Arkansas left College Station with the same ugly headline it has been carrying around for weeks, only louder now: the Razorbacks’ SEC losing streak is up to 13 after a 34-7 defeat to Texas A&M at Kyle Field.
That number had already been hanging over the program, but Saturday’s loss made it harder for fans to ignore. A week after Arkansas beat Tulsa 34-6 and briefly gave people something to grab onto, the Razorbacks were back in the same place - frustrated, searching and staring at another lopsided result.
There was already a jolt before kickoff. Arkansas learned that receiver Jelani Watkins is no longer with the program and is instead focusing on track.
Watkins, an LSU transfer, reached the NCAA 100-meter final while at LSU and owns a personal best of 10.01 seconds. He had 4 catches for 20 yards and 3 carries for 27 yards this season.
Then the game started, and it went sideways fast.
On Arkansas’ third play from scrimmage, KJ Jackson was picked off by Texas A&M safety Dalton Brooks, who returned it 39 yards to the Arkansas 28. Texas A&M turned that into an early cushion, with Jordan Baker scoring from two yards out and Edwards punching in a 20-yard run to make it 14-0 before the Razorbacks had settled in.
Arkansas finally answered with its only touchdown of the night on a connection that has become the team’s best shot at a spark. Jackson found Chris Marshall for 26 yards on a back-shoulder throw, and Marshall finished as the clear focal point of the passing game. He caught seven passes for 76 yards, while Jackson completed just 13 throws all night.
Jackson’s final line was 13 of 25 for 111 yards, with one touchdown, one interception and 4.4 yards per attempt.
After the game, Silverfield was asked whether Jackson’s performance changes anything at quarterback.
"KJ still needs to continue to learn, grow, and improve," he said. "But there was never a thought of removing him."
The quarterback, though, is only part of the problem. Arkansas is averaging 2.8 yards per rush attempt this season, according to ESPN, with 461 rushing yards on 162 carries through five games.
That kind of production leaves an offense stuck in place and makes the passing game far easier to defend. Marshall catching seven of Jackson’s 13 completions says as much about the rest of the offense as it does about the quarterback.
Fans have been pointing beyond the field for a while, and the noise has only grown. On Sept. 19, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees approved a resolution to review the football program’s competitiveness and how resources are being allocated, with UA System president Jay Silveria set to conduct it. Athletic director Hunter Yurachek was asked about the resolution by ESPN’s Taylor McGregor before the Georgia game two weeks ago and said: "I don't have any because I have yet to talk to the Board of Trustees or the president about what this statement means."
The board met again on Thursday in a special session that lasted a little more than two hours, most of it in executive session, and ended without action. Board chair Lawson said, "There's no action that the Board of Trustees are taking at this time," and the review is still ongoing.
Yurachek has faced criticism tied to the Silverfield hire, the losses and Arkansas spending less on its 2026 roster than any other SEC team.
Now the Razorbacks turn to No. 15 Tennessee, which comes to Fayetteville on Saturday. If the mood around the program stays the way it has been, that one could bring another round of the same unhappy scene.
In Other News...
Calipari Missing On One Target Could Reveal Arkansas Bigger 2027 Plan
King Gibsons commitment to LSU trimmed one more name from Arkansas early wish list in the class of 2027, but it also underscored how active John Calipari and his staff already are on the recruiting trail. Gibson, a highly regarded combo guard, had been a target for the Razorbacks along with several other programs, and his decision leaves Arkansas to keep pressing forward as the long-range board continues to take shape.
The bigger picture for the Razorbacks is less about one miss than about where Calipari is directing his energy next, with Beckham Black and Demarcus Henry among the names still in play. Henry is expected to choose in early November, and Arkansas pursuit of multiple top targets suggests the staff is trying to build momentum well beyond one recruit, even as the race for 2027 keeps shifting. [Read more 🡒]
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Arkansas Boosters Texas Tech Remark Says Plenty About The NIL Race
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Campbell is the co-CEO of an oil and gas company and chairs the Texas Tech University System board of regents, while Tyson leads Tyson Foods and sits on the Arkansas Systems Board of Trustees. Their names came up in the context of how each has helped support his schools football program, and the remark landed like a reminder that NIL competition is not just about collectives or recruiting pitches. It is also about which programs can tap the strongest networks of influence, money and loyalty when the stakes start climbing. [Read more 🡒]