Pittman Will Need to Figure Out What's Next Quickly

Adjusted goals necessary if coaching staff is to right ship after Alabama game

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Oct 2, 2022 4:47 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – That's the trouble with hope. It leaves you reeling when things don't go right.

Arkansas put up a valiant effort in the third quarter Saturday. It's valuable tape for Sam Pittman and his coaches to build on with the players right up until that 3rd & 15 snap down 28-23 in the fourth quarter.

Then it's time to end it. The rest needs to be run on a loop in the coaches' offices over and over.

At that point, Nick Saban decided to offer the advanced coaching clinic. That's when the Titan of Tuscaloosa showed respect to Pittman and his team by treating them like an Ohio State, Georgia, or ... well, that's about it.

The upper echelon is pretty small these days.

What this Razorback staff found out is this season's iteration of the Hogs isn't ready for an elite team to really give them their best shot. It says a lot that Saban felt the need to go that extra gear, but the gap is still wide.

What is left is an uncertainty about what the goal should be.

There will be no national championship.

There will be no SEC West title.

Being crowned king over the state of Texas while all the trophies literally surround a throne is off the table as well.

Teams that begin the season genuinely thinking they have a legitimate shot at conference and national championships tend to close up shop once that goal is off the table.

If anyone can attest to this, it's Nick Saban. No team is historically more disinterested in a non-playoff or championship bowl game than Alabama.

With things a bit unstable at the moment in the football facilities after back-to-back losses and what appears to be the impending departure of backup quarterback/wide receiver Malik Hornsby, Pittman needs to find a way to focus his team.

Setting a goal of winning all the remaining games is not a logical goal. Not only is it unlikely to happen, but the second the Razorbacks lose a game, there's nothing left to work toward.

Perhaps the most sensical approach is to set a goal geared toward claiming a border championship. Put the focus on winning as many head-to-head games as possible from among the two Mississippi schools, LSU and Missouri.

Yes, Texas is intentionally left off the list. The shared border with the Lone Star state is miniscule, and, quite frankly, that ship has passed.

Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma make up a large portion of the primary Arkansas recruiting ground. Since neither the Sooners, nor Oklahoma State are on the schedule, it's time to lay claim to the remaining territories.

Pulling this off would not only make Arkansas bowl eligible, it would put the Hogs in position to tack on potential non-conference wins to equal the final performance of last season's results against a much tougher schedule.

Most importantly, it would go a long way in catching the attention of recruits in those states while shoring up confidence in the recruits Arkansas already has in the 2023 class.

This is a pivot point for Pittman's tenure. The right move will cement his legacy as a head coach.

However, if Pittman can't rally players and fans around some sort of adjusted goal, things could turn quickly.

After developing such a strong relationship with this coaching staff, that's something no Razorback fan wants.