Sam Pittman, Arkansas still see a lot to play for vs. Mizzou despite no bowl eligibility

Even if Arkansas has no hope of making a bowl game, Sam Pittman still wants to see the Razorbacks finish out their season strong.

The team will have a golden opportunity to do so on Friday afternoon. Pittman’s squad will face Missouri in their Week 13 rivalry showdown, and there’s still plenty to play for, according to the Arkansas leader.

“Excited to play Missouri,” started Pittman. “Obviously we’re disappointed we’re not going to be bowl eligible. But we have a lot to play for. Especially since we’re playing our rival, and a really, really good, really good football team. I mean, Missouri offensively, just outstanding everywhere. Really good offensive line, quarterbacks. Fast, mobile. Can throw. Got great receivers. Running back is a beast. Then on defense, they’re playing really well in the secondary. Safeties are really physical. Obviously up front, [Darius] Robinson has a lot of sacks, and they out-physical’ed us last year.

“A really good team. Eli’s done a really good job there, but we’re excited to obviously play our rival.”

Missouri has been able to handle Arkansas in the past couple of seasons, but perhaps it’ll be a different tune inside Razorback Stadium on Friday. Five wins isn’t exactly sexy, but it’s better than four for Pittman.

The Tigers want their tenth, and Sam Pittman’s team wants to end their season on a high note. We’ll see who gets the honor, with the game slated to kickoff at 4:00 p.m. ET on CBS.

Eli Drinkwitz: Sam Pittman is ‘the right guy for that opportunity’ at Arkansas

This week, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek silenced the rumors about Sam Pittman’s future. He made his support abundantly clear and said Pittman would return as Razorbacks head coach next season despite this year’s struggles, particularly on offense.

Eli Drinkwitz knows what it’s like to hear speculation about his future. That was the case at Missouri last year before the university gave him an extension, which he helped channel into this year’s impressive record.

Although Arkansas and Missouri are rivals as part of the Battle Line Rivalry, Drinkwitz empathized with Pittman — and said he’s the person for the job.

“The reality of it is, we’re definitely rivals and we’ve got a trophy to play for, but we’re also human beings,” Drinkwitz said Wednesday on The Paul Finebaum Show. “And I can also tell you that I’m from the state of Arkansas, and I think Sam Pittman’s done a heck of a job there. When he took over, that program had really struggled for a long time, and Sam brought it back and Sam brought it to new heights and new levels. They won nine games two years ago, whipped our butt down there at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for him. 

“We’ve played in one-score games all but one year. I know he’s doing a really good job in some tough circumstances. I’ve benefitted from people believing in me last year, and I want to give him that same belief and think he’s the right guy for that opportunity. Now, come Friday, all that’s going aside. We’ve got a football game to win and we’ve got a football game to play. But I have a tremendous amount of respect for the product that he’s put on the field.”