3 areas Pittman hopes to improve moving forward

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FAYETTEVILLE — Heading into the final stretch run of 2020, Arkansas is sitting in a position few outside of its own facility expected.

The Razorbacks are 2-2 - with a legitimate claim to be 3-1 - and optimism remains high that multiple more wins could await them over the last six games of the season.

However, head coach Sam Pittman isn’t resting on his laurels. During his weekly Zoom teleconference with local media Monday afternoon, the first-year coach revealed the top three areas he’d like to see improve the next few weeks…

It’s no secret that Arkansas has struggled to run the ball. Through four games, the Razorbacks are averaging just 102.3 rushing yards per game and 2.64 yards per carry. Those marks rank 88th and 94th, respectively, among the 101 FBS teams who have played so far this year.

Several factors have played into it, but the Razorbacks also have one of the least explosive run games in the country, which HawgBeat went into great detail in this piece. All of those things led to Pittman mentioning it as an area that definitely needs improvement as the season progresses.

Asked specifically about how to get that done, the first-year coach mentioned that the running backs need to do a better job of breaking tackles, but also said it wasn’t all just on Rakeem Boyd and Trelon Smith.

“Our backs have to be better, our line has to be better, our tight end has to be better, wide outs have to get to safeties better,” Pittman said. “I mean, to have a running game, you have to have all 10 guys in there getting after it. Everybody on our team has to get better.”

Ranking right up there with the run game as one of the most disappointing areas of the season so far, Arkansas’ special teams have been abysmal.

The third phase of the game led to the Georgia game being more of a blowout than it otherwise would have been, played a critical factor in the Auburn loss and almost cost the Razorbacks a win against Ole Miss when the Rebels pulled off a fake punt.

Shoring up those things are obviously still a priority, but Pittman said he’d also like to see special teams coordinator Scott Fountain’s unit actually make a big play for Arkansas.

“I want to make sure that the blocked punts and things of that nature, kicking the ball out of bounds on the kickoff, is a thing of the past,” Pittman said. “Those things have to happen, but on a positive note, we need to get some yards in the punt return game, we need to get some yards in the kickoff game when allowed.”

Despite forcing opponents to punt 20 times, Arkansas has just one return this season. It was by Nathan Parodi and went for minus-1 yard - which ranks dead last among the 92 FBS teams that have returned at least one punt.

It’s a similar story on kickoffs, with only one return on 20 kicks. De’Vion Warren gained just 10 yards on that play - which is tied with Texas A&M for the fewest total kickoff return yards among the 99 FBS teams that have returned at least one kickoff. (The 10-yard average ranks 97th, ahead of Ohio State’s 7-yard average and the Aggies’ 5-yard average.)

The Razorbacks’ defensive turnaround has been the talk of the SEC. A year after posting the worst points and yards allowed averages in school history, Arkansas is giving up just 25.5 points and 418.8 yards per game this season.

The strength of the unit has been defending the pass, though. Despite giving up 241.5 yards through the air per game (which ranks 54th nationally), Arkansas has racked up an FBS-leading 10 interceptions and is limiting opponents to just 5.6 yards per attempt - which ranks 10th nationally. Pro Football Focus gives it a 92.2 coverage grade - the fourth-best mark in college football.

Where the Razorbacks still struggle is defending the run. Although better than last year, they are still giving up 177.3 rushing yards per game and 4.43 yards per carry. Both of those figured rank 64th out of 101 FBS teams that have played this season.

Not surprisingly, Pro Football Focus gives Arkansas a 49.6 grade in run defense. That’s 92nd in the country.

“On defense, when people get big on us, we have to be able to stop the run whenever we want to,” Pittman said.

That will be particularly important Saturday against Texas A&M, as the Aggies have been quite effective on the ground so far this season.

They are averaging just 172.3 yards per game, but their 5.34-yard average leads the SEC and ranks 17th nationally. Sophomore Isaiah Spiller leads the way for Texas A&M, with 430 yards on 64 carries for an SEC-best 6.7 yards per carry.

“They have a lot of returning starters on the offensive side of the ball and the O-line,” Pittman said. “They’ve got a great back in Spiller, who is also a very physical guy. When you look at them and watch them play, you see a big, physical SEC-type football team.”

Kickoff against the Aggies is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.