Movies, Good Vibes! Razorbacks Ready for Toughest Test Yet

After lackluster performance, Sam Pittman hoping light-hearted team bonding helps

Author:
Daniel Shi
Publish date:
Sep 13, 2023 7:40 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — "Samuel L. Jackson ..." Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. "Denzel Washington, you can't go wrong whatever it is." The Razorbacks are heading to the cinema ahead of Saturday's game against the BYU Cougars as they look to turn in a cinematic performance after an ugly win against Kent State.

Of course, games can't be won inside a movie theater, but Pittman hopes a light-hearted atmosphere paired with a week of hard-nosed practice lead to Arkansas' first back-to-back 3-0 starts since 2010-2011.

"Sometimes you walk in a room and have different situations where you feel that you're at an event," Pittman said. "You feel it, you know? Monday, it was just different. Locked in and laser-focused... There hasn't had to be a lot of correcting physical strain, pursuit, things of that nature. On a week-to-week basis, you may have to do it a time or two. This week it hasn't been like that.

Pittman also gave an encouraging update on one of the most important pieces to the Hog defense this weekend, senior defensive back Dwight "Nudie" McGlothern, who is recovering from turf toe. Pittman expects him to play after two days of solid practice.

With the degree of difficulty in opposition ramping up, expect to see the gloves come fully off from offensive coordinator Dan Enos, including using quarterback KJ Jefferson as a dual-threat player.

"We didn’t want to run him (Jefferson) much if we didn’t have to in the first two games," Pittman said. "From now on out it’s a different story... We've got big-time opponents coming up, so we’ve got to do whatever it is... We've got to do whatever it is to win the game."

The Hogs are well aware that the Cougars will be out for revenge after Arkansas stormed into Provo and romped all over BYU in a 52-35 win. A game in which the unavailable Raheim "Rocket" Sanders ran for 175 yards, but Pittman hopes more compatibility between the running backs and the offensive line keeps the Razorbacks undefeated.

"The line has a lot to do, the tight ends, a lot of people have a lot to do with that," Pittman said referencing the running game. "Almost five yards a carry, or a little over five yards a carry, and doing a good job... Obviously, we’ve done a lot of talking about the offensive line and all that kind of stuff, but there’s a whole lot of things that go into rushing the football. The offensive line included, but the backs have a lot to do with that too."

Aside from all the technical aspects and what happens on the field, Pittman couldn't help but be a little superstitious.

"The first time we played on the road in a night game we went to the movies and we won," Pittman said. Didn't we beat Mississippi State? So, that was kind of a staple."

Arkansas will take on BYU Saturday at 6 p.m. at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark., The game will be streamed live on ESPN2 and fuboTV.