Hogs want to use Missouri game as a recruitment catalyst

Sam Pittman believes there is great importance in his team concluding the season on a positive note this weekend, even though their chances of playing in a bowl game have diminished.

As the Arkansas Razorbacks get ready to visit the No. 9 Missouri Tigers on the final weekend of the season, they may not seem to have much to play for at 4-7. Although a bowl game is out of the question for this club, head coach Sam Pittman of Arkansas still sees a lot of value if the Hogs can put on a great showing in the yearly Battle-Line Rivalry.

The Hogs have their work cut out for them this offseason after a disastrous 2023 season. Pittman’s confirmation as the 2024 season’s head coach makes the Head Hog believe his squad would gain a lot from a strong performance on Friday.

According to Pittman, “I think it’s important.” “That’s the plan. I don’t know if it will damage us in recruitment, but I do know that it could really, really benefit us and give us a spark in everything. We’re going to play some really good games. We haven’t defeated a ranked opponent this year, but we have the possibility to do so in the remaining three years, so I believe it is possible.

Five of Arkansas’ seven losses this season have come by one possession. On the other sideline, the Tigers enter this weekend’s matchup 4-0 in one-score games this season, and Pittman feels this weekend’s game is a chance to show the world that the two teams aren’t as far apart as their current records indicate and send a positive message going into the offseason.

“I think that’s got to be our biggest study in the offseason,” Pittman said. “Maybe we’ve got to change our roster. Maybe I’ve got to do a better job. But be brutally honest with how to win those close games. And that’s the difference. You look at Missouri, that we’re playing. They’ve really played well. They’ve blown some teams out and they’ve also won some close games, as of Saturday. So we’ve got to figure all that stuff out.

“I think we’ve addressed some of that in that you have to recruit your way out of it. I think that’s part of it. Obviously injuries have played a part of it as well, but everybody has injuries and everybody has an opportunity to field the best team they have via recruiting. This year we’ve lost a lot of close games and some of them we played pretty good in, but we lost.

“But we just need to go out, and we’ve got to get the offensive line, we’ve got to go after that. That’s the No. 1 thing, and continue to develop the guys that we have now. I look at it as we’ve got to change the roster some. And I think we have all kinds of chances to do that.”