FAYETTEVILLE — A few hours before the University of Arkansas played at No. 16 Mississippi State on Saturday night, Razorbacks Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek did a little math.
Yurachek was on a private plane along with Arkansas’ team doctors awaiting takeoff for Starkville, Miss., when he used a calculating formula on the internet to determine it had been 1,071 days since Arkansas last won an SEC game.
“I just had a great feeling going into the game,” Yurachek said. “Coach [Sam] Pittman and I had talked about the game plan that we had on both sides of the ball. He felt really good about it.
“It kind of put my mind at ease and I just felt like this could be the game where this all came to an end. So I wanted to know exactly how many days it had been since our last SEC win.”
The Razorbacks beat No. 16 Mississippi State 21-14 for their first SEC victory since they won 38-37 at Ole Miss on Oct. 28, 2017.
Arkansas ended its SEC losing streak at 20 games. It was the first SEC victory for Yurachek as the Razorbacks’ athletic director. He was hired on Dec. 17, 2017.
“I’m just so excited first and foremost for our players, especially those kids that have been with this program for the last three or four years and have fought through so much adversity,” Yurachek said. “Those kids have stuck with the program and you can tell that they really believe in Sam and the staff that he’s put together. They play hard and they don’t ever give up..”
Pittman, the former offensive line coach at Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia as well as several other programs, was hired after last season and is 1-1 as the Razorbacks’ head coach, including a 37-10 loss to No. 4 Georgia to open this season.
“Sam has handled everything like he’s a veteran head coach, not a first-time head coach in the SEC,” Yurachek said. “I’m just so happy for him because I know he has so much invested in our program and he believes what the program truly can be.
“I love Sam Pittman, both as a football coach and as a friend and a colleague. He knows exactly when to push our players and he knows when he has to love them up a little bit.
“Sam’s really good at building relationships, and these kids truly believe in him. They trust him and I think you’ve seen in these first two games that they will run through a wall for him literally.”
Yurachek presented Pittman with a game ball in the locker room Saturday night.
“It was fun,” Yurachek said. “Sam loves the University of Arkansas, the state of Arkansas and this program, and putting this program back to where it rightfully should be means a great deal to him.
“He’s worked incredibly hard since we hired him last December under some really tough circumstances over the last six months since this [coronavirus] pandemic hit.”
Yurachek has two sons who are part of the team. Ryan is a graduate assistant coach and Jake is a backup linebacker who plays on special teams.
“That did make it extra special after the game when the team was leaving the field that I got to have a big embrace with Jake, and then in the locker room after Ryan got down with the press box, I got to have a hug with him,” Yurachek said. “It’s special to win any way, but to be able to celebrate with them was just icing on the cake for me.”
Yurachek said beating Mississippi State did wonders for Arkansas fans.
“There’s a vibe in this community and across this state that we haven’t had in several years,” Yurachek said. “It was just a very prideful moment for people across this state and Razorback fans across this country. They can see that our program is headed in the right direction finally.”
Arkansas already has played two ranked teams and has six more on its schedule starting with a road game at Auburn on Saturday. The Tigers (1-1) fell from No. 7 to No. 13 in The Associated Press poll after losing at Georgia 27-6.
“We’re going to play a really good Auburn team that’s going to be really hungry coming off their game against Georgia,” Yurachek said. “So we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Chad Morris, who Yurachek fired as Arkansas’ coach after a 45-19 loss to Western Kentucky in the 10th game last season dropped his record to 4-18, is Auburn’s offensive coordinator.
“We’ve got to go play Auburn. We’re not playing Chad Morris,” Yurachek said. “I have a great deal of respect for Chad and wish him a great deal of success except for next week and any other time in the future where he’s playing the Razorbacks.”