Were you optimistic when Arkansas scored to take a 20-17 lead with 13:11 left in the game? That’s cute. After that point, Ole Miss ran 20 plays for 138 yards – their two drives of 75 and 63 were their two longest of the day – while Arkansas ran eight plays for nine yards and a turnover.
So it was close… but also it wasn’t. Arkansas’ best effort wasn’t really enough. That’s because on a talent basis, Arkansas is probably the 12th-best team in the SEC, ahead of only Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. The Hogs can’t compete on talent alone. They have to be more smarter and more crafty than their opponent. That’s how Sam Pittman started his tenure, but as we’ve discussed, at some point after last season he came to think he actually had the talent to win without anything clever or crafty. That brutal miscalculation seems likely to cost him his job.
I don’t think this team will quit yet. I think they’ll probably get beaten soundly but not embarrassingly by Alabama next week to fall to 2-5. Then there’s Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are terrible, largely because they made the same mistake as Arkansas in moving away from the Air Raid when they lacked the talent to win with a conventional scheme, so I think the Hogs can win that one. FIU should also be a win, and Mizzou, Auburn, and Florida are actually all winnable, so a 7-5 final record is absolutely not out of the question, even if it is unlikely. Would climbing to 6-6 be enough to change the perception of Pittman’s ability to win? Maybe a little bit. That would at least give him a chance to correct some personnel mistakes made last offseason.
Other Scores
LSU 49, Mizzou 39. Brian Kelly is underachieving for what LSU paid for him, but for one week, he gets a reprieve. LSU’s offense was fantastic as always and the Tiger defense finally came up with a couple big plays late to seal a critical road win. The Tigers aren’t out of the SEC West race yet, but they still have Alabama and Texas A&M on the schedule. Nothing for Mizzou to be upset about here. This is Eli Drinkwitz’s best team, they’re headed in the right direction, but they just came up short against a good team.
Alabama 26, Texas A&M 20. I always loved the Jack Sparrow line from Pirates of the Caribbean… one of his catchphrases is “Wait for the opportune moment.” Then at the end of the film, he tells Orlando Bloom’s character, “If you were waiting for the opportune moment… that was it.” Aggies, that was it. Jimbo Fisher had a chance to prove this was all worth it, but A&M’s quest for an SEC West title fell flat. The Aggies aren’t technically out, but they need to win out (including beating LSU and Ole Miss) and hope Alabama loses two more games (LSU and Tennessee, maybe). Not a likely combination.
Georgia 51, Kentucky 13. There’s the Georgia we’ve been waiting to see all year.
Iowa State 27, TCU 14. The silliest – or saddest – part of Arkansas’ offensive implosion is that Kendal Briles’ offense over at TCU stinks this year. The Frogs threw four picks and Chandler Morris was benched in an ugly loss to a bad Iowa State team. TCU lost a lot of talent from last year’s team, but their offense is ugly this year, and with the last name Briles, the TCU faithful won’t tolerate him any longer than they have to. It didn’t have to be this way. It’s easy to forget that Briles was mostly bad at Florida State, too. Coaching under Sam Pittman was the best job he’ll ever have, and he walked away from it. Briles was the perfect OC for Pittman at Arkansas, and he let him walk. Sometimes it falls apart and everyone loses.
Oklahoma 34, Texas 30. I’ve long thought at adding Texas A&M to the SEC really hurt Arkansas in the long-run as a program, because the Hogs’ unique recruiting ties to Dallas took a monster hit with another conference foe now much closer and in the same state. But that’s nothing compared to what these two teams’ arrival is going to do. Sam Pittman and staff have carved out a niche in Tulsa and east Oklahoma in general… that’s gone after this year, unless the Sooners simply don’t want those players. And both OU and Texas mine Dallas heavily. The state of Arkansas produces six to eight FBS-level players each year. Arkansas has to win out-of-state recruiting battles and now has an SEC opponent in every border state. Just the thought at what future Arkansas coaches are going to have to do to keep this program competitive is depressing.
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