Arkansas football continues its 2024 season against No. 3 Texas in just four days at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, and Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke to the media Monday to preview the matchup.

In their debut SEC season, the Longhorns have dominated most competition besides a 30-15 loss to Georgia and a 27-24 nail-biting win against Vanderbilt. Texas has defeated teams like Michigan, Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Florida handily.

Under Sarkisian's leadership, Texas has accumulated a 33-15 (17-10 Big 12, 4-1 SEC) overall record with a 12-win, College Football Playoff season a year ago. This season, the Longhorns boast the No. 9 total offense (465.2 YPG) and No. 10 passing offense (301.1 YPG) in the country.

This will mark the 80th meeting between the two teams, as Texas leads the series 56-23. The Razorbacks have won the last two matchups, with the most recent coming in 2021, a 40-21 victory in Fayetteville.

Here's everything Sarkisian had to say about Pittman, the Razorbacks and his team:

On Arkansas' 2021 win over Texas being an eye-opener:​

Sarkisian: “In going back, I always try to revisit some of those games even from years past just to get a sense and a feel. The frustrating part of that game more than anything is, we didn't play great. But then you look up and you watch the game, you forget it's the middle of the third quarter and it's 16-7 and we were playing hard, we just weren't playing great.

"I think it's two-fold, yeah we obviously wanted to upgrade as best we could the roster, especially from a depth perspective. And then as the game wore on, a couple explosive plays kind of kicked into play, unfortunately we didn't make some of our own. But the competitiveness of our team, I thought we fought in the game. But naturally, okay, what do we need to do? I thought it was good, not only for myself but for the staff and for our players to say, 'okay, that's an SEC team.'

"At the time, they weren't at the top of the SEC, there were some pretty good teams still there. So we had a hill to climb to get where we wanted to get to, so it feels pretty good knowing that we're going in there this year with what we think is a little better roster. A little better understanding from a coaching staff perspective of what's going to be needed in that environment. It's a very tough environment. But what's going to be needed from an emotional and mental standpoint, but also from a physical standpoint."

On the Arkansas-Texas rivalry being underrated:​

Sarkisian: “I think it might be underrated nationally. I don't know if it's going to get the same exposure that it would nationally. But I would tell you, internally it's getting the same amount that's needed, that it deserves. This rivalry has been going on for a long, long time. I was joking with the team this morning, I don't know what Darrell Royal did to Arkansas back in the day, but they absolutely hate our guts and I think we learned that the first time around when we went there.

"You watch some of the clips of the end of that game and Joe Tessitore is talking about Arkansas hates Texas more than they like themselves, and he might be right. So, I think from our perspective, internally, we understand and value this rivalry. It's great to have back, great for the state of Texas, great for the state of Arkansas.

"I wish nationally it probably got the exposure that this thing deserves. There's been some great games historically that these two teams have butted heads on. Obviously we're looking forward to the opportunity."

On Sarkisian's first time facing a Bobby Petrino offense in 1996:​

Sarkisian: “Man, you know what I remember in that game? And this might take a minute. So in that game, at the end of the first half, we were kind of in one of those situations where, how much time is on the clock? There might have been 15 or 20 seconds, we were out of timeouts. We took a timeout, we're on the sideline.

"Here's myself, here's Norm Chow, our offensive coordinator, Robbie Bosco, everyone's trying to decide what to call. There can be no aggreance on what was happening. And LaVell Edwards, rarely would he step in on the play calls, he's very CEO-like. He said, 'Well Sark, what do you want to run?' And I can't remember what I said, then he goes, 'Well that's what we're running.' Then he walked off and so it was the first time I got to call a play in my life.

"But the value in that, what I do remember is like, when you can really start to trust your players and the players feel your trust as a coach, you start to get more out of them."

On Arkansas QB Taylen Green:​

Sarkisian: “First of all, he's huge. A guy his size and can run the way that he runs, sometimes you don't think he's covering as much ground as he is, but the stride length is so long that he's able to cover ground. The explosive plays that he uses with his legs, his ability to make all the throws down the field.

"Coach Petrino is an elite offensive play caller and offensive schemer, so they put him in really good positions when they're in the zone-read game, the quarterback run game. They put him in really good positions for the shots down the field and the dropback pass game, so you have to defend a lot of offense. Then when you get a guy like him running it, it can be extremely challenging."

Arkansas ranks dead last in the SEC and 124th in the nation in pass yards allowed per game (266.2). At least they aren't facing a good QB this weekend or anything.

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The big theme from Arkansas' loss to Baylor on Saturday in Dallas was the Razorbacks' inability to counter the Bear's suffocating zone defense.

A brand new team with a first-year head coach in John Calipari, the Hogs struggled to break through Baylor's defense early and often. According to associate head coach Kenny Payne, the Hogs were a little surprised by how much zone defense Baylor played.

"Well, I think the first half of that game, the Baylor game, that it caught us off guard the amount of possessions that they played zone, so we were tentative against zone," Payne said. "The second half we realized that we got the ball to the post, or pinch post, and what it did, it made them collapse. And from there they could make passes out. Not necessarily just to score but just to get the ball in the paint and get them to suck in and then throw it out and have driving angles and that such."

VIDEO: Kenny Payne previews Arkansas vs. Troy

The Razorbacks settled for jump shots early on in the loss to the Bears, and shots didn't fall at the rate they need to. Arkansas was 5-for-20 shooting from three in the game and they shot 41.4% from the field.

Calipari and his staff have stressed over and over how the team was not healthy over the summer — including key players Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo, both of whom seemingly aren't fully healthy yet — and they even had to practice with just five players at times. As a result, they weren't been able to practice everything they'd like to have worked into the game plan by now.

"For example, it’s one thing to walk through a zone offense, it’s another thing to play against a zone offense and have five legitimate players to play against it," Payne said. "So we’re just now getting to that point, where we’re getting players healthy to where we can go against each other in live situations and react and see the nuances of the zone.

"Then just the time that it takes. You’re not going to figure out a zone in the first week of the season, second week of the season, second game of the year. It’s going to take time. We just have to know that and be a great passing team, attack the zone, know where the gaps are and not be passive or tentative versus the zone."

Arkansas had 13 assists compared to 11 turnovers in the loss to Baylor and now it is set to face a Troy team on Wednesday that averages 10 steals per game through two games this season.

Scouting Arkansas vs. Troy: Stats, Projected Starters, More

"Very aggressive," Payne said of Troy's defense. "A lot of pressure on the ball, taking the wings away, denying. A lot of run-and-jump. Even when they’re in the zone, it’s run-and-jump. Three guys will just run toward the ball. You better be able to get in the gaps quick. You better be passing the ball efficiently. You better be strong with the ball because they’ll come at you from any time at any angle, whether they’re in man or zone, and they’re aggressive. They’re aggressive and they play for steals."

While the Baylor zone defense put some negative film out there for the Razorbacks, Payne said the team is approaching it with the mindset of attacking the problem head-on.

"I think we have to be prepared for them to play zone," Payne said. "I think that we have to want them to play zone so that we show people that we can handle a zone, and the goal is to get teams to not play a zone. You want to play a zone, we burn you, we’re efficient against it, we do a great job against it so you realize you’ve got to play us man where we eliminate the… we play the style of play that we want to play.

"I expect them to do that. We expect them to do that. Coach Cal has spent the last couple days working on the zone, so we’re ready for it. At the end of the day, it’s how the players digest it, react to it and do it with confidence."

The Razorbacks and Trojans are set for a 7 p.m. CT tipoff Wednesday at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.