Arkansas coach Sam Pittman works with his players during spring practice in Fayetteville. — Andy Hodges

Pittman Gets Non-Conference Break Before Schedule Stiffens for Next Decade

Could Arkansas State game become casualty of Texas, Oklahoma joining SEC?

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Apr 6, 2023 12:04 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – When looking at the Arkansas football schedule this fall, one thing that stands out is the opportunity for Sam Pittman's team to stack four wins in the vault without needing a single SEC victory to do so.

Based on the next nine non-conference seasons, this projects to be the softest schedule Arkansas will face for a long time. BYU poses the biggest threat even though the Razorbacks dispatched of them rather easily in Provo last season.

Florida International finished 9th in Conference USA and Kent State was 5th in the MAC, although they have a history of creating problems for Arkansas. As for Western Carolina, they finished 5th in the Southern Conference.

Considering the schedule Pittman has faced since arriving in Arkansas and the schedules that lie ahead, the athletic administration deservedly threw him a bone with this season.

Upcoming schedules feature games with Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Memphis and Texas Tech as the headliners. There's also a game with Arkansas State that will end decades of complaining about the two teams not facing one another.

However, there are two sets of non-conference games that are at the mercy of the Southeastern Conference, one of which includes the in-state showdown with the Red Wolves. That's because Texas and Oklahoma join the league in 2024 and decisions haven't been made whether the conference will go with a nine-game schedule.

If so, a non-conference game from each season would have to be dropped to make room. One would think the marquis game against Oklahoma State in Stillwater in 2024 and the Notre Dame game in Fayetteville in 2025 would be off the table.

It's unlikely that SEC coaches will want to get rid of the November non-conference games for a long list of reasons that will be addressed at another time, so a September game will fall in lieu of an SEC game.

The 2024 season appears to have an easy option. Simply slide UAB out to welcome Texas or Oklahoma to the SEC on a Saturday night.

After all, the SEC will want those schools to open the SEC at home, someone needs to lose a home game to make it happen, and the conference has never been shy about making Arkansas bear the brunt of a scheduling crisis on behalf of the other SEC teams. Even though the league owes the Razorbacks for 2020, the word "honor" is going to be bandied about a lot and odds are high the Hogs will be the lucky chosen ones.

As for 2025, Arkansas State might find itself the odd team out. Getting out of.a game in Memphis is going to be costly and no one in their right mind is going to play an SEC game in August.

There's room to move the game to 2027, and, for their trouble, Arkansas could play the Red Wolves a second time in 2028. That would be a win-win for all parties involved, including the SEC.

No matter how it shakes out, with SEC expansion and the non-conference schedule lined up the way it is with so many marquis match-ups and interesting road trips, it's definitely going to be a fun next decade for Razorback fans.