Sam Pittman shows respect for Texas Tech

FAYETTEVILLE — Texas Tech is a Big 12 team that is playing in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, but one that defeated both teams playing in its conference championship game.

The Red Raiders defeated Arizona State 30-22 and Iowa State 23-22. Arizona State is still alive in the College Football Playoffs. Sam Pittman has a lot of respect for the team his Hogs will face Friday night. Pittman was asked how difficult to prepare for an opponent that is missing so many key pieces?

“Very,” Pittman said. “And I think that’s what- I’m not gonna speak for Coach. What a great coach he is. But for us, this was all about just preparing us, because there is a lot of unknowns. We know they’re very aggressive defensively, both in a four-down line and in an odd front we know they’re very aggressive. So we moved a lot. We gave our guys a lot of looks. But for us, because of the unknown of what they have, we’ve obviously seen them on tape, and they’ve seen us, and we’ve seen their new quarterback. TCU, he played and all.

“But the bottom line is, it’s going to be how do we play and if we can play well, we’ll have an opportunity to win the game, and that’s kind of how we went into this with all the different things going around the game and around the roster. Because it wasn’t only losing some guys into the portal, it was bringing guys in from the portal. There was a lot going on, but it seems like we’re here, aren’t we? And we’re going to play a great football game tomorrow night that we’re blessed to be a part of.”

One missing piece for the Red Raiders is quarterback Behren Morton. He had surgery and will miss the game. Morton completed 295 of 466 passes for 3,335 yards, 27 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Replacing Morton is Will Hammond who completed 15 of 23 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown.

“He could run and he could throw,” Pittman said. “I mean, I looked him up and I think he had seven, I want to say, like 7,000 yards of throwing or something in high school. I don’t know what it was like crazy number. And now he’s had all this time to practice with his team. He’s very, very talented. But what you saw against TCU is he can really run as well. So, he’s very concerning for us and very dangerous player. And I’m sure he’s excited about his opportunity that he’s going to get too.”

Arkansas has faced some fast-paced offenses this season. How is Tech’s different?

“One thing I can say there is that they can run the football,” Pittman said. “I mean, obviously, an Ole Miss who is known for running the football as well. These guys will get in big formations on you, can spread out of that. But this is a physical, running football team. They also can throw the heck out of it. They’re great offensively. But the difference, if I’m answering the question, the difference is their formations, their personnel that they can go fast with.”

Joey McGuire said on Thursday that it’s 50-50 if star running back Tajh Brooks plays in the game. Brooks was outstanding in 2024. He carried 286 times for 1,505 yards and 17 touchdowns. He caught 28 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown.

“Very physical downhill guy,” Pittman said. “Can outrun you, can run around, can run over you. Just a very physical – can make you miss – guy that also can catch the ball out of the backfield. But you can feel leadership with him when he’s on [the field]. You can just feel him. You can feel that he’s got a lot of leadership to him and that right now there’s a lot of guys we’re concerned about, he’s the number one concern for our defense.”

On defense, the leader is linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. He topped the Red Raiders in tackles with 118, 73 solo, 5 sacks, 4 pass deflections, 1 interception, 3 forced fumbles and 2 recovered fumbles returning one for a touchdown.

“He can do everything,” Pittman said. “I mean, the guy makes a lot of plays. I believe he’s their leading tackler. Yeah, he is. And can run. I mean, he’s really good and very, very good tackler and seems to have an unbelievable amount of fun playing the game. He’s their energy guy and, but really, really talented guy. He’s the first guy on defense that stood out to us.”

The Red Raiders will end with a winning record no matter the outcome of Friday’s game. For Arkansas, a loss would send them to 6-7 and a losing record. Pittman admits that is concerning.

“You know, I’ve thought about that a lot,” Pittman said. “That’s part of a coach’s worries or concerns, and all that. I just want to win. Having another winning season would be a lot better than not. I don’t know that it’s going to change the total outlook of what we can get accomplished next year, but the bottom line is we have a game tomorrow night and we want to win. And if we do, I think it’d feel really, really good. It’s a good question.”

The kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and televised on ESPN.