Sam Pittman gives incredible anecdote when asked about prepping for Cincinnati without knowing the QB

Arkansas welcomes Cincinnati to open the 2022 season, and head coach Sam Pittman and his staff are prepping for the possibility that it could either Ben Bryant or Evan Prater at quarterback for the Bearcats.

And when it comes to figuring out how a game will be played, especially the season opener, the first few series will be pivotal for Arkansas. As for Pittman, he just wants to see what Cincinnati will be bringing to the party.

“I think the first couple series are going to be really important to kind of figure out kind of what they’re bringing to the party,” Pittman said during his game week press conference. “Some guys bring iced tea and some guys bring liquor. And you’ve got to figure out what they’re bringing.”

After the laughter subsided in the press room, he continued.

“Hey, go into two-minute offense and you’ll figure out what kind of party you’re going to on the first play,” Pittman said. “If they come after you, you’re going, ‘Oh, OK, this is what kind of party it’s going to be.’ Or they’ll drop eight and you’ve got to dink and dunk and get down in there. So, the first two series on both sides of the ball will be a big, big thing on Saturday in my opinion — and how fast our coaches make adjustment, and how fast theirs does. Can’t wait until half, games halfway over at that point.”

Jokes about bring-your-own parties aside, Pittman and his staff are prepping to play against a bevy of relatively unknown players at the offensive skill positions for the Bearcats. Along with a new quarterback, Cincinnati will have a new running back and new faces featuring in the receiving corps.

“Well it’s a big challenge because, you know, they lost their quarterback, they lost their tailback, they lost a really good wideout,” Pittman said. “Well they got a transfer in from Hawai’i who’s a really good player. And they’ve got two separate quarterbacks that might, who knows who’s going to play. And not positive who the running back is going to be yet. But — and they got a new coordinator. So you don’t know exactly what they’re going to do. But I think we’ve got enough defense in that we can attack whatever we see.