BATON ROUGE, La. — Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said the team is focused on regaining its pride and respect following a 38-31 loss to BYU on Sept. 16.
This week provides an excellent opportunity to do that with a matchup against No. 12 LSU (2-1, 1-0 SEC) in the first of four consecutive SEC games away from home.
"We can't mull around [about the loss] because I think this is as good of a football team we'll play all year," Pittman said. "They are very talented, but that's why you have game plans and things of that nature. We've got a good football team. We lost a game, and we've got to get our pride and respect back."
It's the first time in 98 years the Razorbacks (2-1) are playing their first four SEC games on the road, and the earliest Arkansas and LSU have met in a season since the Hogs joined the conference in 1992.
"There are some things you have to control, and one of them is the noise," Pittman said. "We have to get ready for the noise and play clean… you also have to celebrate the community, the people; you have to embrace them."
The last time the Razorbacks played at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., was in 2021 when the Hogs walked away with a 16-13 overtime victory.
Although Arkansas is 1-4 in its last five meetings versus LSU, the Razorbacks and Tigers tend to keep fans on the edge of their seat.
Last season, the Tigers beat the Razorbacks without redshirt senior quarterback KJ Jefferson, 13-10 in Fayetteville.
"There's three points between the last three games," Pittman said. "We lost by three, won by three, lost by three, and we'll be ready to play, and I know they will be too. Losing wasn't a wake-up call for us... it is LSU, and it's SEC play."
Pittman said last week's loss to BYU resulted from not playing smart. Arkansas opened the game with complete control, holding a 14-point lead early in the first quarter.
But 14 penalties for 125 yards, a missed go-ahead field goal late in the third quarter and two turnovers in the final 19 minutes cost the Razorbacks the game.
"We had too many missed assignments and penalties to beat a good football team," Pittman said. "We've got to get some life into us. We played hard [against BYU]. We didn't play smart and got beat. I like this team a lot, but we've got to play smarter... if we just took half the penalties away, I think we would've won the game."
Pittman and Arkansas have a challenging task ahead against an LSU team that's coming off a 41-14 victory against Mississippi State thanks to career-best performances from senior quarterback Jayden Daniels and junior wide receiver Malik Nabers.
Daniels completed 30 of 34 passes for 367 yards and two scores with 64 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns, while Nabers hauled in 13 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns.
Both shared SEC offensive player of the week honors and are playmakers for an LSU offense that averages 45.7 points per game and an SEC-best 537 yards of offense per game.
"They're doing basically the same things that they did last year, except their receivers are making a difference," Pittman said. "Nabers had that huge game last week, but they're just incredibly talented at wide receiver, and I think Daniels might be improved as a thrower."
Unlike LSU, Arkansas's offense, under new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, stumbled down the stretch against BYU due to questionable decision-making, penalties and miscommunication.
Aside from junior running back AJ Green's 55-yard touchdown run on the game's fourth play, the Razorbacks finished with 455 yards of offense, including 177 rushing yards on 4.5 yards per carry.
"I think the one thing I've learned is that if you make a decision, it better work," Pittman said. "We've been good on the goal line, but we haven't been good on fourth and one. We've lost two of them."
Growing pains are expected when implementing a new system, and Pittman acknowledged the offense has struggled through three games despite posting an SEC sixth-best 38.3 points and 370.3 yards per game.
"Right now, everything we're doing offensively seems hard," Pittman said. "It doesn't seem like there's anything that's coming easy to us… we did have some good completions and long runs."
Defensively, the Hogs have been playing lights out with new defensive coordinator Travis Williams' more aggressive approach. Arkansas is allowing 19 points per game and sits in the top 10 in the country in run defense (No. 4 – 55.7 rushing yards per game), forced turnovers (No. 7 – seven total), sacks (No. 7 – four total) and tackles for loss (No. 3 – 10 total).
Led by redshirt junior linebacker Jaheim Thomas' 29 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, the Razorbacks' improved defense has generated some buzz around the SEC, specifically with LSU head coach Brian Kelly.
"We know we have our hands full," Kelly said. "They've got some really good players. Sam Pittman does a great job. I have a ton of respect for Sam, and he'll have his team ready to play, bouncing back after last week's loss."
Coverage of the Battle of the Golden Boot at Tiger Stadium begins at 6:30 p.m. Central on ESPN. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be on the call, with Holly Rowe reporting from the sidelines.
"I think it's all going to be ok," Pittman said. "We've still got nine games left, and we're undefeated in the SEC, so let's see what happens."