No Place for Arkansas Fans Getting Hung Up on Point Spread
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – There sure were a lot of buts showing all around the Razorback fandom Saturday evening. Nearly every social media post out there began with some form of:
1) A win is a win, but...
or
2) It is what it is, but...
It might have been about as exciting as watching melting ice slowly water down a glass of tea, but what happened between Arkansas and Kent State Saturday afternoon might have been the best thing that could have come from this game being on the schedule. There is no but to be included.
First off, a win is a win. See how that period brings everything to a screeching halt? There's no need to be a but-head about it. All these people talking about how it's Year 4 of the Sam Pittman era and the Hogs should be blowing non-Power 4 schools off the field need a momentary reality check.
First off, it was Year 3 plus one game when Arkansas took the field. That's how long it's been since the Razorbacks were getting curb-stomped on the regular by North Texas, Western Kentucky, Colorado State, San Jose State and the like. It was only two years and a game since Hog fans were dancing down Dixon over a three-win season.
Pittman wasn't overly thrilled after the game, hinting the coaching staff may have overlooked Kent State a bit in game preparations, but his team still won by 22. Arkansas fans are getting grumpy over a three-touchdown win as if the amount of points matter. Chad Morris beat Eastern Illinois 55-20. Bobby Petrino beat Louisiana-Monroe 28-27. There is no correlation to margin of victory to future success.
TCU needed a 63-yard run late last year to knock off SMU last season. The Horned Frogs went all the way to the national championship game. Winning is all that matters,. Roughly two-thirds of the college football world is officially eliminated from the national title hunt barely a week into September, but Arkansas isn't one. It's not probable, but it's still possible. Again, see TCU.
Not all Hogs fans are out to show their buts though. This fan seems to have the right perspective. "Hog fans stress me out," self-identified UA graduate Kristi Abbott writes. "Game 2 of the season and the sky is already falling...yet we are 2-0. Grow, learn, and improve every week. Carry on."
She gets it.
The other part of this being a highly successful outing is it was a fine slice of humble pie for the coaches and the players. Pittman and his band of merry recruiting wizards realized they need to invest higher quality time in game planning. They should also practice getting calls to the huddle in a more efficient manner.
As for the players, any inflated egos were sufficiently popped the first half. This team is only as good as its focus and work ethic. There's no room for arrogance. Had that been pretty much any Top 40 team, their backsides would have been up around their shoulders. Never has a team been so dominated and still hold a lead late in the first half.
However, it seems a bit of the grumpiness has to do with the legalized betting that has risen in the state lately. Wins used to just be wins until those with poor financial insight started investing in a group of kids, most of whom are too young to legally drink, to feel up to their best every week. Plus, everyone knows Pittman is a man who isn't going to run up the score if he doesn't have to do so.
And for the record, great teams don't cover. Great teams only focus on stacking wins. That's all that matters. Teams don't get a second SEC championship for covering the spread.
There were plenty of things to see as positives in this game that will be addressed over the next few days. Having watched Jefferson on and off with these receivers since spring, I feel confident in saying this is by far the most disconnected I have seen him with his receivers, especially in the first half. That means all those timing issues are an aberration, not something that should become an expectation.
Also, a lot of the issues fans are complaining about have more to do with Pittman and Dan Enos trying to keep things as under wraps as possible while also going out of their way to protect Jefferson. If it wasn't needed to create a little breathing room, what little bit of the running game involving the Arkansas QB wouldn't have been revealed at all.
This is as vanilla as Arkansas is going to look on offense all year long. The leash has been tight. This core offensive line will also gel as it gets more time together and the playbook opens up. There was no need to show any of the more creative blocking schemes. There's no need to give away trade secrets because Jim in Hampton bet his kid's lunch money on the over. That's Jim's problem, not Pittman's.
Meanwhile, the defense is giving up nine points per game and is disruptive from front to back. This is no longer the worst pass defense in America. Once things are fully unleashed, this could be a fun group to watch throughout the season.
As the season goes on, Arkansas fans will get over worrying about the final margin of victory and begin caring only about the win. Even the ones with gambling problems will find solace in seeing W's pile up even if it misses the spread.
And if they don't, Pittman won't care. He's not paid to beat the spread. He's paid to get wins.
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