All Hogs

Underdog Hogs deserve credit, not blame, for near upset

Razorbacks should be galvanized by disappointing defeat with unbeaten Memphis up next
Bob Stephens|
Arkansas Razorback coach Sam Pittman reacts during the first quarter at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Arkansas Razorback coach Sam Pittman reacts during the first quarter at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Arkansas RazorbacksOle Miss Rebels

"I hate to lose more than I love to win." - Jimmy Connors

Just a reminder, folks. The Razorbacks were not supposed to win at Ole Miss on Saturday night.

Sure, every Arkansas player thought they'd win. All the Arkansas coaches were confident the team would improve to 3-0 and have a happy trip home to Fayetteville.

'Twas not to be, however. Despite terrific offensive output, the Hogs fumbled away a golden opportunity to upset No. 17 Ole Miss on the road before 60,000 Rebel rooters.

The Rebs were picked to prevail by about a whisker more than a touchdown and PAT, so the Hogs would've loved to strut out of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with a road win.

'Upset Special' almost hit, but will Hogs recover quickly?

The early-season upset would've also put the Hogs on track to win nine games this season.

The heartbreaking 41-35 defeat was particularly hard to swallow because Sam Pittman's Razorbacks had the ball deep in Ole Miss territory with less than two minutes left.

Alas, Jalen Brown had the ball stripped loose as he fought for yardage with 1:52 remaining and the Hogs marching to the potential winning score.

Asked how his team could learn from the loss, Pittman touched on the greatest motivator in sports and life. It's losing, or the fear of losing again, as human nature drives us to work harder to avoid another defeat.

"They’re hurt, which is a good thing," Pittman said of his players. "It means something to them, which is a good thing. When you have that, they’ll go back to work and they’ll do a good job with that."

Princeton Professor says not losing valued 3:1 over winning

An article titled "Do You Hate to Lose More You Love to Win?" from 2017 offered this: "Professor Kanheman, a renowned professor at Princeton University who won the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics, explains the theory that shows we tend to look at things from ‘gains and losses’. We have a loss aversion and the ratio up to 3:1. This means we value not losing up to three times higher than actually winning."

Which takes us back to the famous quote by Hall of Fame tennis star Jimmy Connors that countless others have used since his gritty run to the 1991 U.S. Open semifinals late in his career.

"I hate to lose more than I like to win," Connors said 34 years ago. "I hate to see the happiness on their face when they beat me!"

Mississippi Rebels coach Lane Kiffin (left) and Arkansas Razorback coach Sam Pittman embrace after Saturday night's thrilling
Mississippi Rebels coach Lane Kiffin (left) was a lot happier than Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman after Saturday night's thrilling game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Sure, the Hogs could've won. Maybe should've won since they put up 35 points.

"A heck of a game by two good offenses," Pittman said. "And certainly came down to the end where we had a chance to win it, and unfortunately we couldn't. But I was really proud of our offense. They kept us in it."

Arkansas offense answers time after time after time, and again

The Hogs never led but impressively matched each of Ole Miss' first four touchdowns to tie the game at 7, 14, 21 and 28.

It was 31-28 at halftime and 41-28 with 10:58 to play as the Hogs were blanked in the third quarter.

"Our defense couldn't do anything in the first half, especially most of the game," Pittman said. "And we got problems there. We've got to get them fixed."

A fourth-quarter TD got Arkansas within 41-35 and the defense finally held the Rebs without a score.

"The offense kept us in the game there, and then the defense got a three-and-out , and we had a chance to win at the end," Pittman said. "But two good SEC football teams out there, unfortunately, we came up on the short end."

As for Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, the game was what he's come to expect when his Rebels face the Hogs.

“We’ve had a lot of wild ones with these guys,” said Kiffin, whose Rebs have won six of the last eight meetings with the Razorbacks. “They had a great game plan and give them credit. It’s a good win for us.”

Can the Hogs regroup with Notre Dame in town in two weeks?

Now the Hogs have to prepare for unbeaten Memphis on the road, then a home game against last year's national championship game participant Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish are shockingly 0-2. They're still ranked No. 24 after losing 27-24 at No. 4 Miami and 41-40 to No. 10 Texas A&M, who each climbed in the polls after edging the Irish.

Hog fans are obviously displeased with Saturday's loss. Yes, it could've been avoided:
* Brown fumbled at the end.
* Freshman Scott Starzyk missed both field goal tries.
* The defense allowed 475 yards, 357 through the air.

That was enough to squander senior quarterback Taylen Green's terrific performance as he accounted for 420 yards of offense: 305 passing and 115 rushing, with a TD through the air and on the ground.

Arkansas played well enough to win despite the mistakes, Pittman noted, saying, "We just had a turnover."

Pittman said he talked directly with Brown immediately after the game and prior to his post-game meeting with the media.

"I've taken Jalen already aside," Pittman said. "That's certainly not his fault that we lost the game. He certainly feels terrible about it.

"But I wanted to talk to him about it because he's made a lot of good plays for us in our first three games and we've got to hold on to that ball. He understands that.

"But there's a ton of stuff in that game we could have done better that we would have won the game."

Will Arkansas fans support Sam or turn on the team?

Most fans will lament the loss and voice displeasure with Pittman and the mistakes.

But Arkansas fans should praise the effort, not gripe about the result.

Most red-blooded Hog fans expect their guys to win just about every week. But with fans, it's more hope than belief. It's more anticipation than trust.

The players and coaches truly believe they'll win because they put in the work every day to achieve victory.

So, when they don't win, it hurts them a lot more than it does the fans.

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Bob Stephens
BOB STEPHENS

Bob Stephens won more than a dozen awards as a sportswriter and columnist in Northwest Arkansas from 1980 to 2003. He started as a senior for the 1975 Fayetteville Bulldogs’ state championship basketball team, and was drafted that summer in the 19th round by the St. Louis Cardinals but signed instead with Norm DeBriyn's Razorbacks, playing shortstop and third base. Bob has written for the Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, New Jersey Star-Ledger, and many more. He covered the Razorbacks in three Final Fours, three College World Series, six New Year’s Day bowl games, and witnessed many track national championships. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Pati. Follow on X: @BobHogs56

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