Sam Pittman, Arkansas 'embarrassed' by Auburn loss

The Arkansas football team managed to snap a six-game losing skid against Florida two weeks ago but wasn’t able to follow it up against Auburn, suffering a humbling blowout loss. It heaped further pressure on coach Sam Pittman.

The team fell 48-10 and was never competitive with the Tigers last weekend.

“I think what happened to us last Saturday has really never happened to us since I’ve been here,” Sam Pittman said. “So obviously you’re concerned about how to handle the team, how they’re going to come in. And to be honest with you, we were embarrassed. Myself, the staff and the kids. I wanted them to feel that way as well, that we’ve got a lot of work to do to fix it. And they certainly did.”

Auburn absolutely steamrolled Arkansas, doubling the Razorbacks up in total yardage. The Tigers racked up 517 yards of offense while limiting the Hogs to just 255.

It was a bloodbath from start to finish.

So Pittman was interested in seeing how his team would respond this week. He had no issues with what he saw in the first couple practices this week.

“Exactly what I thought they would do and how they reacted to our situation,” Sam Pittman said. “So yeah, it’s been good. The urgency of everything has been good and how they bounced back for the first two practices.”

Arkansas will have to be on point down the stretch, though there’s little to play for other than pride at this point. At 3-7, Arkansas doesn’t have enough games left to earn bowl eligibility.

Still, there’s something to be said for closing the season strong and helping Pittman establish some solid ground ahead of a possible return campaign in 2024. Even that is not assured, with Pittman’s job potentially on the line depending on what happens in the final two games.

There’s little reason the Hogs shouldn’t be able to pick up a win this weekend, set to host FIU at home. A home date with Missouri in the finale figures to be quite a bit trickier.

In any case, we’ll see whether Sam Pittman’s team responding well in practice can translate to the field on Saturday. Arkansas and FIU are set to meet at 7:30 p.m. ET with a broadcast on ESPNU.