If Aggies keep it close, odds are against Razorbacks 

By DON KAUSLER JR.

Coach Sam Pittman’s record fell to 21-19 in three-plus seasons at Arkansas when the Razorbacks lost 34-31 Saturday at LSU. The King of Pain fell to 1-3 against LSU. All four games have been decided by a field goal.

Pittman’s record in one-possession games now is 4-10. Six of those losses have been by two points or less. Three have been by three points each. Arkansas has lost each of its past six close calls.

Next up for the Razorbacks (2-2, 0-1 in the Southeastern Conference) is an 11 a.m. CDT Southwest Classic game Saturday against Texas A&M (3-1, 1-0) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game can be seen on the SEC Network.

Of all of the close games that Arkansas has lost under Pittman, the heartbreaker of heartbreakers probably was its 23-21 loss last year to Texas A&M. 

Cam Little’s 42-yard attempt for a go-ahead field goal with 90 seconds left failed after hitting the top of the right upright. Earlier, Arkansas was trying to extend a second-quarter lead to 21-7 when quarterback KJ Jefferson lost a fumble when he dived into a pile from the Texas A&M 3-yard line. The Aggies returned the fumble for a touchdown.

Arkansas is a 6½-point underdog Saturday.

Yes, oddsmakers are calling for another one-possession loss for Pittman and his team. A loss would leave Pittman one game above .500 in his fourth season as a head coach.

FIRST DOWN

Bobby’s back … again: Pittman will cross paths with former Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino for the second consecutive season. Last year, Petrino was the head coach at Missouri State and gave the Razorbacks fits when he brought his team to Fayetteville. Arkansas trailed 27-17 early in the fourth quarter but rallied for a 38-27 victory.

Petrino was 34-17 in four seasons at Arkansas (2008-2011) but was fired in the spring of 2012 for covering up an extramarital affair with an athletic department staff member.

Considered a brilliant offensive coach, Petrino now calls plays for Coach Jimbo Fisher as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator.

So far, so good, despite a 48-33 loss on Sept. 9 at Miami. The Aggies rank No. 17 in the nation in scoring (39.8 points per game), No. 30 in total offense (450.8 yards per game) and No. 18 in passing offense (301.2 yards per game). They rank only No. 72 in rushing offense (149.5 yards per game), but that’s three spots ahead of Arkansas (147.8).

“I don’t see a whole lot of difference in this year than what they were last year,” Pittman said. “There are some differences, but they’re still a very physical running team. …

“Coach Petrino is one of the best offensive minds in the game. We respect him a lot and they’re really doing a nice job. … They have that same staple of physicality that they’ve had in the past.”

Fisher previously called plays himself.

"Bobby is doing a great job," Fisher said. "Moving the ball around. Getting good balance, good plays. Getting points and we're doing a good job. He's doing a really good job."

SECOND DOWN

Injury updates: Star running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders missed Arkansas’ past three games with a knee injury. He might return this week. Or he might not. Against LSU, Rashod Dubinion gained 113 total yards (78 rushing, 35 receiving).

Texas A&M sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman is out for the season after injuring a foot Saturday during a 27-10 victory over visiting Auburn. Max Johnson, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound redshirt sophomore who started for LSU in 2021, will start at quarterback against Arkansas.

“Max came in and played excellent football and did a great job,” Fisher said after the Auburn game. “He made plays and really led us.”

Johnson started last season against Arkansas. He completed 11 of 21 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown. He did not have a pass intercepted. He also rushed for 39 yards.

Last week against Auburn, Johnson led the Aggies to three second-half touchdowns. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns, including a 22-yarder to tight end Jake Johnson, his younger brother.

“I wasn’t really nervous at all,” Max Johnson said. “I mean, I’ve been in these situations before. I was excited to be there with those guys. I feel like we did a good job going out there and executing, and, of course, it was really fun to go out there with Jake.”

Johnson has made 17 starts in 25 games played in two seasons at LSU and two at Texas A&M.

He has completed 376 of 625 passes (60.2%) for 4,627 yards and 42 touchdowns. Seven of his passes have been intercepted. He has rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think he’s a really good player,” Pittman said. “They’ve obviously done a nice job with being able to keep him when he wasn’t named the starter.

