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Only five college football stadiums in the country can hold more people than Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And during a night game, the people taking up those seats can get feisty.
They call it Death Valley for a good reason.
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman is preparing his Razorbacks for hostility when they visit LSU on Saturday, accordingly. The Hogs have won there just three times since joining the SEC in 1992.
The last time, however, was, indeed, a night game. Pittman was on the sidelines for it, too.
Six years ago, after a 2-4 start, Arkansas was fighting through the muck of SEC play. Pittman was offensive line coach for Bret Bielema and things were dour around the program. Early-season losses to Toledo, Texas Tech and Texas A&M all should have been wins.
But Arkansas bounced back, winning four straight, the last of which came in Death Valley at night against an LSU team that, only two weeks prior, had its eyes set toward a national championship.
Pittman hasn’t been back to LSU at night since, although he did coach in a day game there when he was offensive line coach at Georgia, the job he held before Arkansas hired him to run the show ahead of the 2020 season. He remembers the energy well and is preparing his team all week for the tenacity.
LSU is just 4-5 and coach Ed Orgeron is out at season’s end. Little matter to Tigers fans, Pittman said.
“It’s what college football’s supposed to be,” Pittman said. “Lot of people. They get lathered and we’re expecting a really good crowd. They support their team. They’ll be there.”