Hogs motivated as a slight favorite for Outback Bowl
TAMPA, Fla. — Two years on from the hiring of coach Sam Pittman, the Arkansas Razorbacks have a chance today to make a national splash and whittle away at historic trends that have haunted a proud football program.
The No. 21 University of Arkansas takes on tradition-rich but depleted Penn State today at 11:05 a.m. in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium.
The Razorbacks (8-4) opened as a 4-point underdog in their first game against the Nittany Lions (7-5), but a series of opt-outs from key Penn State players like receiver Jahan Dotson and safety Jaquan Brisker has flipped the betting line, and Arkansas will enter as a slight favorite for the first game of 2022.
Arkansas will be without ace receiver Treylon Burks and top pass rusher Tre Williams, both opt outs, but the Hogs will have plenty of motivation.
“This is our national championship because this is the biggest game Arkansas has been to in any of our careers,” super senior linebacker Grant Morgan said.
“A lot of people have always seen us as less advantaged,” junior defensive end Zach Williams said. “For us to make it to a bowl game being 8-4, it was a big statement. Like coach Pittman says, we have a chip on our shoulder. We just have to win this to show people that we’re that team. We’re getting better; we’re progressing.”
Linebacker Hayden Henry is one of 10 super seniors on the Arkansas roster, none of whom opted out of the game.
“This is a huge opportunity for our program, the biggest that we’ve had in the last, you could say, 10 years,” Henry said. “So yes, we are very motivated.”
Added quarterback KJ Jefferson, “We had a great season so far, and I just want to end it on a good note with an Outback Bowl Trophy and bring it back to the state of Arkansas.”
History in this type of setting has not been good for Arkansas football.
The Razorbacks are playing their first New Year’s Day game in Florida since a 17-14 loss to Wisconsin 15 years ago in the Capital One Bowl (now the Citrus Bowl) on Jan. 1, 2007.
That loss fell neatly into a triangle of frustration regarding Arkansas postseason football.
The Razorbacks are 2-5 in Florida bowl games (0-5 in the last 24 years), 0-4 versus Big Ten teams in bowl games, and 5-13-2 in games played on Jan. 1, the last win a 27-6 pummeling of Texas on Jan. 1, 2000, in the Cotton Bowl.
Pittman said the bowl preparation has been going just as he hoped in his first head coaching run in the postseason.
“I think the Big Ten-SEC is a big deal for our fans and for our football team,” he told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “You know I haven’t been a head coach at these things, so I don’t know how we’re doing with our preparation, but like I said before I’m doing it exactly like I want to and I think we’ll be ready to go.
“Obviously we want to win for the state and we know it’s our last game so that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
A piece of inspiration for the Razorbacks: Their last win in a Florida bowl game.
One of the videos in the queue in the team meeting room is a compressed version of the Razorbacks’ 31-6 upset of No. 2 Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl. Arkansas coach Lou Holtz suspended three top players for the game, including running backs Ben Cowins and Michael Forrest, and Roland Sales racked up a then-record 205 rushing yards to lead the upset.
That bowl win, which capped an 11-1 run in Holtz’s debut in 1977, is regarded as one of the biggest wins in school history, along with a 10-7 victory over Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl after the 1964 season which earned the Razorbacks a national championship.
Pittman and staff have managed to push the right buttons to win three trophy games this season: 20-10 over Texas A&M for the Southwest Classic, 16-13 in overtime at LSU to win the Golden Boot, and 34-17 over Missouri for the Battle Line Trophy.
The Razorbacks had never won that trifecta of hardware in one season, so piling an Outback Bowl Trophy on top of that would set a new standard for the program, as well as notch the first ninewin season since 2011.
“This is a huge deal,” senior tailback Trelon Smith said. “This is the first bowl game in a few years. This is another logo team. So we’ve won three trophies already man, so our whole mindset is just going out there and finishing strong and bringing that fourth one home and ending the season on the right page.”
Pittman brought up his playing days at Pittsburg (Kan.) State to relate a story he told the players during his radio show earlier this month.
“I told the kids the old story that we got beat in the national championship game when I played,” he said. “We got a ring. But their story over at Elon University, the team that beat us, they talk about it around the campfire and we don’t say a whole lot about it when we get together.
“The ring becomes more valuable when you win. And there’s only one reason to go to a bowl and that’s to win it. We’ll enjoy the trip and we’ll do those things, but our goal is to go win the game.”
Often analysts assess which team “wants to be there” the most when predicting bowl outcomes.
The Razorbacks sound motivated. “Even though it’s a bowl game, some teams take it lightly,” senior receiver De’Vion Warren said. “We don’t take any game light, so for us it’s another game that we have to go out there and earn respect.
“In college football, people do not respect Arkansas, so for us, it’s motivation that we have a big chance to be on a big stage and continue to play the game we’ve played all year.”
Penn State had designs on the College Football Playoff after its 5-0 start and rise to No. 4 in the national rankings. But the Nittany Lions lost five of their final seven games, starting when quarterback Sean Clifford was injured and knocked out of a game at No. 3 Iowa with Penn State leading in the second quarter. The Hawkeyes scored the game’s final 13 points to win 23-20.
Clifford returned from the unspecified injury but the Nittany Lions lost a series of tight games down the stretch, the most lopsided being a 33-24 setback at No. 5 Ohio State.
However, Penn State has not faced the kind of personnel deficit the Nittany Lions have against Arkansas.
“It’s been challenging,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “What I would say is I’m focused on the guys that are in our locker room.
“At the end of the day, the reality is you’ve got to find a way to get it done. As one door closes, another door opens. It’s an opportunity for another player.
“I think it’s also going to give us a really good kind of picture of what our future is going to be.”