Sam Pittman hopes to do damage control in bowl game after falling below 2022 expectations

Sam Pittman is hoping a victory over Kansas in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl could end a slightly disappointing season for Arkansas on a high note.

Expectations were indisputably high for the Razorbacks following a successful 2021, but the 2022 season didn’t go the way Arkansas would’ve hoped. Still, there’s a chance for a memorable finish, and that’s what Pittman is aspiring to get done.

“It’s fun when you’re going through like our season last year, and you’re beating LSU and you’re beating A&M. It’s fun. Those are fun. Then expectations rise, and for us this year, we lost four games by nine points and I think we disappointed everybody. We disappointed the fanbase. Obviously we were disappointed. We feel like we can possibly do some damage control if we can go win this game. We want to,” stated Pittman. “Winning a bowl. There’s not a better feeling towards it. But I feel like Kansas is very similar with us.

“They have high hopes for their future. For them to get bold eligible, I think is obviously a huge accomplishment for their program, and I’m happy for them.”

Regardless, it all boils down to Sam Pittman and company looking to secure a second straight bowl victory at the helm for the Razorbacks, but Jayhawks and their rising program are in their way.

We won’t have to wait much longer to find out if Arkansas can get it done, as the game takes place on Wednesday, airing at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Sam Pittman breaks down Kansas’ defense ahead of Liberty Bowl

Moreover, Sam Pittman continued, pulling back the curtain on the Jayhawks defense, highlighting a few of their key contributing players. 

“They’ve got a defensive end, 47 Lonnie Phelps is a player now, I mean a really good player. (Kenny) Logan their safety is really good and then (Cobee) Bryant, they’ve got a corner that’s a big time corner as well,” Pittman said. “They got a guy, or more, on each level. (Rich) Miller is the linebacker that’s making all kinds of tackles, so they have a guy, kind of like a really good player on each level of their defense.”

Personnel aside, Pittman also highlighted their style of play and the scheme they run, applauding them and head coach Lance Leipold for their success.

“They play extremely hard, they’re not overly aggressive, they’re going to be a quarters team, two shell type of team things of that nature. But what they do they do it well and you can tell coach Leipold, you can see his handprint all over the place. He’s been had so much success everywhere he’s been and you can feel it in his team,” Pittman explained.

Leipold has led a fantastic turnaround for the Jayhawks this season, turning a 2-10 squad from a year ago to a team that will be playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2008 this season. Some have compared his transition to Pittman’s last season, as he turned a 3-7 team into a 9-4 one to finish the season last year. 

“And I don’t know if Trey asked me the question about Kansas being kind of how we were last year, but I’m sure they’ll be ready big time and they’re playing an SEC team, all that kind of stuff,” Pittman said. “But they tackle extremely well and they run the ball and I think they have a really good player at each level, more than just one, but a really good player at each level of their defense.”