As the Texas Longhorns have been one of the best teams in the country, they have faced their fair share of criticism. That has partly been due to their schedule. While they have faced a few ranked teams, they do not have a win against any team currently in the AP or Coaches top-25 polls. This weekend, they will face the Arkansas Razorbacks, who are not taking the Longhorns for granted.
When asked about the Longhorns on Wednesday, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman had high praise for Texas and defended their impressive start.
“It’s not their fault that they haven’t played, let’s say, a schedule like ours,” Pittman said. “We’ve played LSU and Ole Miss and A&M and Tennessee. The schedule’s the schedule and what they’ve done is done a damn-fine job with their schedule and they’ve got a good football team.”
Back on the road 🤘
🏈 Texas at Arkansas
📅 Saturday, Nov. 16 | 11 AM CT
📍 Fayetteville, Arkansas
📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/Vh5ccGvIus— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) November 11, 2024
While the Longhorns’ schedule may not be filled with wins over top-ten programs, they have faced plenty of tough teams. That list includes Michigan, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt, which were ranked at the time Texas beat them. Those wins have stood out to Pittman.
“This is a damn-fine Texas team. I mean, you don’t go beat Oklahoma by 31 and Mississippi State by 22 and, you know, beat Michigan by 19, beat Colorado State 52-0, and have a sorry football team,” Pittman said. “I mean, you just don’t.”
As the Longhorns look to build on their success, they also have a chance to improve their conference record against the Razorbacks. So far this season, they have gone 4-1 in conference play, with their only loss coming against Georgia. In SEC play, Arkansas has not had the same success, going 3-3.
Regardless of what happens over the weekend, Pittman has shown that he already holds this Texas team in high regard.