– Alabama has been the dominant program in college football for more than a decade and Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has been coaching in the Southeastern Conference almost all of it. “On tape, it’s the best Alabama team I’ve seen,” said Pittman, a longtime assistant at Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia in his first season has head coach. “(Alabama coach Nick Saban) is going to hate me for saying that. Arkansas: An encouraging first regular season under coach Sam Pittman ended with a four-game losing streak. Alabama: Another trip to Atlanta for the SEC title game, the Tide's third in five years.