Never has a coach, team or fanbase needed to claim victory more than when Arkansas stunned No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday at Razorback Stadium, 19-14. Or at least it felt that way.
Too long has Arkansas' football program been weighted down by what-if scenarios and heart-aching defeats. The storming of Frank Broyles Field once clocks hit 00:00 wasn't an eye-rolling overreaction by fans. It was true, unmitigated passion boiling over in pure relief.
Those moments are what college football is all about. For once, if only for a sliver of time, coaches, players and fans alike rejoiced in the present. What came before and what lay ahead didn't matter, because the healing of a cracked relationship had already begun.
"Now, I think (the win is) going to do more for the state who was veering over here, 'Hey, they're going to fire their coach, they're going to do this. When the hell are we getting this guy out of here,' all that stuff,” head coach Sam Pittman said postgame.
"I think maybe it'll unite the state a little bit in saying, 'Hey, (these are) our guys. Let's go. Let's go back 'em like they did tonight.' And I'll be honest, most of the state's been doing that anyhow. But I think it's more for the state to do that than our team, because our teams believe that we can beat anybody in the country."
There are hurdles in the development of nearly every program that once cleared, it’ll pave the way for a reestablishment of expectations and goals. Arkansas last hit a milestone marker like this three years ago (2021-22), when then-No. 15 Texas was defeated by a motivated Pittman team, 40-21. Coincidentally, that was the last time fans stormed the field at Razorback Stadium.
Arkansas' victory over the Longhorns served as a jumping-off point coming off the apathy-filled Chad Morris years. The seasons since 2021 haven't been perfect, but they've been a far cry from blowout losses at home to North Texas and Western Kentucky.
Perhaps the Razorbacks' win over Tennessee will lead to another elevation in expectations under Pittman's leadership in the coming years. There’s also the possibility that it won't. In any case, the accomplishments of "the now" should be applauded. Despite faltering in close games so many times before, Arkansas shed its reputation to secure the season-altering victory.
"Our team is something I've never seen as a team together," wide receiver Andrew Armstrong said. "After the two close losses we had previous to this game, the team never just put their head down. They never said, 'oh, the season's over.' We went back to practice on Monday.
"People were in the training room on Sunday getting their body ready because they knew we had a game this weekend. We went out there, this game, and it was a hard-fought game as y'all can see. Like I said, I'm going to say it every time, we just finished."
Now entering a much-needed and well-earned off week, Arkansas can refocus for the upcoming three-game stretch before its next bye on Nov. 9. Momentum is a dangerous thing, and even with a daunting remaining schedule ahead, everything is out there for grabs if the team and its players are ready to take the next step.
"I’ve been a part of losing before bye weeks and the mindset was kind of a little different," Armstrong said. "It was down but it wasn’t too down, but just going into the bye week with a win, it’s great. It’s a great confidence booster. We can take a lot of stuff from film and progress our game even more."
Following the bye week, Arkansas (4-2, 2-1 SEC) will face the LSU Tigers at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Oct. 19. That game will kick off at either 5 or 7 p.m. CT and will be the Hogs' official 2024 homecoming.
