He believes in us more than anybody in this building. “Coach Pittman is the same man every week,” senior receiver Tyson Morris said. While Pittman is clearly energized by playing Georgia and eager to visit with former colleagues like Smart, defensive coordinator Dan Lanning and others, he doesn’t give away those emotions to his players. The Razorbacks laid down their first marker in Pittman’s first game as head coach, leading Georgia 7-5 at halftime and 10-5 early in the third quarter before falling 37-10 on Sept. McFadden has given Pittman ringing endorsements since his hiring less than two years ago. So Pittman, who had napkins with the phrase, “Run the Damn Ball” laid out for the UA search committee of Hunter Yurachek, Jon Fagg and Steve Cox at his home in Athens, Ga., has connections with and an affinity for the top three rushers in SEC history. Georgia’s Nick Chubb, whose college career overlapped two seasons with Pittman in 2016-17, ranks second with 4,769 yards and Arkansas’ Darren McFadden is third with 4,590. Walker, the Heisman Trophy winner in 1982, is the SEC’s all-time leading rusher with 5,259 yards in three seasons. “I always had a thing for Georgia, always, since Herschel Walker,” Pittman told Dawg Nation last spring. Pittman’s teenage self, who had gone to football camps at Arkansas under Coach Lou Holtz, liked the idea of one day coaching at Georgia. “With the portal and the transfer situation and recruiting the way it is, you can turn over a little quicker than maybe having to build it from the ground up.”
“I mean, it’s culture, it’s creating the right atmosphere, it’s getting key players at key positions,” Smart said to describe Pittman’s rapid transformation at Arkansas. Neither man could have known their teams would meet in the 2020 season opener due to covid-19 dictating an all-SEC schedule before this regularly scheduled game. Smart projected a stronger Arkansas program after Pittman’s departure as his offensive line coach in December 2019 following a four-year run that included the 2017 SEC championship and a heartbreaking loss to Alabama in the College Football Playoff title game. 1 Texas 14-13 during the 1964 national championship season. Arkansas has not won on the road as a top 10 team against another top 10 team since the No. They are chasing a slice of history today.
The Razorbacks have earned their first top 10 ranking since being No. Pittman’s slow talking, honest commentary and dry wit has made him the darling of Razorback fans and many in the national media. at Sanford Stadium.Īrkansas’ revival - after back-to-back 2-10 seasons in 2018-19 - has taken college football by storm. 8 Razorbacks (4-0, 1-0 SEC) face the Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0) and his former boss Kirby Smart today at 11 a.m. How it’s going now is Pittman’s surprising No. That’s how Pittman’s fascination with Georgia football started. “You know, I’m in high school graduating in 1980 and yes, he’s the biggest, fastest guy I’d ever seen, and they were rolling,” Pittman said “So yeah, that’s where it started.” 2 Georgia, it’s necessary to go back 41 years.Īn impressionable senior at Grove (Okla.) High School in 1980, Pittman watched in fascination as Georgia powered its way to a 12-0 record and a national championship game win over Notre Dame behind super freshman running back Herschel Walker. To understand University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman’s deep ties to today’s game against No.