After 'Worst Loss' Of Ryan Silverfield's Career, Arkansas Prepares To Host No. 2 Georgia

FAYETTEVILLE — Ryan Silverfield said Monday that Arkansas' 43-10 loss to No. 17 Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday was "the worst loss" he's faced as a head coach.

"It's not just about me," Silverfield said. "It's about the program. Certainly wasn't good enough. Guys had the right mindset. They had the right approach. They learned from the film. Obviously, pissed off, hurt all the things I told them, and that they rightfully so should feel."

Things don't get any easier for Arkansas this week. No. 2 Georgia is set to come to Fayetteville on Saturday for an 11 a.m. game that will be televised nationally on ABC. Even with how poorly the Razorbacks played out west, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a strong, striped-out crowd of at least 70,000 inside Razorback Stadium for a game against the No. 2 team in the country. After losing to Memphis last season and falling to 2-2, a crowd of 75,111, the 10th-largest in program history, filed into Razorback Stadium to watch Arkansas get taken out behind the woodshed by Notre Dame.

"I love our fans, and here's the deal: I’m glad they care enough," Silverfield said. "I'm glad they're passionate enough. We've got the best fan base in the country, and so it's better than them not caring and not wanting to see a better product. And rightfully so. They deserve it.

"When I took this job, I said the fans deserve a winner, and we're working very, very hard every single day to try to provide that for them. And so I appreciate the fact the fans care so much. That's what you want — a passionate, rabid fan base that expects you to win every game and expects you to go out there and compete at the highest level. And I love that.

"I'm asking our fans to show up and continue to pour in support of our guys and cheer loud and proud because they can make a difference. They truly can, and we've seen it throughout college football. Excited for them to come and watch us for another opportunity, and I've got great faith that they'll show up and be loud and proud.”

Georgia (2-0) opened its season with dominant wins over the likes of Tennessee State and Western Kentucky. The Bulldogs, led by head coach Kirby Smart, are expected to once again contend for an SEC title and a national championship this season and are favored by 24.5 ahead of Saturday's game.

"They look like the No. 2 team in the country, if not better," Silverfield said. "I mean, they don't have any flaws, or many, and it's our job if they do to try to find them. And again, we know it's a wonderful opportunity and a great challenge. But you look at it and you say, well, they only returned seven starters from last year on defense.

"Well, no, because a lot of those guys played tons of snaps. So almost their entire defense, except for one player, their nickel, was part of their roster last year and played significant snaps. And they got All-Americans all over. Obviously, their offense starts with the quarterback, who does a tremendous job. They're very, very efficient. They're very, very sound in all three phases, and that's one of those, they got their program where they seem to be humming in everything they do. And guess what? They've been able to do so for a long time."

Needless to say, there isn't much optimism that Arkansas will come out and be competitive against the Bulldogs on Saturday, much less that they'll somehow wrangle a victory away from a top five team.

For a team that many fans have already lost confidence in, simply playing a competitive, competent game against Georgia on Saturday would be considered an improvement. But if Georgia comes to town and delivers a Notre Dame-esque beatdown, the outside noise about the shortcomings of Silverfield and Arkansas will only grow louder.

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