If Pittman Has Found LSU Weakness, He Wasn't Saying Anything

Razorbacks' coach wasn't giving Tigers any bulletin board material at his Monday press conference

LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) is tackled after making a first down by Mississippi Rebels safety Trey Washington (25) during the second half at Tiger Stadium. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The first thought after listening to Arkansas coach Sam Pittman's nooner press conference Monday is why bother Saturday at all. LSU apparently has no weaknesses was the opening there.

That's obviously not the reality before the Razorbacks host No. 8 LSU at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Razorback Stadium. You can be excused for having the fleeting thought of why ESPN would bother to put such a lopsided game on the mothership of the stations.

Pittman has some things he's seen, but he opens that press conference to start game weeks with a detailed analysis of every position on the opponents' team. He pretty much said the same things about then-No. 4 Tennessee two weeks ago, then promptly found a way to hammer out a 19-14 win.

"They are in the Top 10 for a reason," Pittman said about LSU. "It's certainly a challenge."

Considering the unranked Hogs have never beaten Top 10 opponents back-to-back, this is yet another chance to make history. The Lunatic Fringe of Razorback Nation will convince themselves that's exactly why they'll win. The negative nannies are going to jump off the wagon they just climbed back on a couple of weeks ago.

The Tigers found a way to win against an Ole Miss team that out-played them nearly the entire game. This seems to be the year the Rebels find ways to blow SEC games they should be winning. They dominated the game until the last couple of minutes when LSU managed a comeback to tie it. In overtime the Rebels kinda just showed up to get started on the trip back to Oxford.

Pittman finds ways to tap-dance through these press conferences. He did it skillfully Monday as well as he says LSU is playing right now.

We may not know about who will be playing quarterback until Friday or, more likely, Saturday before the game just like we won't know until later that night just how good the Hogs are this year. Right now, the Tigers aren't the last Top 10 team they'll be playing. No. 1 Texas is coming up in November.

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino on the sidelines against the Tennessee Volunteers at Razorback Stadium on Saturday night. / Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

Maybe all of us under valued these Razorbacks before the season. While Bobby Petrino has certainly improved the offense, the defense had a good game against Tennessee with a scheme they hadn't shown before and everybody will have a plan against it going forward.

The problem is the secondary. They are 11th in the SEC halfway through the season and defensive back TJ Metcalf is the one bright individual spot. LSU does have big, athletic receivers that make plays.

But the guy that may be playing the best is quarterack Garrett Nussmeier. It's not that he does any one aspect of it spectacularly, but he just sort of slogs through everything. He also finds ways to win.

That may be the most dangerous thing at all. I can just about guarantee you Pittman knows that.

HOGS FEED:

• Razorbacks' big main raising hopes for everyone in early glimpses

• Razorbacks seeking consecutive wins over Top 10 teams against LSU on Saturday

• Observations from Arkansas Tip-Off event in Pine Bluff on Sunday

• ESPN predicts winner of Arkansas, LSU game

• Three storylines for Razorbacks ahead of LSU game

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