Sam Pittman talks about analytics vs. ‘Sam-alytics’

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman went against his personal judgement on the first possession after halftime Saturday against Kent State. Facing 4th-and-1 at their own 34-yard line, the Razorbacks called for a handoff to Dominique Johnson.

Johnson was stuffed for a loss of two yards and Arkansas, up only 14-6 at the time, turned the ball over on downs.

The Razorbacks defense bailed out the offense, forcing the Golden Flashes into a three-and-out of their own and knocking them out of a field goal range thanks an intentional grounding call.

Despite it all working out in the end — Arkansas won the game 28-6 — Pittman was still kicking himself for the fourth down call after the game in his press conference.

“I can tell you the analytics say to go for it,” Pittman said. “The Sam-alytics says don’t. And I went for it. Now, we went for it on (another fourth down) too and we ended up scoring. You know what I mean? But I told the team, I said I thought it was gonna make it and I thought if we don’t, I felt like defense would hold them for no more than field goal. I didn’t know that was gonna push it back and make them punt. I do got a guy up there and I ask him. That was kind of dumb.”

That final quip drew laughs from the press corp.

That fourth down that worked was a 4th-and-2 from the Kent State 44 early in the fourth quarter. On that play call, quarterback KJ Jefferson ran the ball for three yards for the first down. Jefferson later found wide receiver Andrew Armstrong for a touchdown to go up 28-6. It was the second touchdown pass between the two during the game.

But it was the defense that was the star of the show. The Razorbacks, who haven’t allowed a touchdown over the first 120 minutes of the 2023 season, held Kent State to only 200 yards of offense Saturday.

They also stepped up when they needed to do so, like early in the third quarter.

“Huge,” Pittman said when asked how big that three-and-out was after the failed fourth down conversion. “Like going for it, 4th-and-1 on your own 34. I don’t care what ‘the Book’ says. Lane does it all the time. Guys do it all the time. Hell, I don’t. And I did. Not smart.”