Note: A version of this story will appear in the Blue & Gold Illustrated 2020 Football Preview magazine in June. This is the fifth installment of the 2020 Notre Dame opponent previews. Prior ones are listed at the bottom of this story.
Arkansas Quick Facts
Date, location: Sept. 12, Notre Dame Stadium
All-time series: First meeting
Head coach: Sam Pittman, first season
2019 results: 2-10, 0-8 SEC
Returning starters: 14 (8 offense, 6 defense)
Whatever Sam Pittman becomes as a head coach, he has one direction where he cannot take Arkansas.
Backward.
Pittman, a first-time NCAA head coach in his second stint at Arkansas, is a gamble more than most coaching hires. He has never been a coordinator and is on a steeper curve. But it will be hard to outdo the prior two years’ mess. Arkansas was 4-20, lost every SEC game and dropped four games against Group of Five teams. Chad Morris departed as the only coach in school history not to win a conference game.
