Hogs' Not Good Team Yet — But Definitely Not Bad, Either

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Two things can be true at once following a road victory over Auburn. Arkansas is halfway to bowl eligibility, but also not a perfect team either.

Turnovers, seven of them to be exact through four weeks, have hindered Arkansas from being 4-0 and ranked inside the top 25 for the third time in five seasons under coach Sam Pittman. It's really hard to complain about that especially when the Razorbacks have been as high as No. 8 in the AP Poll nearly immediately after the Chad Morris regime.

Arkansas is one play from being 4-0 and an AP Top 25 team this week. That’s wild to me.

Good start to the season for Sam Pittman’s Hogs.

Look around the country… Florida State, Florida, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Va Tech, etc. would love to be where the Hogs are. pic.twitter.com/HeT8trVkD2
— Jacob Davis (@JacobScottDavis) September 22, 2024

The Razorbacks are one dropped touchdown pass and a pick six from defeating No. 16 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Preseason darlings like Florida State, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and many others would give anything to be in the Razorbacks position right now but sadly aren't.

Wins don't have to be pretty, folks. The bottom line for coaches is how many games they won not how they won them. Pittman and his choice of solid coordinator and assistant hires have kept Arkansas out of the gutter of doom the past five seasons.

Nothing in football is perfect by any means. Whether its an ugly win or not it's always good to be on the right side of .500 and running back Ja'Quinden Jackson echoed that sentiment in the post game press conference when asked about how he felt about the pregame point spread but beating Auburn by 10.

"Stop sleeping on us, Jackson said. "It’s not going to always be pretty but it’s football. It ain’t going to always be perfect But, hey, stop sleeping on us. We’re not the same team from last year. We’re here. We’re better."

A victory over Texas A&M Saturday all but solidifies Arkansas a bowl team and that's about all fans could have asked for in the preseason buildup. Pittman felt the overwhelming outside pressure to have a successful season or he wouldn't have gone out and hired Bobby Petrino in a move to remain competitive.

azorbacks coach Sam Pittman during warm ups before the Auburn game — Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman during warm ups before the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Pittman wants to take this season one week at a time and see how it all unfolds. Winning a SEC road game going into a game against the Aggies in Arlington makes preparation a lot easier with less pressure to win than before.

"Well, we have to go beat Texas A&M," Pittman said. "But what it does, it gives you a shot in the arm. It makes you feel good. It makes practicing a little bit easier. But just because I believe that we’ve got a really good team and can win on the road, you have to go do it."

"I don’t want to put last year or 9-4 season, I don’t want to put any of them together. I just want to play this season. We’re 3-1 and lost in double overtime to Oklahoma State and we all know we had our chances there. I think what it does, it lets our recruits know we can go on the road and win in the SEC. We’re 1-0 [in conference play] and we’re tied for the top and that’s a big deal."

Arkansas may not be a good team yet but this group of Razorbacks sure aren't a bad team either. The Hogs are trending in the right direction and that's all anyone can ask for to this point of the season.

HOGS FEED:

• ESPN gives analytical thoughts for Razorbacks chances against Aggies

• Razorbacks' win over Auburn hopefully not standard going ahead

• Problems persist, but Hogs' Pittman finally wins meaningful SEC game