SEC · Ryan Silverfield, year 1 (1-2) · Razorback Stadium · 80,000 · 67,650 avg in 2026
LastL 17–45 vs Georgia · Sat Sep 19 · Ja'Quavion Smith 1 sacks, 2 TFL, 8 tackles
Nextvs Tulsa · Sat Sep 26 · 8 pm ET · Razorback Stadium · Arkansas by 7 · series 51-16-2, won the last 19 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 22 · through week 3
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 5 | #145 | #207 | -40.5✗ | North Alabama | W 31–14 128 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 13 | #147 | #26 | +13.5✗ | @Utah | L 10–43 138 | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #141 | #3 | +24.5✗ | Georgia | L 17–45 125 | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| 4 | Sep 27 | #134 | #104 | -7 | Tulsa | |||
| 5 | Oct 3 | #135 | #10 | @Texas A&M | ||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | Tennessee | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | @Vanderbilt | ||||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | Missouri | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 7 | @Auburn | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 14 | South Carolina | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | @Texas | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 28 | LSU |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 | Georgia | L 17–45 | 300 | 1 | 24:20 | +0.067 | 42.9% | 107.9% | Defense's roughest night |
| Sep 13 | @Utah | L 10–43 | 305 | 1 | 31:57 | -0.041 | 31.6% | 158.4% | Season-low EPA/play |
| Sep 5 | North Alabama | W 31–14 | 415 | 3 | 41:25 | +0.176 | 52.4% | 94.3% | Season-high EPA/play |
| Season average (3 games) | 340 | 1.7 | +0.067 | 42.3% | 120.2% | ||||
Arkansas is an entire state's only major program — no in-state rival, a fanbase scattered nationwide that all answers the same Hog Call — chasing the first real glory since a national title sixty years gone, now under a brand-new coach.
Hog fans say the bluebloods of the SEC have spent thirty years treating Arkansas as a guaranteed win on the schedule — the league's outsider with no neighbor to lean on — and they call the Hogs…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 2-10 · last season
✓ measured from 12 games · ranks are among SEC teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Cold. 1-9 over the last 10, and lost the last two.
College football as an industry is better off because Trinidad Chambliss is playing this season
Next Sep 27
vs Tulsa · at home
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-22
the open questionis the portal class enough to move the needle?
Pittman's top-2 portal haul in the SEC addresses K, OT, and CB — key areas for a 2-10 team with just 36% production returning.
our readfront page
Silverfield, who previously coached at Memphis, inherits a 2-10 losing record and a program with no in-state rival, raising questions about how to rebuild in the SEC's toughest conference.
our readdeveloping
Sam Pittman's top-2 SEC portal class arrives as Arkansas rebuilds after a 2-10 season, with AJ Hill (QB) addressing a passing game that lost 85% of its production.
our readdeveloping
Silverfield, who went 2-10 at Memphis, inherits a 36% production return and a program that hasn't won an SEC game since 2021 — the stakes are clear, the margin for error narrow.
our readdeveloping
Sam Pittman enters his sixth season with a 2-10 losing record hanging over Arkansas, a program without an in-state rival and a fanbase still uneasy about its direction.
our readbackground
Arkansas dropped 29 spots in SP+ — the steepest collapse in the SEC this cycle, and Sam Pittman’s sixth season opens with a 2-10 record to explain it.
our readbackground
Sam Pittman enters his sixth season with a 2-10 losing record to address, as coordinator changes reshape units and a dispersed fanbase seeks consistency.
our readfront page
Raylen Sharpe produces at a notably LOWER rate when his team is an underdog than when favored -- he fades when the pressure is on, and his per-target value drops too.
our readdeveloping
Silverfield, who previously coached at Memphis, inherits a 2-10 losing record and a program with no in-state rival, raising questions about his ability to unify a fractured fanbase.
our readdeveloping
Jaden Platt is used almost exclusively underneath -- a low share of his targets are downfield shots.
our readbackground
O'Mega Blake is used almost exclusively underneath -- a low share of his targets are downfield shots.
our readbackground
Raylen Sharpe is used almost exclusively underneath -- a low share of his targets are downfield shots.
our readbackground
Outcome band · Arkansas · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Arkansas enters 2025 rated No. 53 in SP+ (+5.1), down 29 spots from 2024. SP+ reflects three years of tape; a drop this steep is structural, not noise. The recovery window is open but the room knows it. Preview coverage is split — believers and skeptics are reading the same data differently.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The 'the projection is underselling us' read -- fans betting the season beats the preview number.
The 'the model has seen the tape' counter -- efficiency ratings reward what a program has actually done, not hope.
This event was in 427 of 4126 board posts (10%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (725 posts): 14% positive · 41% neutral · 45% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
Arkansas signed a top-15 transfer-portal class — 42 additions headlined by AJ Hill (QB) from Memphis and Braeden Fuller (QB) from Angelo State. It is a top-2 portal class in the SEC this cycle. Portal pickups are proven college players — the split isn't about development, it's about whether they fit the scheme and win their position battles. Coverage is split on whether volume or positional fit is the bigger story.
The 'portal class fills the gaps' believers -- upgrades at real positions of need.
The 'portal is a gamble' counter -- departure losses and the 'plug-and-play doesn't work' read.
This event was in 58 of 4126 board posts (1%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (725 posts): 14% positive · 41% neutral · 45% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
Arkansas is the program with no in-state rival and the most-spread-out fanbase in the SEC.
The program ledger
since 2025Arkansas players sue NCAA over eligibility
Wooden and Williams taking the NCAA to court isn't just a legal fight — it's Silverfield needing every available body on a roster that's already bled four EDGE starters to the draft and sits at a #46 class.
Kendal Briles hired as OC
Briles running a spread offense is one thing — Briles running it inside the SEC West with Pittman's portal class already loaded is a different pressure test entirely; Arkansas hasn't had an OC this aggressive since they were winning divisions.
Asa Barnes flips to Tennessee
Four EDGE departures already bleeding the depth chart, and now Barnes flips to Knoxville — Pittman's top-8 portal class still has a hole it hasn't answered.
Petition to remove Arkansas AD
An employee crossing lines at Utah and a petition to remove the AD — Silverfield hasn't coached a snap yet and the off-field noise is already louder than the EDGE depth chart problem.
Arkansas coach dismissed
Silverfield takes over a room bleeding EDGE pressure — 4 NFL exits and a #46 class means the portal class has to carry real weight fast, not just add depth.
Arkansas releases depth chart
Depth chart is out and EDGE is the one spot a top-15 portal class hasn't fully answered — four draft departures later, Silverfield's showing his hand before the Sugar Bears.
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
AR leads the 2026 class with 11 commits. National footprint reaching 9 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
96 signees across 19 states, 2023-2026. AR leads the pull.
That is 30.6% of every high-school FBS signee AR produced over those cycles — the biggest share any program takes — Arkansas State is next. The full map →
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Arkansas player grew up 409 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Razorback Stadium. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 116 of 121 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
Fan confidence lower than any point since 2024
1st percentile among FBS programs
The penalty battle is a wash: 22 penalties committed vs. 20 drawn on opponents.
172 penalty yards committed vs. 170 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Arkansas · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026