The Arkansas Razorbacks are bowl eligible for the fourth time in five years, and head coach Sam Pittman and his players celebrated that fact Saturday after a 35-14 win over Louisiana Tech at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Following the victory over the Bulldogs, which was the Hogs' sixth of the season, Pittman broke out his old "Larry the Bowling Ball" in front of the team postgame and rolled it down to celebrate his team securing bowl eligibility.
Simply becoming bowl eligible is not the main goal of the program, and to think it is would be silly. Arkansas was picked 14th in the preseason SEC media poll and the BetSaracen sportsbook had the Hogs' season win total set at over/under 4.5 before the year started, so it wouldn't be crazy to say they've exceeded expectations.
VIDEO: Postgame press conferences - Arkansas 35, Louisiana Tech 14
"I don't think anybody goes into a season going, ‘Man, I hope after 11 games, we're 6-5.' I don’t," Pittman said postgame. "But getting bowl eligible feels pretty good right now. I mean, it does. I think we'd been supposed to win maybe four games this year, or something, if you look, ask everybody, and you look at whatever.
"We've got to continue to get better. I think we're going to have an opportunity to keep our kids that we have on the team, and with revenue sharing, it's going to help us tremendously. I think the future is bright, but to answer your question, I'm happy that we got bowl eligible."
Realistically, the Razorbacks haven't actually exceeded expectations based on how certain games have played out. They probably should've won in double-overtime at Oklahoma State on Sept. 7, they could've knocked off Texas A&M in a 21-17 loss Sept. 28 and they were in basically the whole game in last weekend's loss to Texas.
It's fair for fans to desire more, but with the win over the Bulldogs, it's more than likely that Pittman will be returning for a sixth season in Fayetteville in 2025. Returning coordinators, position coaches and key players on the roster would be very beneficial.
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"I’m not going to do the message to fans," Pittman said when asked about his message to fans. "But guys, y’all (reporters) have been making a lot of money off of you know is the guy doing this, the guy doing that or whatever. Or your opinion. Whatever. I’ve never one time worried about my job. I promise you, not one time. So you know I wish we’d kind of move on because it kills us in recruiting, you know.
"It’s a legit question. I’m not disappointed at all. But I was on six staffs where you go into the season and everybody’s got you fired. Three of them was fired during the season. Three of them were fired the day after the season and one of them was fired before the season. Now it looks … but I control this. So am I happy that we’re bowl eligible. Yes. For everybody in the building and that staff besides me. I’ve never worried about that. Still don’t. I’m going to be fine one way or the other. But I’m going to fight like hell for the University of Arkansas the entire time that I’m the head coach."
Pittman's players, specifically two of his best players in Landon Jackson and Andrew Armstrong, had his back after the win over the Bulldogs.
"It’s super exciting," Jackson said when asked about seeing Pittman happy and smiling. "I love him. I love him like a father. That’s my guy. I’m so happy to see a smile on his face like that."
Arkansas will have the opportunity to build on the win over Louisiana Tech next Saturday when they travel to Columbia, Missouri, for a matchup against the Missouri Tigers, who earned a 39-20 win over Mississippi State on Saturday to improve to 8-3 on the year. The game against the Tigers will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CT and it will air on SEC Network.
