Booger McFarland praises Sam Pittman, Arkansas in first half

ESPN college football analyst Booger McFarland sang high praise for head coach Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks, who could be well on their way to a top-10 ranking if they are able to hold on and beat No. 7 Texas A&M.

Pittman and Arkansas, currently ranked No. 16, has forced No. 7 Texas A&M to punt five times and counting through just over a quarter and a half of game time. With roughly five minutes to go in the first half, Arkansas holds onto a 17-0 lead and possession of the ball.

“The power of coaching and culture, that’s what [Arkansas Razorbacks football] is,” McFarland tweeted in the first half of Arkansas-Texas A&M. “One hell of a job by Sam Pittman.”

So far in the first half, Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson has completed five of ten passing attempts for 181 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and no interceptions. Jefferson has also added 18 rushing yards on three attempts, while running back Trelon Smith has carried the bulk of Pittmans Arkansas ground attack, compiling 52 rushing yards on seven attempts.

Wide receiver Treylon Burks has surpassed half his season total in receiving yards through just one half, as he has taken just four receptions for a whopping 139 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

Pittman, formerly an offensive line coach at Missouri, Kansas, Northern Illinois, North Carolina, Teennessee, Arkansas and most recently Georgia, to name a few, dreamt of being a head coach but never received the opportunity until Arkansas came calling in 2020. Pittman has turned around an Arkansas program that was the doormat of not just the SEC West but the entire conference, as he inherited a team with an SEC losing streak of over 20 games, and a cumulative 4-20 overall record in the two seasons prior.

Pittman went 3-7 in his first season as head coach, the abbreviated 2020 campaign, and things are off to a scorching hot start in 2021. The Razorbacks are 3-0, and against the Aggies they have a chance to make it 4-0. They won their first three games against Rice, Texas and Georgia Southern, with the upset over the then-No. 15 Longhorns giving Arkansas its first top-25 ranking in years. In that 40-21 rout of Texas, Pittman’s lead took an early, 16-0 lead in the first half and never once looked back, thanks in part to a good game from Thompson, who completed 14 of his 19 passing attempts for 138 yards and another 73 rushing yards, plus a 12-carry, 75-yard, one-touchdown performance from Smith.