Head coach Sam Pittman and his Arkansas Razorbacks will take part in a showdown of undefeated teams when the BYU Cougars roll into Fayetteville this weekend.
Sure, both teams are 2-0 courtesy of a pair of cupcake matchups against lower-level teams, but both squads have had their fair share of moments when they played down to their opponent.
In Week 1, Arkansas took down FCS foe Western Carolina by a score of 56-13 and the game was never really close. On the flip side, BYU took on first-year FBS program Sam Houston State and won rather unconvincingly, 14-0.
Things were the opposite in Week 2, as the Razorbacks played down to a much-less-talented Kent State program in a 28-6 win, while the Cougars handled business fairly easily in a 41-16 win over Southern Utah.
The first two weeks of the season have provided a great opportunity for the Razorbacks to work out the kinks, see what they have at every position and get used to the way things will go with two new coordinators and a handful of new assistants. While the win over Kent State wasn't as dominant as fans wanted it to be, Sam Pittman has no concern about his team getting up for BYU this weekend.
"You can prepare them all you want, as urgent as you want," Pittman said. "They have to accept that there is a reason for urgency. I mean, they do. And sometimes it’s simply because of who you’re playing.
"BYU, I know this, last year BYU was an urgent game. It was a must-win for us and all those type things. It is now. Again, like I said it’s hard to beat a team that hasn’t lost. Both of us haven’t, so someone’s going to have to. I think our kids understand the urgency of this game."
The label "must-win" for last year's game at BYU in Provo, Utah, was fitting for an Arkansas team that had lost three straight games to Texas A&M, Alabama and Mississippi State. Sure enough, Pittman's team left with a dominant 52-35 victory and the Cougars are hoping they can repay the favor this Saturday.
"We played against them last year and they put up a lot of points on us and they got the victory," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. "We're looking (forward to) the rematch and going out to Arkansas."
While coaches preach about not looking ahead to other games in the schedule, Pittman has to have the four weeks after this Saturday in mind. The Hogs will play four games in a row away from home against LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Alabama, so entering that stretch 3-0 is vital.
Getting up and ready to go for a game in a hostile environment can sometimes be easier than it is in your own stadium. Arkansas managed to do that well last year at BYU, but now the Cougars bring a new-look squad to Fayetteville with revenge on the mind.
"Anybody who’s undefeated, including us, they’re hard to beat," Pittman said. "They haven’t learned how to lose yet in that season. That group of guys that’s playing together hasn’t been beat, so they don’t know how to lose.
"They’re 2-0. Their tape, they play extremely hard. I mean, they do. They did last year. I think they’re a better football team than they were last year. Big, physical team. They’ve got a guy at each level on defense that I think is really good."
Both the Razorbacks and Cougars are still learning their respective identities, and the first two weeks are good measuring sticks, but Saturday will be a much tougher test for each team involved.
Arkansas and BYU are set for a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
