Does 2022 Loss Provide Motivation For Hogs In Arlington?

In lopsided series since 2012, Pittman look for motivation where they can find it.

Author:
Jacob Davis
Publish date:
Sep 28, 2023 9:46 PM EDT

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Arkansas Razorbacks

There's plenty of games within the SEC that have the taste of rivalry week amongst us. Arkansas-Texas A&M headlines what should be an exciting first full week of conference matchups. All eyes will be on the SEC Network early on with the Southwest Classic nearing its end in Arlington, Texas. The neutral site for the rivalry was cool beginning with its inception but close loss after close loss began to lead Razorback fans to believe the stadium is cursed.

A turning point in 2021 made it look like Arkansas' fortunes in the series would change. The Hogs won in dominant style allowing just 272 yards in their 20-10 victory. Last season featured the Razorbacks dominating once again with a 14-7 lead while driving to extend their lead by two touchdowns before halftime. A superman leap gone wrong by KJ Jefferson led to a fumble and 97-yard touchdown return by the Aggies.

With the game on the line it seemed like Arkansas would find to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Cam Little trotted out for a field goal attempt with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to walk off with a victory. Little's kick went off the top of the upright and was called no-good. The Hogs were never able to find the energy and enthusiasm from the first three games for the remainder of the season.

Former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino will be on the sidelines drawing up plays for his Aggie offense. That is at least one storyline that will be talked to death about this weekend. After last year's season defining loss will it give them motivation for redemption to change their fortunes moving forward? Coach Sam Pittman says they'll use any kind of motivation -- even the shocking loss from last season.

“We would certainly use anything that we think would help us, would motivate us to win,” Pittman said. “And a lot of guys have said, well, you shouldn’t need motivation. You always need as much motivation as you can get. So, we certainly haven’t used that yet, but there’s some things that we certainly could talk about.”

The past two weeks Arkansas has committed a total of 25 penalties while still only losing by one possession each week. Limiting mistakes will be one of the many keys to victory on Saturday. Eliminating at least half their penalties and self-inflicted mistakes will provide the Hogs a path to victory against the Aggies.

“It’s a series where the game is going to be close,” Pittman said. “Obviously another trophy game, things of that nature. In all honesty, in these close games we’ve come up disappointed more times than not. We’ve got to play with the same amount of passion we had last week, but smarter.”