Arkansas' Sam Pittman Ready For 'Slobberknocker' Up Front Against Oklahoma State
College football's return went quite well for Oklahoma State, who took down the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, who have won two straight FCS National Championships. Now, the Cowboys switch gears to take on an SEC program as they host the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Cowboys' non-conference schedule sets them up to ride some momentum into their Big 12 schedule, which can eventually be beneficial with the new 12-team College Football Playoff format.
One week at a time, though, right? Next up for the Cowboys is an SEC program. There's bound to be a battle in the trenches. Arkansas is going to be much, much bigger up front on both sides of the ball compared to South Dakota State.
The Cowboys aren't going to be the only team in the matchup adjusting to their opponents, though. The Razorbacks are fresh off a 70-0 victory over Arkansas Pine-Bluff. They're now playing a power conference program, which will pose a bigger threat, and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman is aware of such.
"They've got a lot of starters coming back," Pittman said of Oklahoma State. "They’re not going to make mistakes. They’re going to play sound football, hard and physical. To win, you're going to have to physically go out and try to be more physical than they are because they’re a well, well-coached football team."
The Cowboys do have plenty of production returning from a season ago, and that shined in their season opener. The mistakes felt limited and the squad looked to ready to play meaningful football games early in the season -- opposite of the program's start in 2023.
For any SEC program, winning in the trenches is crucial. Oklahoma State is going to have to match the Razorbacks' physicality as Pittman is quite open about their game plan of using their strength to win at the line of scrimmage.
"You're going to have to go whip somebody physically to win," Pittman said. "I don't think there's going to be a whole lot of mistakes. I just think there's going to be a slobberknocker a little bit.”
Both sides hoist plenty of talent -- but that won't be what wins this game for either team. It'll come down to limiting mistakes and making winning football plays at the line of scrimmage.
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Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's On SI in 2022