Arkansas Football fires back at Hugh Freeze's Sam Pittman slight
On Saturday, Arkansas invaded Jordan-Hare Stadium and defeated Auburn 24-14. Despite never leading in the game, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze made a bold statement about the matchup on his weekly radio show, Tiger Talk, following the loss.
“I love Sam Pittman and I hope he wins the rest of his game,” Freeze said. “But I’m telling you that the hard truth is that if we play them nine more times, we’d beat them nine more times. That’s what’s hard to take. It’s hard for our fans I’m sure and it’s certainly hard for us.”
On Tuesday, Arkansas football fired back at Freeze.
That was far from Arkansas’ only interception in the win. The Razorbacks squeezed five turnovers out of the Tigers, including four picks. After Auburn quarterback Hank Brown threw three interceptions in the first half, Freeze was forced to start Payton Thorne in the second half.
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The turnovers were catastrophic to Auburn’s efforts. The Tigers outgained Arkansas by 97 yards in total offense but lost by double digits. The loss stung all the worse, considering Auburn’s success against the Razorbacks in Freeze’s debut campaign last season.
In 2023, Auburn dominated Sam Pittman and Co. in 48-10 fashion. In turn, many fans believed the loss on Saturday seemed like a step back for the program.
Although Pittman hasn’t directly addressed Freeze’s controversial comments, the Arkansas head coach was complimentary of Freeze ahead of their showdown.
“There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll do a great job there,” Pittman said. “They play hard. I mean, they look the part. I think they’re gonna have a really good team throughout the entire season. I think they’ll be a hard out for whoever plays them.
“I have high respect for Coach Freeze. He does a wonderful job. He did a wonderful job when he was at Ole Miss before and a really, really smart guy. [He’s] smart, offensively. I’m sure he is defensively, too. But, offense is kind of his baby, and he does a wonderful, wonderful job.”
After Freeze’s bold stance, perhaps Pittman may not be so quick to praise the Auburn headman next time. Nonetheless, Arkansas has greater things to concern itself with than petty arguments. The Razorbacks’ next three games are against ranked opponents, starting with No. 24 Texas A&M.
Pittman believes Arkansas’ win over Auburn will provide his team with a boost of confidence as they head into the upcoming difficult stretch of the season.
“We were a pretty confident team, you know, but this will certainly help us,” Pittman said. “And Auburn is Auburn, and Jordan-Hare is Jordan-Hare, and to come in here and forget about two years ago and forget about last year. You know? When you do it, it’s special. I’m sure it was for them last year and very, very special for us today.”