Arkansas walked into Oxford carrying the weight of the “Biddy Curse” and walked out with yet another heartbreak. But for Sam Pittman, the script felt painfully familiar. The Razorbacks fell 41-35 to No. 17 Ole Miss in their SEC opener, dropping Pittman’s record in one-score games to 7-18 since the post-pandemic era. Those late-game collapses have turned tight contests into mounting frustrations, leaving Arkansas stuck in the same boiling pot of scrutiny that already has Florida’s Billy Napier and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy sweating. Now, with one of the toughest schedules in the country still ahead, the dream of climbing beyond mid-tier bowl hopes just took a heavy hit. But how exactly did Sam Pittman’s squad fall short?

Taylen Green gave the Hogs everything he had, throwing for 305 yards and a TD while adding 115 yards and another score on the ground. And his first-quarter strike to O’Mega Blake even pushed him into the FBS lead for TD passes. But the numbers rang hollow against the Rebels. Because backup QB Trinidad Chambliss, filling in for the injured Austin Simmons, torched Arkansas with three total TDs to hand Ole Miss its 3rd straight win in the series. So, for Green, good wasn’t good enough. And for Arkansas, heartbreak was once again the only familiar finish. But here, Sam Pittman finally speaks out on Arkansas’ unwanted record.

At the postgame press conference, when a reporter asked Sam Pittman about Arkansas’ narrow road loss, Pittman admitted the frustration was real. “I mean, I knew that was coming.. I don’t know what I do with it. Tell me what you do. I don’t know what to do,” he said. And his words felt like a heartbreaker. Then, when pressed on how the team might learn and bounce back, Pittman reflected on the emotional side of the game.

“I don’t know. I mean, they’re hurt, which is a good thing. It means something to them, which is a good thing,” he explained. But he finished with cautious optimism, confident in his squad’s resilience.

“So, when you have that, they’ll go back to work, and they’ll do a good job with it,” stated Pittman. Honestly, despite the setback, the message was clear: the Razorbacks’ fight isn’t over. But what exactly went wrong for Sam Pittman’s Arkansas? Arkansas’ defense had no answers on Saturday night. Penalties piled up, assignments were missed, and the pass rush barely stirred. On top of that, broken tackles became routine, and sideline debates mirrored the chaos on the field.

For four quarters, the Razorbacks looked helpless against the Rebels, needing a miracle just to slow them down. Sam Pittman noted as much. “Our defense couldn’t do anything in the first half, and most of the game. We got problems there. We’ve got to get them fixed.” Even when the defense got rare stops, the Razorbacks couldn’t play complementary football.

But it wasn’t just the defense; Pittman also flagged a major concern on offense.

Sam Pittman’s big concern

Sam Pittman’s Arkansas was off to a hot start, outscoring opponents 108-21 in its first two games. But the road proved even tougher this weekend as Arkansas traveled to hostile territory against Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss. Pittman’s Razorbacks struggled to keep up, as the competition in Oxford exposed key weaknesses on both sides of the ball, ultimately highlighting the challenges Pittman had warned about before the matchup.

Injuries were the biggest worry. Arkansas had four players listed as “OUT” for the Ole Miss clash, compared to just one for the Rebels. Well, missing from the field were three wide receivers: Monte Harrison, Antonio Jordan, and Ismael Cisse, plus lineman Mason Schueck. Losing these weapons put extra pressure on an already thin offensive unit.

Harrison faced a broken foot and will miss the season, while Cisse, recovering from wrist ligament surgery, was also sidelined. And Jordan, a freshman expected to step in, suffered a high ankle sprain in practice. Given that, Pittman admitted the impact, calling it “a big loss” and raising questions about who would step up to fill the gaps. Now, the Razorbacks’ offense needed creativity and resilience to navigate this wave of injuries.