Sam Pittman admits to coaching error while praising programs progress following upset win

After an impressive dominating victory at home over the Ole Miss Rebels on senior day, the Arkansas Razorbacks and head coach Sam Pittman are now bowl-eligible. After the game, Pittman expressed how big of a deal this win was to him and the players in his program.

“A big deal, you know. We’ve been here for three years. That’s a top-15 team in the country we’re able to beat,” said Pittman. “That’s our sixth win over a top-25 team since we’ve been here. The kids are bowl eligible three years in a row — our program is on the up and up. We play in a hell of a division. And that’s what it is. You gotta be ready each and every week. But we’ve got a good football team, and I think you saw that tonight. We got a big game against Missouri, but we’ll celebrate tonight.”

A huge part of Arkansas’s success on the night came with the return of their star quarterback KJ Jefferson. The Rebels’ defense had no answer for the duo of Jefferson and running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders. The redshirt junior quarterback completed 17 of his 22 pass attempts for 168 yards and three touchdowns. And Pittman couldn’t be happier with his star’s performance.

“Everything. Our first two scores, we didn’t block them up well. KJ just made plays, and of course, our wide receivers made some catches. But with KJ in there, we don’t have to be perfect because he’ll make us that way. So, I might have took the gas off too fast; I’ll say this, we got more than they do, and that’s all that matters.”

With it being senior night, it will be the last time some of these Arkansas players we’ll play on this field. One of which is star linebacker Bumper Pool. This year, Pool captured the school’s all-time tackles record, something Pittman was proud to be part of.

“Especially because Bumper’s played beat up all year, and he’s had injury problems. He came back; he wanted to get the all-time tackle record, which he has. A lot of good things. His sister works in the office. His brother used to work at equipment. The Pool family is very, very valuable to the University of Arkansas and the football team.”

Arkansas still has one more game to close out the season, which will be a road matchup against the Missouri Tigers. The game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CDT kickoff on Friday.