Arkansas is staring at a brutal road ahead before the 2026 season even gets rolling.
ESPN’s Football Power Index has pegged the Razorbacks’ schedule as the toughest in the entire Power 4, and with Ryan Silverfield taking over as head coach, the Hogs are walking straight into one of the steepest slates in the country.
The opener is manageable on paper, at least by comparison: North Alabama comes to Fayetteville in Week 1 on Sept. 5.
But that’s where the breathing room ends quickly. Arkansas heads to Utah in Week 2 on Sept. 12, then opens SEC play at home against Georgia on Sept. 19 before wrapping non-conference play against Tulsa in Fayetteville on Sept.
That SEC stretch is loaded from top to bottom. Arkansas will host Georgia, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee, while also making trips to Auburn, Texas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. There’s no soft landing anywhere in sight.
The early-season tests bring a few firsts, too. The Razorbacks’ Week 1 game against North Alabama will be the first meeting between the programs. The same goes for the trip to Utah in Salt Lake City, which will also mark Arkansas football’s second-ever visit to the state of Utah.
Georgia arrives first in conference play, and the matchup carries plenty of history. It will be the 16th meeting between the programs, with the Bulldogs holding a 12-4 edge.
The last time they played, in 2021, Georgia blanked Arkansas 37-0 in Athens. The Bulldogs have won three straight in the series, and Arkansas’ last victory came in 2010, a 31-24 road win.
Georgia finished the 2025-26 season 12-2 after falling to Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, 39-34.
Tulsa closes out the non-conference portion in Week 4, and that game gives Arkansas a familiar regional opponent. It will be the fifth meeting between the schools in the last 23 years. The teams last played in 2018, when Arkansas beat Tulsa 23-0 in Razorback Stadium.
Then comes the grind.
Arkansas goes to College Station on Oct. 3 for Texas A&M, a matchup the Razorbacks have struggled to control. They have not beaten the Aggies since 2021 and have won only one of the last 14 meetings.
It’s also Arkansas’ first trip to College Station since 2020, after the game was previously played in Arlington at AT&T Stadium. Last season, Arkansas hosted Texas A&M and lost 45-42 in a shootout.
The Aggies went 11-2 in 2025 and fell to Miami in the first round of the College Football Playoffs, 10-3.
Tennessee comes next on Oct. 10 in Fayetteville, and that one has turned into a yearly appointment. The teams will meet for the third straight season.
Arkansas upset No. 4 Tennessee in 2024, winning 19-14 at home, before the Volunteers answered with a 34-31 win in Knoxville last season.
Tennessee finished 8-5 a year ago.
A week later, Arkansas heads to Nashville on Oct. 17 for its first matchup with Vanderbilt since 2018. The Commodores won that meeting 45-31 in Fayetteville.
The series has only 10 games in its history, and Arkansas leads it 7-3. Vanderbilt finished 2025 at 10-3 and was ranked 15th in the AP poll.
After an open week in Week 8, Missouri comes to Fayetteville on Oct. 31 for The Battle Line Rivalry. It’s the second straight year the Tigers visit, and Arkansas is still looking for its first win in the series since 2021. Missouri beat the Razorbacks 31-17 last season and finished 8-5 in 2025.
The final month keeps getting tougher. Arkansas goes to Auburn on Nov. 7 to face new head coach Alex Golesh.
The schools have met every year since 1992, and Auburn leads the series 21-13-1. Last season in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks coughed up four fourth-quarter turnovers in a 33-24 Auburn win.
Auburn went 5-7 in 2025 and moved on from Hugh Freeze after a 10-3 loss to Kentucky in Auburn.
South Carolina visits Fayetteville on Nov. 14, and it will be the first meeting since 2022, when Arkansas won 44-30. The Razorbacks lead the all-time series 14-10 in 24 meetings. South Carolina followed a 9-4 season in 2024 with a 4-8 finish in 2025.
Arkansas then heads to Austin for the second year in a row on Nov. 21 to face Texas, trying to snap a two-game losing streak against the Longhorns. Texas owns the series 58-23 and beat Arkansas 52-37 in Austin last season. The Longhorns finished 2025 at 10-3 and No. 12 in the AP poll, just missing the College Football Playoffs.
The regular season ends on Nov. 27 in Fayetteville with LSU and new head coach Lane Kiffin coming in for the Battle for the Golden Boot. Arkansas has lost four straight in the series, including a 23-22 defeat last season. LSU finished 7-5 in the regular season and fired Brian Kelly after a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M in Baton Rouge.
9/5 North Alabama
9/12 @ Utah
9/19 GEORGIA
9/26 Tulsa
10/3 @ TEXAS A&M
10/10 TENNESSEE
10/17 @ VANDERBILT
10/24 BYE
10/31 MISSOURI
11/7 @ AUBURN
11/14 SOUTH CAROLINA
11/21 @ TEXAS
11/28 LSU
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