Razorbacks' Sam Pittman Knows What He's Facing

Auburn may have quarterback figured out and Ron Roberts' defense will be tough

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas' optimistic fans are thinking they'll have a November to remember. Others don't see the same world, boldly saying they've fixed things and will run the table. Auburn is the type game that sorta gives me a little pause before going out on any limb about big wins. Looking beyond that is a little bit of a stretch with this team.

"We’re talking about winning Saturday," Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman said Wednesday afternoon. "If we’re lucky enough to get to Missouri with a chance to win that game to go to a bowl, we’ll certainly talk about it then. The motivation right now is to play our best football, don’t worry about the opponent and see if we can’t go out and play our best football. If we do, then we’ll have an opportunity to win any of our games."

The Tigers have been getting better as the season progressed. Hugh Freeze didn't exactly inherit a loaded roster. With all the drama and confusion they had swirling around Bryan Harsin for a couple of years, then add players leaving it was a mess.

"They’re playing their best ball right now," Pittman said about Auburn and Hugh Freeze appearing to have settled on Peyton Thorne to solve the revolving door of the quarterback position. "He’s a really competitive guy and tough and he’s fast. Thorne is much more athletic than I thought he would be and he can run. They’re going to run their total RPO offense with him. I’m sure that’s why they got him to begin with. He’s throwing the ball well."

While the Tigers have gotten their offense together in the last couple of weeks after struggling to find a quarterback, their defense is about what Pittman expected. He nearly hired the defensive coordinator Freeze hired, Ron Roberts from Baylor.

"He’s highly respected in the coaching ranks," Pittman said about the former Delta State in Cleveland, Miss., head coach. He then went to work at Baylor for Aranda, one of the guys he mentored and was on his staff when they played for the DII national title in 2010. "They’re going to play physical. You can see it on tape and be very, very sound and well-coached. He’s been in it a long time."

The Tigers are sitting at 5-4 on the season and would probably like to close out bowl eligibility as soon as possible. Plus, Freeze has shown he can come into Fayetteville and get a win. He did it last year with Liberty and now he's got better players at Auburn.

While there is a lot of confidence in the Hogs' defense that mostly because it's a notch above last year's bunch and they have avoided getting blown out. Arkansas is eighth in the SEC in scoring defense. Auburn is fourth.

Let those numbers sink in for a minute and you'll understand why I'm a little unsure how far anybody should venture out on the limb of a Hogs' easy win. This year, the Razorbacks have been horribly inconsistent on both sides of the ball. The secret to Freeze's success has always been finding favorable matchups for his team and taking advantage of it. Now it will come down to the players being ready to play the game. At this point of the season, neither team can afford a letdown.

The Hogs can't and athletics director Hunter Yurachek said this week the bad breaks were why the record was so bad. They were still being competitive, so he's apparently ready to ride with Pittman another year unless this team just completely goes into the tank. He's got a lot riding on this game along with offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton, who some people are ready to given him the permanent title.

Let's wait until after Saturday. Florida didn't really know how to prepare last week, but Auburn will have a game film they probably recognize as an awful lot of what the Hogs did last year. Much like putting in a new quarterback for the first team, the real test comes after the first game when the opponent has no idea what to expect. Neither does anybody else.

Kickoff for the game Saturday is 3 p.m. in the least-watched time slot for the SEC Network, where the game is broadcast along with fuboTV.

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RAZORBACKS PICK UP SIGNATURE OF A FORMER NO. 5-RANKED PLAYER IN THE COUNTRY

SEC IGNORING LONGSTANDING RIVALRY WITH TEXAS IN FUTURE BASEBALL PERMANENT OPPONENTS

AUBURN FOOTBALL MAY HAVE FALLEN INTO THIRD OF RELEVANT SPORTS DOWN ON THE PLAINS

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