Arkansas has spent years turning fourth-quarter leads into heartbreak, and the pattern has been brutal enough to land the Razorbacks near the top of an ugly national list.
Since 2018, Nebraska has the most losses in games where it led at some point in the fourth quarter, with 18. But over the past three seasons, Kansas and Arkansas are right behind with nine and eight, respectively, a reminder that the Hogs’ late-game problems have not gone away.
The script has changed coaches, but not much else. It started under Chad Morris, showed up again under Sam Pittman and is still hanging around with Ryan Silverfield.
The latest example came just a week after Arkansas coughed up a fourth-quarter lead at home against Tennessee. Then, against Vanderbilt, Silverfield’s team finally got it right, grabbing the lead for good in the third quarter and holding firm the rest of the way.
Pittman took plenty of criticism for a 7-19 record in one-score games, and that frustration was built on real moments like the 2023 loss at Ole Miss. Arkansas had trailed 17-7 late in the second quarter, fought back to go up 20-17 early in the fourth, and still couldn’t finish it off.
The Razorbacks managed only five total yards on their final two drives before falling 27-20 in Oxford. That season ended at 4-8, and the closing issues followed them into 2024.
There was real buzz around the program entering that year with Bobby Petrino back as offensive coordinator, and Arkansas was able to generate chunk plays and points. But the fourth quarter kept telling the same story.
At Oklahoma State, the Razorbacks took a 21-13 lead into the fourth quarter, tied the game twice and still lost in overtime. Against Texas A&M in Arlington, Kyle Ramsey’s field goal put Arkansas ahead 17-14 with 13:24 left, only for the Aggies to answer with an eight-play, 75-yard march to move back in front 21-17. Taylen Green had one final shot at a signature win, but a strip sack with 1:30 left sent Arkansas home at 3-2.
Then came the snow in Missouri. Arkansas grabbed a 21-20 lead with a little more than four minutes remaining and, according to ESPN analytics, had a 79% chance to win. But Missouri stayed alive with Luther Burden III’s 11-yard catch on third down, Brady Cook later scored on a 30-yard run, and the Tigers closed it out to keep the Battle Line Rivalry trophy in Columbia for the third straight year.
Instead of finishing 9-3 and positioning itself for a better bowl, Arkansas ended another regular season at 6-6 under Pittman.
The problem didn’t begin there, either. During the Bret Bielema years from 2013-17, Arkansas dropped 12 games against Rutgers, LSU, Alabama, Texas A&M three times, Mississippi State three times and Missouri three times.
Now Silverfield is the one trying to break a pattern that has followed Arkansas through four coaching staffs and more than a decade. He got a taste of both sides over the last two weeks: the Tennessee loss that slipped away, then the Vanderbilt win that finally closed the deal and snapped a 14-game SEC losing streak.
There is still work to do, and plenty of it. But after so many fourth-quarter misfires, Saturday’s win was at least a step in the right direction, even if it came in a battle for last place. With five games left, the question hanging over this team is the same old one: when Arkansas gets the lead late, can it keep it?
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