FAYETEVILLE -- There are finish lines of different varieties facing No. 1 Alabama and the University of Arkansas today at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
For the Razorbacks (3-6), they have already exceeded the most optimistic projections of college football analysts with three wins under first-year Coach Sam Pittman. Alabama Coach Nick Saban noted that the Razorbacks are seven points away from being 6-3, which would have blown the doors off the hopes of Hog fans who had witnessed one SEC win from 2017-19.
So today's 11 a.m. kickoff on Senior Day represents a last kick toward the tape for the Razorbacks in what has been a season like no other in college football. The scare of a covid-19 shutdown over the summer evolved into coping through various coronavirus outbreaks and a postponement to reach this regular season finale one week later than originally scheduled.
There's still a strong possibility of playing in a bowl, which Pittman keenly favors, with the standard six-win eligibility requirement waived this season.
"I don't know if I've been on a team that was underdogs in every single game they played," Pittman said Thursday. "But I'm very proud of our football team, that they believed that they could win every one of them. And I think they've proven that by the way they've played, and I don't think that will be a problem on Saturday."
For Alabama (9-0), today's game represents just a preliminary finish line, but an oh-so-big one from a historical perspective, on its journey toward a championship or two.
The Crimson Tide, which have won 13 in a row over Arkansas, can become the first team to have a 10-0 SEC season. Due to the circumstances, they might become the only team with a shot at that milestone.
Saban has won five national championships at Alabama, but he has had just one team go unbeaten (14-0 in 2009), so his team has plenty of incentive.
"It's a little bit of a historic game for us too, you know," said Saban, who is 13-0 against Arkansas during his tenure at Alabama. "We've only had one team around here that went undefeated. And that wasn't as difficult for that team to go undefeated as it is for this team playing 10 SEC games.
"So I think any time you play on the road or in the SEC, you've got to be ready to play. And you've got to respect the fact that the team that you're playing certainly is capable of beating if you don't execute."
Alabama is ranked No. 1 entering Razorback Stadium, but what else is new?
This is the fifth time in the Crimson Tide's last six visits to Fayetteville that they sit atop The Associated Press Top 25 poll. It is the ninth time Arkansas has faced No. 1 Alabama and the fifth season in a row.
The Razorbacks are 0-8 in their previous meetings against No. 1 Alabama dating back to their first matchup ever, a 10-3 win for the Crimson Tide over the No. 9 Razorbacks in the Sugar Bowl after the 1960 season.
No current Arkansas player has beaten Alabama, but Pittman and assistant coach Derrick LeBlanc have. LeBlanc was on the strength and conditioning staff at LSU for wins over Alabama in 2010 and 2011.
As offensive line coach at Northern Illinois in 2003, Pittman and the Huskies beat the No. 21 Tide 19-16 behind a 156-yard rushing effort from Michael "The Burner" Turner running behind Pittman's front.
The Razorbacks came close to taking out the Tide in their 1964 national championship throwback game in 2014, but fell 14-13 with a lost fumble inside the Alabama 1-yard line, a missed extra point and two dropped interceptions.
Pittman, who was Arkansas' offensive line coach and assistant head coach from 2013-15, understands the kind of effort it takes to survive the Tide.
"The only way you can beat Alabama is you think you have a good enough team to beat 'em," Pittman said. "I think you go back to 2013, we go to Alabama ... and I don't want to disrespect any of the kids that were on that team, but I'm pretty sure there wasn't 100 percent of the guys that felt like we could win. They beat us 50-0, something like that (52-0).
"I do know this. The next year ... they came here in 2014 and we had a team that believed we could win. It's like any great high school tradition or any great college tradition. Half the teams are beat before they ever walk out on the field."
Belief is only part of the winning equation against the juggernaut Alabama teams like the current one, which is fourth nationally with 548 yards per game, third with 49.2 points per game, and has explosive talent all over the field. Receiver DaVonta Smith (1,305 receiving yards 15 touchdowns), tailback Najee Harris (1,038 rushing yards, 20 touchdowns) and quarterback Mac Jones (3,113 passing yards, 75.7% completions, 27-3 touchdowns-to-interceptions) all rank with the best in the country at their positions.
Pittman was on the Georgia sideline when the freshman Smith caught Tua Tagovailoa's 41-yard touchdown pass to give Alabama a 26-23 win in overtime for the College Football Playoff national championship after the 2017 season.
"Obviously against the caliber of a team like that, they're going to have to give us the ball, give us some extra possessions, things of that nature," Pittman said. "Which they have not done all year, because they're beating the heck out of basically everybody they're playing.
"So part of it is, we have to get a break here or there. Maybe several breaks. And we can't turn the ball over and give them opportunities."
The Razorbacks could be down three of their original team captains. Tailback Rakeem Boyd opted out last week, linebacker Grant Morgan is out with a knee injury and quarterback Feleipe Franks (ribs) is questionable.
However, the Razorback players speak with the belief they can win as 32-point underdogs.
"Playing the No. 1 ranked team in the country is an opportunity for everyone, and I think we're going to take advantage of it," said senior tackle Myron Cunningham, who was voted team captain last week to fill Boyd's spot.
"I think from a mentality standpoint it really comes down to who wants to lay it down and who's not afraid of the challenge," Arkansas safety Jalen Catalon said.
"It's a next-game mentality and we're going into the game with the same mentality that we've had every single game, that we can out-physical someone and we can win the game.
"I know Bama's known for being physical and they're well coached and has great players, but I feel if we can be physical and match it and just do our assignments, I think we can play a great, close, come out on top [in the] fourth quarter ... game for sure."
Said Arkansas defensive tackle Isaiah Nichols, " I think it's a good challenge for us. Not many teams get to play the No. 1 team on a yearly basis, so that's definitely something we're looking forward to. It's a good challenge for us, but at the end of the day the goal is to win the game."
Pittman's effusive praise of Alabama this week has included his reference to the Crimson Tide offensive line as the best in college football, and perhaps the best he's ever seen.
"They are definitely one of the best offensive lines in the country and they need to get the recognition they deserve," Jones said. "I love those guys. I don't think I even got hit, maybe one time, last game."
Jones and the Tide recognize what a win over Arkansas would do.
"To go undefeated would be something that no other team has ever done just because no other team has had to play an all-SEC schedule," Jones said.
