I remember when I first heard Arkansas and Notre Dame had scheduled a home-and-home with each other. There was a sense of newness at the thought of the Razorbacks finally squaring off against the Fighting Irish.
No, the team out of South Bend, Indiana and the Hogs have never squared off on the gridiron, not even in the 1960’s nor 70’s. Nor did they ever meet after former Arkansas coach Lou Holtz took the same position for the Irish. So, I must admit, I was a little anxious for this gameday to arrive from the word “go.”
Notre Dame, probably the most historic and prestigious program in all of college football, would soon be making the trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas. And I could not wait.
Unfortunately, the first game in the series, originally set to take place in 2020, was bumped back due to COVID. The Irish, if memory serves, had already requested the second game be pushed back to 2025 or 26 due to a scheduling conflict.
So, yeah, one would think I would be elated with all of the Arkansas versus Notre Dame discussion sure to consume the airways and internet pages, right? No, that would be the case, but instead the topics at hand have all revolved around the futures of the Arkansas coaching staff and the administration.
Almost everything local you can find when you web search “Arkansas Football” is discussing the timeframe for when Arkansas Head Coach Sam Pittman be relieved from his duties. Or, “Should they fire athletic director Hunter Yurachek before or after Pittman?”
I totally comprehend it, man, everyone was mad after the loss to Memphis. I was ticked as well. Like many of you, I have been a loyal supporter of Pittman for years, hopeful he can right the ship, using the NIL as an excuse for why he cannot bring Arkansas Football back to some level of relevance.
But a lot of the fan base have reached their expiration date with waiting on Pittman. Yes, he may very well be the nicest guy on the planet, but that does not matter 12 Saturdays out of the year. That impatience, mixed with some less than impressive words from Yurachek at the Little Rock Touchdown Club, has also drawn him into the ire of Razorbacks fans.
I have not soured on Yurachek. I think he is a great AD I do believe he could have chosen his words about Arkansas not being set up to win a national championship under the current NIL structure a little more quaintly. But, in my opinion, his comments were just him doing his job: trying to get more money generated for the program to “hire” the best athletes possible.
Here is the thing, Yurachek is not going to fire Pittman before the game this weekend. He may or may not let him go during the upcoming bye week. He might, to what will be the ultimate dismay of some, not even bid farewell to Pittman at all under the guise of the upcoming revenue sharing by the SEC, instead opting to see how the head coach can perform under its umbrella. The truth is, NIL may have created a financial situation under which we cannot buyout Pittman and hire a top-tier coach to take the helms.
I could be wrong about all this. Hunter may decide now is the time to get in a new coach for recruiting and preparation for the upcoming revenue model. I hate to protect myself with this blanked of “I could be right or I could be wrong,” but I am perplexed on this one, and I think many others are as well.
I have rambled on long enough, and there is a game to discuss, but for the sake of keeping your attention a little longer, I will keep my thoughts short.
Notre Dame was overrated coming into the season with a No. 8 ranking. Their 1-2 record shows that. Yet they are still good. Very good. Neither of their losses have been blowouts, and they have been at the hands of two current Top Ten teams in Miami and Texas A&M.
The Hogs, not so much. Both of their losses have been close, but one of them fell to a much prominent Memphis team – a unit which is undefeated, but only time will tell how good they truly are.
Arkansas’ offense is potent, and the Irish defense is not the best. I will stand by what I said in the preseason. The Hogs get this one because it is at home, but only if the environment is rocking, and, at 11:00 AM, that may be hard to do.
Arkansas 44, Notre Dame 38
Be certain to listen to the game Saturday at 11:00 A.M. via HitThatLine.com and on the air at ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs, and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
Random Thoughts
Joe Montana was kind of a jerk when it came to his going on “The Dan Patrick Show” and lessening the amount of fanfare and nostalgia experienced by the real-life Rudy Ruettiger.
TRIVIA QUESTION: Lou Holtz compiled a 60-21-2 record at Arkansas. After spending two seasons with Minnesota, he became the head coach at Notre Dame, winning a national championship in 1988. Why did Coach Holtz leave Arkansas?
I should have split this up into two articles.
TRIVIA ANSWER: Initial press releases from then Arkansas athletics director Frank Broyles stated Holtz left because he was “tired and burnt out.” Broyles later admitted he fired Holtz because the latter had lost the fan base at Arkansas. It is thought Holtz’s overstep into North Carolina politics may have been the deciding culprit.
One thing is certain: We love our Razorbacks! We may not all agree who should be in what position, but when it comes time to watch, we all cheer for the cardinal and white.
Do you know for whom all else we should cheer? Our families. And my prayer is you all get to enjoy some time with them this weekend. Off the top of my head, I can count at least thirty-four things we can do with our loved ones that, on the surface, may even seem small, but on the inside, they mean everything.
Go HOGS!!!
