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Sam Pittman agrees with Steve Sarkisian’s assessment of Arkansas-Texas rivalry
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Sam Pittman knows how Arkansas fans feel about Texas, and he had to admit Steve Sarkisian had a point with his recent comments.
On Wednesday, Sarkisian and his Texas program made their first-ever appearance at SEC Media Days. At one point, he was asked about the Arkansas vs. Texas rivalry, a series that has not been regularly played since 1991 but will once again be a conference matchup beginning in 2024.
According to Sarkisian, Arkansas fans “hate Texas more than they like themselves. It’s a real rivalry.”
Pittman and Arkansas made their appearance in Dallas on Thursday, and the head coach was asked about Sarkisian’s assessment of the Razorbacks and Longhorns. Pittman had to admit getting the game in Fayetteville back in 2021 was “the most excited” Arkansas fans have been in a while.
He also agreed Sarkisian’s probably right about the rivalry:
“Well, I will say this: We hadn’t played Texas for years and we played them a couple years back. It was the most excited our fan base has been in a while,” said Pittman.
“So I would say he’s probably right, you know. The difference is Texas is certainly a different team than what we played. That was his first year there and now obviously he’s a great coach, great guy. Got a wonderful football team.
“But I’m glad that we’re going to play them at home again. You know, I don’t know if that’s fair because they came there two years ago. But it’s an early-morning game, so — but he’s probably correct. You would have to ask the old hats of Arkansas, but he’s probably right.”
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As charter members of the Southwest Conference, Texas and Arkansas share a long rivalry that dates back to 1894. The two sides would play 73 meetings from 1894-1991 before the Razorbacks left for the SEC.
The two sides have 6 head-to-head matchups since the series resumed on an irregular basis in 2000, and Arkansas won the most recent matchup with a 40-21 victory in 2021. Now, fans can brace for another matchup in 2024 and future showdowns as conference rivals once again.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
