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Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman talks to the media during the SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame. Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

What we learned about Arkansas, other SEC teams at media days

Originally posted on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI
By Jacob Davis | Last updated Jul 19, 2025 8:42 PM ET

After two days of reflection, SEC Media Days in Atlanta went exactly as it should with just one hiccup.

The sound booth played Texas A&M's song for Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian's walk-up to the main media stage, which seemed not to bother the fifth-year coach.

While fans and media were taking it to hilarious levels, let's be honest here, Sarkisian only heard it once and probably wasn't familiar with the Aggie War Hymn.

Ball's Barbecue

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman brought quarterback Taylen Green, defensive tackle Cam Ball and linebacker Xavian Sorey as team representatives. While everyone was looking for soundbites, Ball certainly provided them with his expertise behind the Pittboss.

"I caught some flack at the Catfish Hole last week, but you've got to keep the meat moist," Ball said Thursday at SEC Media Days. "You gotta spritz it, constantly watch it. I can't tell you what to use but you've got to keep it moist.

"I do like to soak my ribs in vinegar to make the meat tender to come off the bone a little more."

Is Oklahoma Back?

Oklahoma transfer quarterback John Mateer has all the right vibes a team wants as its starter. From long brown locks, engaging demeanor and prior experience at Washington State, it's hard to bet against the Sooners being better offensively with him behind center.

One interesting nugget about Mateer is his dad, Steve, was on the Missouri swim team in college. The Sooners and Tigers have a storied rivalry dating back to their Big Eight Conference days.

Although he has family ties to the Tigers, there was no question about where he wanted to play this fall.

"It's going to be a lot of fun playing [Missouri], I always knew about them growing up, my dad swam there," Mateer said. "I talked to them a little bit, but it never got over Oklahoma."

Missouri squeaked by Oklahoma at home last season, 30-23, but are poised to have a much more explosive offense with Mateer's leadership, who combined for 3,965 yards of total offense, 44 total touchdowns and only seven turnovers for Washington State last season.

Out of Context

Speaking of Missouri, there was not another person who spoke at SEC Media Days this week who was more entertaining than coach Eli Drinkwitz.

While he dodged questions about various conspiracy theory topics, he did talk to an extent about a potentially inflated College Football Playoff.

While Drinkwitz never advocated for a true 30-team playoff concept, he did mention that the more teams involved the more fanbases are engaged in similar fashion to the NFL.

His major gripe against the current 12-, 14-, or even 16-team model is the discrepancy between each selection committee member.

"The problem is we have a human committee that has no standard set of structure, of how they're going to select," Drinkwitz said. "They're all human beings. They all have implicit bias. Now we're going to go from seven [at-large bids] to 11 and we think that's going to solve the problem.

"Until we figure out what exactly the standards are, I don't think that's good. In my viewpoint of it, I think we should go back and try to find more ways to include teams. How do we get more people involved? 'Cause that's better for the players, that's better for the player experience to have more people involved in of the potential to play for a championship. It's better for the fan bases."

Eight vs. Nine SEC Games

Since the inception of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, there as been talk of moving toward a nine-game conference schedule, doing away with a fourth non-conference game.

Teams around the country will look at SEC teams who schedule FCS teams in late November for a chance to get healthy plus a week break away from the physical and mental grind a season in the league brings.

"Scheduling here in this conference and what you do week to week," Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. "Then the NFL draft shows that. Those are the players you're playing against. It's so balanced throughout the conference that every week you got to
really show up.

"It's really like the NFL. I don't feel like that is the case in these other conferences,
or a really good conference that's similar to us that's top heavy but doesn't have the middle and the bottom the way we do."

Luckily, playoff darling Indiana took major flack this week after cancelling a non-conference home-and-home series against Virginia that was set to take place in 2027 and 2028.

The Hoosiers have home games against Group of Five member Kennesaw State (2027), FCS Austin Peay (2028) and FCS Eastern Illinois (2029). While there are still several games left to schedule over the next few years, Indiana is not scheduled to play another Power Four caliber opponent until they face Notre Dame in South Bend in 2030.

Final Thoughts

The SEC is top-heavy as it ever has been going into the season with clear separation amongst the top.

Texas and Georgia are the clear leaders in the clubhouse. Both LSU and Alabama are both in the next tier as playoff contenders.

Ole Miss, Texas A&M and South Carolina should be considered just on the outside looking in for a playoff opportunity.

Teams from 8-15 can be sneaky good in the SEC this year as Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Auburn, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State will beat on each other week after week.