An Exciting Time in Fayetteville

“Saturdays are for the boys,” but especially Roman. Although he will be sad to miss the big Arkansas vs. Georgia game this weekend, his spirit will be there cheering on his Georgia Bulldogs. Will Arkansas beat the #2 team in the SEC? Will the Dogs take home another win? Keep reading for Roman’s predictions.–Editor Jesse Denyer

By Roman Rickwood, Sports Enthusiast

Since 2012, the Arkansas Razorbacks football team has a mere 14 SEC (Southeastern Conference) wins. Not only have they suffered in conference, but they have also suffered embarrassingly bad losses to much lesser teams. The team has had five coaches since 2012, a pretty good indicator that a team is struggling and getting fed up with losing. The football program was riddled in controversy and had a questionable culture around player safety, recruiting, and most importantly winning. Playing in the most competitive conference comes with many benefits; however, it requires you to play some of the most talented teams week in and week out. College football is all about recruiting, and being in the SEC already gives the schools in the conference a leg up in recruiting because they are able to offer more opportunities to help these young players reach the next level that they desire (NFL). However, due to lackluster recruiting abilities, Arkansas has fallen behind and dug itself into a hole. 

Last year, Arkansas football hired Sam Pittman, who at the time was the offensive line coach at the University of Georgia. Pittman, who was a fan favorite at the university and who has always been a master recruiter, had never been head coach in his 30 years of coaching. This decision made many college football analysts confused and shocked that this was Arkansas’s pick. 

However, all of the scrutiny stopped when Sam Pittman got to Arkansas and quickly won over the fans with his relatability and his desire to win. His first year as a coach was the infamous year of 2020; for a while it was unclear whether or not there would be a season. It was finally decided that teams electing to play would play in conference only, meaning Sam Pittman’s inaugural season would be restricted to in-conference opponents; meaning they would have to play tough teams week in and week out. However, Arkansas ended up having a surprisingly good season. They snapped their SEC losing streak by beating Mississippi State in week two, and they also had wins against a good Ole Miss team and Tennessee. The games they lost were very close. The program was trending upward, and fans were excited about it. 

So far this year, they have started out 4-0 with notable wins against rivals Texas and Texas A&M. These are very good wins for the program in terms of recruiting and bragging rights. This week they play their biggest game of the year against #2-ranked Georgia. A vigilant defense will be needed. This will be a true test for the Arkansas team. Right now they are 18.5-point underdogs; however, I assume as game-time approaches that line will get smaller. Another big story is the Arkansas head coach going back to Georgia to play against his former team, as well as playing against his old boss and kids that he recruited. 

I expect this to be an exciting game, and my prediction is that Arkansas starts fast; however, the Razorbacks will lose steam as the game goes on. Much to my dismay, I will be missing this game as I have to take my SAT on Saturday! Kickoff will be at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time and will be on ESPN. 

GO DAWGS!!