‘I’d Be Mad at Me Too’: Sam Pittman After 56–13 Loss to Notre Dame

Arkansas opened the season with victories over UAPB and Oklahoma State, creating hopes and suggesting this might finally be the year Pittman’s program turned a corner. The offense, looked capable of challenging anyone in the SEC. The unit entered Saturday ranked fifth nationally.

But football rarely follows neat narratives. The collapse against Notre Dame exposed defensive vulnerabilities that have plagued Arkansas throughout Pittman’s tenure. The Fighting Irish scored 42 first-half points while boos rained down from the home crowd, creating a historically terrible defensive performance. Now 32-32 overall with the Razorbacks, he has struggled to move the program forward despite coaching staff changes and roster overhauls.

Pittman Hints at Changes Following Third Consecutive Arkansas Defeat

Now comes an inevitable question about Pittman’s future in Fayetteville. The coach hinted at potential changes following the blowout loss, though specifics remained unclear in his immediate post-game remarks.
Pittman’s willingness to shoulder blame publicly reflects accountability. Rather than directing blames on his players, he absorbed the full responsibility of fan disappointment, which might buy him goodwill in the short term, but football is more about results, not intentions.

The road ahead offers little relief. SEC play looms with conference opponents who will show no mercy to a program struggling with issues. The challenge for Pittman becomes finding solutions before fan frustration reaches the levels that make the kind of post-game speech he gave after today’s game irrelevant.