What Pittman said about facing loaded slate of home games

In typical coach fashion, Pittman downplayed the strength of schedule which remains in the Top 5 nationally, according to College Football HQ. Even with the loaded slate of games last year, Arkansas still found ample opportunity to upset No. 4 Tennessee in thrilling fashion, 19-14, which resulted in an unforgettable field rush.

Pittman refuses to use that as an excuse going into 2025, but does embrace the fact his Arkansas team has a chance to do something special.

"You can look at it whichever way you want," Pittman said. "I look at it as this: there's a lot of opportunity to make a lot of noise. That's what it is."

Every other sport at Arkansas, whether it be men's basketball, baseball, softball, gymnastics, track and field or any other, the Razorbacks are competing at the highest level in the SEC. For football, it's been over a decade since the football team has been a threat to win what used to be a division or compete for a conference title.

"It's just like every sport that we have here and they're talking about the SEC and, you know, you look at the top tier, and it almost baseball that way, right," Pittman said. "Big, basketball was and gymnastics and softball and all that kind of stuff."

Pittman has pride in his team going into the 2025 season. He carries a belief in his program's direction and knows the Razorbacks can go toe-to-toe with anyone around the country.

He won't let the Razorbacks backdown from a brawl, which is exactly how Arkansas has historically fought without the most talent in the SEC.

Arkansas' one downfall of the Pittman era so far is its record in one-possession games, which currently sits at 7-17 overall. Critical turnovers and mistakes cause the Razorbacks to miss out on opportunities to break through each year.

While the likes of Notre Dame, Auburn, Texas A&M and Missouri have to walk into Razorback Stadium, Pittman hopes each opponent comes in ready to play.

"You can look at [the schedule as], but you know what, they have to play Arkansas, too, now," Pittman said. "They probably don't, but they should."