Arkansas, like a handful of its Southeastern Conference brethren, doesn’t have a win against Alabama since Nick Saban took over the Crimson Tide prior to the 2007 season.
No Razorbacks coach has beaten the Tide since Houston Nutt’s Hogs claimed a 24-23 double-overtime win in 2006.
Third-year Arkansas coach Sam Pittman’s No. 20 Razorbacks host second-ranked Alabama on Saturday.
Pittman identified two key variables as foundational for a potential upset of the Crimson Tide, one tangible and the other intangible:
- Belief
- Absence of mistakes
“I think there’s not a whole lot of teams in the country that go into a game thinking they can beat Alabama,” Pittman said Wednesday morning on the SEC coaches’ teleconference. “There’s some … I don’t think there’s a ton.”
Arkansas is trying to rebuild a bit of its confidence after a last-minute, come-from-ahead loss to old Southwest Conference and current SEC Western Division rival Texas A&M last Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
The Razorbacks had a handful of game-turning mistakes in that contest, including a quarterback-fumble that the Aggies returned 98 yards for a touchdown and a game-ending field goal attempt that just clanked no good off the top of the upright.
Mistakes such as those leave the Tide in a feeding frenzy, Pittman explained.
“They’re just a really good team that you can’t make mistakes against,” Pittman said. “Because if you do, they’re like piranhas; they feast on that.”
A year ago, Arkansas did not commit a turnover at Alabama but saw its second-half rally fall short in a 42-35 loss. It was the first time since 2015 that the Razorbacks had lost by fewer than 19 points to the Tide.