Everything Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman Said About Mississippi State

The Bulldogs host the Razorbacks on Saturday morning in what should be a higher scoring game than last year's 7-3 barn burner

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 19-14. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State football hosts Arkansas in just four days and Razorbacks’ coach Sam Pittman had plenty to say about the Bulldogs at his weekly press conference.

Here’s what Pittman had to say about the Bulldogs ahead of Saturday morning’s game in Starkville:

Opening remarks…

Moving on to Mississippi State, they’re playing really well. Coach Lebby’s done a great job there. They’re in every game and playing extremely hard. They have speed on their team, a lot of talent. Their quarterback is playing really well. I like their runners. They have a couple of good running backs. Their offensive line, Coach Kennedy has got those guys playing much better. They’re talented at wide receiver. Coleman is an exceptional player.

Defensively, I like their linebacker group. They really run to the ball. It starts with Mitchell and then Blanton and then Smith. They do a lot of things defensively to confuse you on third down, all the way from total all-out blitz to drop eight. But the looks are who are the six guys who are going to rush. So we have to be on top of that. They have a nice punter. Obviously Coleman is the punt returner. The kick returners are the two guys in the backfield. So we know the cowbells will be rolling. I have a lot of respect for their football team and we’re excited to go play an early game over in Starkville.

On Mississippi State’s offense…

They’re wide open. They have a mixture of playing fast. Of course, we had K.B. here, and he’s in that tree of Lebby, and obviously his daddy. They’re wide open … I tell you what they’re doing, if you press them, they’re going to throw it on you. They’re going to throw deep. They’re connecting on those plays. They’ve got speed at wide-out.

Their quarterback, Van Buren, he can throw the deep ball. The other thing is, they’re running the stretch and the inside zone very well. Their two backs run extremely hard. And then the quarterback can make plays with his feet. They’re not necessarily wanting to run him, I don’t feel like, a bunch, because he slides every time. A running quarterback, most of the time he just runs. But he’s elusive in the pocket.

On Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby and team’s record…

They've got a great football team. Sometimes everybody looks at somebody's record and they go, 'man, well, who'd they play?' You know? And this is his first year in there and all that. He's playing everybody, you know, 10 points or under, you know, whatever. But I got to know him through Kendall (Briles) and his dad. Obviously through that, wonderful great guy.

And you can see how the team, how well the team's coached and how well the team's moving forward. And they're a scary team, now, to go in there and play and the cowbell's going off and all that. But I believe Mississippi State hired the right guy and I think they're going to be really, really good this Saturday and moving forward.

On Mississippi State’s improvements this season…

I think ever since the Toledo game, I think they've just gotten better and better. They had some breakdowns and given up some scores and you don't see that happening now. They fly to the football. They're very physical football team. I think also after the Toledo game, I think they changed in trying to get to the quarterback. I think they've changed a number of guys in the box... I think they’ve played a little bit more man-coverage so I think after that Toledo game, I can see the last three games how they’ve changed number-wise in the box. They’re getting better and they’re taking more chances on third down, second and long trying to get to the quarterback and it’s worked out for them.

.@Hunter_DB7 @ynlzee
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