“I think in his mind, it looks to me like he believes he’s the starter, and more importantly, the kids around him believe in him.”

THIRD DOWN

Hot Hand Luke: The breakout star in Arkansas’ loss at LSU was hyped freshman tight end Luke Hasz. After catching four passes for78 yards and one touchdown the previous week in a loss to BYU, he caught six passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns at LSU. He also caught a pass for a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.

Both TD catches came in the fourth quarter. Jefferson scrambled and found Hasz open on the right sideline. Hasz raced for a 59-yard TD. The two-point conversion tied the score at 24-24. The second TD went to the left for 11 yards and tied the score at 31-31 with 5:06 left in the game.

“Tremendous game,” Jefferson said. “On the last touchdown, we knew that was a big touchdown, and he came through. Just shouts out to him. He’s maturing, he’s growing. In clutch situations, I can count on him.”

Hasz was stopped at the goal line on a short catch in the first quarter.

“Obviously Luke Hasz is a ball-playing son of a gun,” Pittman said. “Hasz is really a valuable football player to us and did some wonderful things.”

Hasz is a 6-3, 242-pound four-star signee from Bixby, Okla. 

“I know that no matter what, KJ is going to make the play last long, so I’ve got to do whatever I can to get open for him,” Hasz said. “Because he’s a big quarterback, he’s 250-plus pounds, so he’s not going to come down easy.”

Last season, Arkansas tight ends combined for only 34 catches and 347 yards. In only four games as a freshman, Hasz has made 15 catches for 239 yards. 

“I think (Hasz) is playing quite a bit better each week, making more plays each week,” Pittman said. “Luke catches the ball incredibly, and he can run. We continue to work on his blocking, but he’s a big-time weapon running routes, and we’re adding stuff for him each week.”

FOURTH DOWN

Unsocial media, continued: Last week, Pittman unplugged his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, after ranting about some of the incivility on social media. This week, he continued his rant and said he is being encouraged internally to plug back in.

“I do not believe that you can hide behind a phone and address people as personally as what people do,” Pittman said. “I don’t think it’s fair. I don’t think it’s right. I don’t think it’s right for the kids.”

Pittman was asked why he closed his account.

“I think you can figure out the rationale,” he said. “You know, when you’re a public figure, I think everybody thinks it’s OK to bash public figures and people. That could be musicians, coaches, whatever it may be. I’ll be honest with you, I just got sick of it.”

Pittman had enough of social media attacks two weeks ago after a 38-31 loss to BYU.

“That to me is not what it is, for a bunch of people that’s hiding to talk about you,” Pittman said. “Everybody knows I’m fat. Everybody knows I’ve got a big chest. To do that, who does that make feel better?

“It’s not right. And people say, ‘Well, you make a lot of money.’ That doesn’t have anything to do with people bashing me personally. You can talk about my coaching all you want and this, that and the other. But going and attacking me and guys on the team, it’s not right. I’ll never feel like it’s right.”

Pittman said he sometimes serves as a counselor to players. He cited an episode last week involving punter Max Fletcher, an Australian who shanked two punts in the loss to BYU.

Last week at practice, Fletcher was looking “lower than low,” Pittman said, so he asked the player what was up. Fletcher replied “social media” and that someone had written the Razorbacks didn’t have to go all the way to Australia to find a 10-yard punter.

“I said, ‘Max, they didn’t say I’m fat on there, did they?’ He said, ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘What about my chest? Did they say anything about that?’ He started smiling. He said, ‘Yes, sir.’ I said, ‘Was I supposed to get fired on Sunday?’ He said, ‘Yes, sir.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m still here. They got two out of three right.’”

Despite punts of 28 and 10 yards against BYU, Fletcher ranks No. 13 in the nation with an average of 44.7 yards per punt. His only punt against LSU went 53 yards. He also ran 8 yards for a first down.

Mental health “is a big, big deal,” Pittman said. “We talk about it. We have several guys that are in counseling. We encourage it. We need to help these kids.

“There’s a lot more going on in their life right now than possibly when I was a kid. And I think a lot of it has to do with this.” Pittman picked up a smart phone. “A lot of good about this, but there’s also — if you get pulled the wrong direction with it, it can spoil your day or whatever.”