and we were able to score later on in the drive.
It was two teams fighting their butts off today. They made one more play than we did. We had some sparks, and we had about 250 yards of offense. That may be a decent day against that defense, but at the end of the day It’s not what we want. We saw some sparks in the second half that gives us hope for the rest of the season.
On tough schedule
It’s going to be great to get home. We need to see our fans. We appreciate them staying with us. Obviously we need a win. I feel like we keep getting better and hopefully we can make a run at the end of the season. It will be great to get back in front of our fans.
The good lord puts us in a lot of situations to learn and different things. Going into this stretch, starting with BYU, I wouldn’t have dreamt we’d be sitting at 2-5. They are all learning experiences. Hopefully we’ll be a better team when we get back home. I just hope we’ve learned from it and it makes us a stronger team. That’s to be determined until we get out there and play Mississippi State.On losing close games
I don’t know (what it will take to get over the hump). You have to make a play at some point. If you are a three-touchdown underdog and get beat by three, it goes in the same category of you being a three-point favorite and losing by three. It’s not the same thing. It’s still a lose. We got the ball with a chance to tie it up. You have to have those drives. We have to finish. We are not doing that.
On confidence with effort despite the loss
We are disappointed that we lost. We are not happy that we lost to Alabama. But, you have to continue to fight and continue to get better. We have to continue to fight. We have a hard road to get to be bowl eligible. That is our goal.
Success with up-temp offense
We put it in today and against Ole Miss on certain plays to go fast. It’s something to try and get us going. We are going to continue trying to do that to try and catch defenses on their heels a little bit. I think it’s working for us.
On touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna
Wasn’t that nice? That was a tough catch on the touchdown. It was a real good ball. Every player we can get to come in and make plays for us. I was happy for him. He’s done a nice job. We need to continue to use him at slot.
On Cam Littles field goal range for the possible tie
Going in that direction, probably down to around the 34-yard line. In all honesty, we would have tried it if we got to the 40.
Importance of taking 6-0 lead
That was big. We were about to get the ball back with a 6-0 lead and they hit on a touchdown right down the middle. It’s big because the crowd doesn’t get into it and it’s more of a belief for us. Wish we could have turned it into touchdowns, but we were up 6-0 and the crowd was not into it and we were feeling good about ourselves.
On punter Max Fletcher
He was incredible. He kicked well and was outstanding. I told him as he was coming off the sideline, you are the reason we are in this game. He flipped the field. Our specialists are as good as anybody in the country.
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