Arkansas heads into Saturday’s meeting with Tulsa carrying a lot more than just the final non-conference game on its schedule. For Ryan Silverfield, it’s a chance to measure his team against a Golden Hurricanes squad that already has one eye-opening win on its résumé and a style of play that can make a defense uncomfortable in a hurry.
Tulsa comes in at 3-0 and has already shown it can punch above its weight, opening the season with a 24-10 upset of Oklahoma State. That result looked even stronger a week later when the Cowboys turned around and beat No.
6 Oregon. The Golden Hurricanes may be without regular quarterback Baylor Hayes, though.
Hayes is currently “doubtful” and trending toward missing a second straight game because of a knee injury, which would leave backup Dexter Williams in line to run the offense.
Williams, a 6-1, 220-pound quarterback now at his fourth school in seven years after starting his career in 2020, got the start in Tulsa’s 42-0 win over East Texas A&M last week. He completed 14 of 26 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and Silverfield knows Arkansas has to be ready for whatever version of Tulsa shows up.
“[Hayes]'s obviously really talented and can really do it at a high level,” Silverfield said Monday. “He operates their offense exactly how they want and makes great decisions with the ball ... I think the operation of the offense and the success they have and the tempo, we've got to be ready for it.
“Coach Lamb is an offensive guy, he's always been. It's up tempo.
It's a lot of formations. One out of every 5 plays you're going 'Holy cow!'
that's unique. And so you've got to be prepared for those things.”
That offensive variety is part of what makes Tulsa dangerous, but Arkansas is also staring at a problem of its own that has become impossible to ignore: the run game has been flat-out ugly. Against Georgia last weekend, the Razorbacks managed only 17 yards on 20 carries. The issues haven’t been limited to that matchup, either, with similar struggles showing up against Utah and North Alabama.
Through three games, Arkansas sits 135th out of 138 FBS teams in rushing offense. Silverfield said there isn’t one simple explanation for the struggles on the ground.
“I think you look at what's going on in the failures in the run game, it's been a combination of a lot of things,” Silverfield said. “You look at what we talked about, even in the weeks leading up to this, is there's not a lot of teams (who) have felt the threat of our passing game, so it's always adding that extra hat in the box.
“If you can push it down, and we were able to find some holes in the zone this past week ... I think those go hand-in-hand, right?
We want to be able to extend the ball down the field and press it vertically. That's going to open up some lanes in the running game, especially if we're not good enough to handle that extra hat.”
Tulsa’s defense on the ground will be another test. The Golden Hurricanes rank 41st nationally against the run, allowing 102.3 yards per game, and they gave up just 127 rushing yards in the win over Oklahoma State.
The backdrop to all of this is a much bigger discussion inside the Arkansas athletic department. Last week, the Board of Trustees announced a complete review of the competitiveness of the Razorbacks’ athletic department, with a specific focus on improving football resources. Silverfield has already spent plenty of time trying to move that part of the program forward.
When he arrived late last year, one of his priorities was fundraising. The money has improved since then, but Silverfield made clear it still isn’t enough. A report from last week said Arkansas remains last in the SEC in roster cost, with the current team in the $22-25 million range, still well behind programs such as Kentucky and Vanderbilt and nowhere near the top end of the league like Texas, LSU, Texas A&M and Ole Miss.
Silverfield said a huge chunk of his offseason was devoted to that effort, and he also pointed to other upgrades that needed attention, including the stadium lighting, sound system and video board.
“We spent a lot of time this past offseason raising money,” Silverfield said. “I like our roster, I like the young men we have and we're going to go out there and fight and compete.
Our plan is we're going to bring our absolute best every single week. Are we going to continue to work to improve our resources here at the University of Arkansas?
Absolutely. I knew this job was not going to be easy, we talked about it when I first got here.
“There's a reason why we've won one Power 4 home game in the last three years, but it's my job to fix that. And I make no doubts, no excuses, no explanations.
We will get this fixed an we will get it turned around in the right direction, because we have a bunch of guys that believe and they're going to keep fighting. And our job is to continue to improve the resources, to better give ourselves opportunity each and every time we take the field.”
In Other News...
Tre Lamb Just Added More Pressure To Arkansas Before Tulsa
Arkansas heads into its meeting with Tulsa knowing this is the kind of nonconference game that can shape the early feel around a season, especially with a tough league slate waiting just down the road. Tulsa arrives unbeaten at 3-0 and already owns a win over Oklahoma State, which gives this matchup a little more weight than the usual September tune-up and makes it harder for the Razorbacks to treat it like anything other than a must-handle business trip.
Tre Lamb has only sharpened that edge with his recent comments, pointing out how uncommon it is for Group of Six teams to knock off Power Four opponents and drawing attention to Arkansas own scheduling choices and past results. For a Razorbacks team trying to build momentum, the noise around Tulsa is not just about what happens on the field, but about the pressure that comes with knowing a loss would land badly before the SEC grind fully hits. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Faces A Bigger Problem Than Tulsa This Week
Tulsa brings an unbeaten record into Fayetteville and a rushing attack that can make life uncomfortable for any defense, but Arkansas has its own concerns to sort through before kickoff. The Razorbacks have spent too much time searching for a steady ground game and a reliable rhythm at quarterback, and those issues have made even seemingly manageable matchups feel more complicated than they should.
The larger question this week is whether Arkansas can settle those spots quickly enough to take control early and avoid letting Tulsa hang around. A shaky start would only add pressure to a defense that has already had to carry more than its share, and the uncertainty surrounding the starting quarterback gives this game an edge beyond the usual nonconference tune-up. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Puts New Coach In A Tough Spot He Wont Use As Cover
Arkansas financial gap with the top of the SEC has become part of the backdrop around the program, especially as the Razorbacks try to stop a losing streak against Power Conference opponents. In his first year on the job, Ryan Silverfield is stepping into a situation where resources matter, but so does the message he sends about what comes next. He has acknowledged the challenges without letting them become an excuse, and that matters in a league where patience is thin and expectations never really soften.
Silverfields early stance has been clear: the job is not to explain away the hole Arkansas is in, but to keep pushing the program toward a higher standard anyway. That leaves the Razorbacks in a familiar but uncomfortable place, needing more financial support and stronger backing from the administration if they want to close the gap with the SECs better-funded programs. The harder part is that improvement has to show up while those structural issues are still very much in play. [Read more 🡒]